The Russian Government Blames Microsoft for Piracy

Russia has identified the sole source responsible for the high piracy level in the country. Currently, Russia is situated among the top 10 markets for pirated content worldwide. Deputy Russian IT minister Dmitry Milovantsev, in a clear move that underlines Russian efficiency and logic, managed to singlehandedly point out the fact that Microsoft bears the blame for the high rate of software counterfeiting.

"If you want to install Linux you have to erase Microsoft, and that increases the cost of each computer by $50. With one that already has Windows installed on it, and you want to use open source, you have to install the operating system," Milovantsev said. "We are constantly fighting against unlicensed use of software, but we need to fight not with the consumers but those who develop the software."

At the beginning of February 2007, Romanian President Traian Basescu praised piracy for all it was worth in front of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates; now Milovantsev has accused Microsoft's licensing policies for driving up piracy. While admitting that piracy is a serious problem in Russia, Milovantsev's explanation for the wide spread phenomenon focused on the low income and the market policies of software vendors.

Microsoft itself is well aware of the problems in Russia. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that the Redmond Company will focus on increasing revenue from emerging countries while tackling piracy more aggressively. "We will have strong growth in the Windows business in emerging markets: China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others. But that's strong growth on quite a low base of revenue. Those markets are very high piracy," Ballmer said.