As JetBrains we condemn the attacks taking place

https://twitter.com/jetbrains/status/1496786254494670851

by labrador • 4 years ago

590 107 4 years ago

labrador• 4 years ago

Context: JetBrains' founders are Russian. They have offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Free speech isn't really a thing in Russia. To openly condemn the actions of the Russian government could have serious repercussions for them, but they did it anyway.

Спаси́бо, JetBrains.

- Dylan Beattie

chickenbane• 4 years ago

Bravo. Makes me proud as a happy IntelliJ user.

adamnemecek• 4 years ago

JetBrains is technically a Czech company though, as in the company is a legal entity in the Czech Republic.

toyg• 4 years ago

Phew. That would mean they'll never be completely cut off by measures like the proposed ban from SWIFT of all Russian interests.

stjohnswarts4• 4 years ago

Most of their employees (by a long shot) are in Russia though.

crate_barre2• 4 years ago

Sadly they will have stay away from open windows now.

kweinber• 4 years ago

Nice defenestration reference. Slow clap.

w_t_payne• 4 years ago

It's going to be increasingly difficult to do business there over the coming few years. I can't see this situation becoming easier any time soon.

What steps can founders in Russia seek to reduce the risks that they're facing?

mrkwse• 4 years ago

In terms of business risks, I believe Jetbrains are based in Czechia, so while there is risk for their founders, I'm not sure there's any business risk (whether Russian retribution or international sanctions) for JetBrains itself.

Barrin92• 4 years ago

personal moral or poltiical views aside, built software for the Russian market that aligns broadly with the national agenda. From the looks of it the decoupling is going to necessitate a lot of domestic infrastructure.

kache_• 4 years ago

monero

jedberg• 4 years ago

What steps can founders in Russia seek to reduce the risks that they're facing?

Honestly? Their best bet is to leave Russia for a neighboring NATO aligned country.

qiskit• 4 years ago

Using that logic, we don't have free speech in the US either. Ask the Dixie Chicks, phil donahue, etc.

To openly condemn the actions of the Russian government could have serious repercussions for them, but they did it anyway.

Considering most of jetbrains business is in the West, to support the russian government would have had serious repercussions. Condemning the russian government is actually a smart business decision on their part.

JetBrains founders side with the West. Apple CEO sides with China. Saudi Arabia and Israel are our best friends. Wonder what the common denominator is.

imwillofficial• 4 years ago

Money?

rodgerd• 4 years ago

Using that logic, we don't have free speech in the US either.

Only if you are so monumentally stupid as to equate being murdered by the state with people not buying your albums, I guess.

mdoms• 4 years ago

Using that logic, we don't have free speech in the US either. Ask the Dixie Chicks, phil donahue, etc.

Sorry, which Dixie Chicks were locked up, disappeared or physically assaulted by government officials?

ushakov4• 4 years ago

business decision

the tweet isn’t about business, it’s to support families of JetBrains employees

adolph• 4 years ago

The band [formerly known as “Dixie Chicks”] said they had picked "that stupid name" as teenagers, and had wanted to change it for years; they said they were moved to change it when they saw the Confederate flag described as "the Dixie Swastika" on social media in June 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicks

s17n• 4 years ago

The dixie chicks were never poisoned, imprisoned, and tortured.

alasdair_• 4 years ago

"serious repercussions" means things like being murdered by the state, imprisoned on trumped up charges and your family members being in physical danger. It does not mean "marginally decreased album sales".

chupasaurus• 4 years ago

A Soviet anecdote for you:

An American meets a Russian and says: "You don't have a free speech! I can go to White House and shout that Reagan is fool!" Russian answers: "Well I can go to Red Square and shout that Reagan is fool too".

As for JB: guess why they are Czech company for years now? My 2nd employer and my first step in IT career was an integrator who provided a few Russian government bodies the maintenance of their infra and developed systems as well as building datacenters for Gazprom, and a few years after the next year they had quite a big profit there was a criminal case opened and CEO was chilling for 2 years in London.

stjohnswarts4• 4 years ago

Horrible comparison. In particular none of them faced government sanctions which are most likely in the pipeline now as Russia goes to war. No doubt dissent will be quashed harshly in the coming weeks. I wish all the people at JetBrains the best of luck with this. I don't think it was necessarily a good move on the part of leadership who I suspect aren't in Russia currently...

jimbob45• 4 years ago

I'm blown away that JetBrains hasn't been acquired by any other company yet. I've seen universally positive reviews on here about every one of their products and they're never publicly made a PR misstep to my knowledge. Shame that they're all stuck in Russia.

matsemann• 4 years ago

They got some backslash when introducing the new subscription model a while back. But they listened and changed it to what it is today (if you stop paying you can still use the version you originally bought).

But yeah, I got nothing bad to say. Use their products every day and am a happy customer.

native_samples• 4 years ago

Supposedly, Google had tried to buy them many times. But the owner is sitting pretty and doesn't want to sell. Probably a good move.

Mikeb854• 4 years ago

Their head office is in Prague, Czech Republic and they're technically a Czech company... But point still stands, they're Russian and speaking against the war.

sam_lowry_3• 4 years ago

They have thousands of employees in Russia.

tailspin2019• 4 years ago

Not to detract from the importance of their statement today, but I’ve always thought that they were really a “Czech company” on paper only.

Take a look at their supposed Czech HQ office:

https://www.jetbrains.com/company/contacts/prague/

And then compare to their St Petersburg, Russia office:

https://www.jetbrains.com/company/contacts/st-petersburg/

Which one looks more like a HQ? The latter office is their largest [0] and also just happens to be where their CEO is based [1].

It’s always felt to me like their de facto HQ is in Russia.

I’m not trying to insinuate anything, I like their products and I’m pleased to see their statement today, but the “we’re a Czech company” thing has always felt a bit odd to me.

If anything though, it makes the stand they’re taking today even more significant.

[0] https://officesnapshots.com/2020/01/16/jetbrains-offices-sai...

[1] https://mobile.twitter.com/mshafirov

Hemospectrum• 4 years ago

Lots of Russian companies are nominally headquartered in Prague. Reveal Sound is another example off the top of my head. There are certain advantages for companies that want to do business internationally.

ushakov4• 4 years ago

yes, people of HN need to realize what it takes for a Russian company to voice narratives not in line with the government (in this case supporting their war enemy)

for JetBrains this could mean losing contracts with other (pro-government) Russian companies, house searches for their own employees and executives and targeted “investigation” campaigns

they could be declared a “foreign agent” or “undesirable organization” which will make business impossible

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_undesirable_organiza...

for Russian government “a friend of my enemy is my enemy”

ushakov4• 4 years ago

and if you’re still in doubt: one tweet is all it takes to build a case

they prosecute people for liking content on VK or blowing up houses in Minecraft

https://theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/10/russian-teenager-n...

22c• 4 years ago

supporting their war enemy

Condemning the attacks is not the same as supporting their governments war enemy.

southerntofu• 4 years ago

for JetBrains this could mean losing contracts with other (pro-government) Russian companies, house searches for their own employees and executives and targeted “investigation” campaigns

This can be true in many countries. Supporting people like Julian Assange, anti-colonial struggles for Kurdistan/Palestine, or opposing your State in any other way can get you in a lot of legal and para-legal trouble. All the more reason to be supportive of people and organizations taking a stand, wherever they are.

FpUser• 4 years ago

I hope this statement would not turn lives of their developers located in Russia miserable. The owners are insulated from this danger. From what I read Russia already arrested 1700 protesters.

xibalba• 4 years ago

This is a case of people putting their conscience before their wallets when it really matters–a true act of bravery.

People of JetBrains, I salute you.

ASalazarMX• 4 years ago

Also, could be a way to tell their customers that JetBrains is not a Russian cyberwar asset. A supply chain attack using JetBrains products would be scary, given their penetration.

duxup• 4 years ago

I like to think I would be brave enough to say something in that situation. But you never know until the chips are down.

Kudos to the Jetbrains folks.

jonsbu• 4 years ago

Speech is cheap. In the end it is just a PR. I doubt they'll have any serious repercussions because the message is vague on purpose. But everybody in the comments already give them credit for it. Actions/money are all that matter.

Ancapistani• 4 years ago

Speech is cheap in the West.

JetBrains has a large Russian presence.

stjohnswarts4• 4 years ago

I hope the people in Russian cities will be okay after this. It's one thing to denounce it from outside the country if you don't have to suffer the consequences :( . Putin's operatives are known to disappear people without a whole lot of provocation.

smsm42• 4 years ago

Indeed, a very brave statement, which carries very serious risks. Respect.

silexia2• 4 years ago

When Putin threatens the families of employees of Jetbrains in Russia, they will put spyware in your IDE.

They probably already have done so.

Switch immediately.

ilrwbwrkhv• 4 years ago

Will they leave Russia too like Telegram?

Mikeb854• 4 years ago

Their head office has always been in the Czech Republic...

hinkley• 4 years ago

I don't think I'd realized they were anywhere farther east than that.

zihotki• 4 years ago

That's probably due to the fact that it's easier to do accounting when working with other countries. Majority of developers are in Russia though, source - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jetbrains/people/

jcq3• 4 years ago

Companies should not involve in politics

ivanmontillam• 4 years ago

Companies do involve into politics because otherwise they negate their own existence.

Do you negate air and yet breathe? Pretty much the same thing.

Vosporos• 4 years ago

To think that companies exist out of the political sphere is at best naive, at worst utterly delusional.

TheFreim• 4 years ago

To think that companies exist out of the political sphere is at best naive, at worst utterly delusional.

I'm not who you're replying to and don't necessarily agree with them but they did say that companies /should/ stay out of politics. They think it's better if they aren't, not denying that in the real world politics does have influence.

dsr_2• 4 years ago

Almost everything interesting involving multiple humans can be described as politics.

acheron• 4 years ago

In which case the word doesn’t mean anything.

Regardless of whether you agree, you know what the OP meant, because “politics” has a meaning, and it’s not “everything”.

sofixa3• 4 years ago

Nope. In some cases not fighting against something is the same as supporting it. And the people behind those companies are human too, they have their own thoughts, passions, fears. I'd condemn my employer if they stood idly by a war crime literally impacting employees and their families.

kodah4• 4 years ago

Kind of off topic, but Russia hasn't comitted a war crime. They've committed an act of war. Not really the same thing.

version_five2• 4 years ago

not fighting against something is the same as supporting it

This is nonsense. This quickly leads to people putting all sorts of demands on companies to support causes they have nothing to do with, and assumes that everyone needs to have the same priorities you do. It's a fallacious, "my cause is more important than anything" argument. If a company's owners, for whatever reason want to get involved in politics, that's up to them. But this "silence is violence" nonsense is not just a low effort rhetorical device to make people shift resources to your cause.

dijit2• 4 years ago

I actually agree.

(I say this as a person who is 100% against this invasion).

However the circumstances is that the IntelliJ founders are Russian, and it’s important to point out that it is not the will of the Russian people to invade Ukraine. It is Putin.

lghh• 4 years ago

It is the will of _some_ of the Russian people. It has to be. It's people doing the invading. If no Russian wanted to invade Ukraine, there would be nobody in uniform invading Ukraine.

CyberRabbi2• 4 years ago

I say this as a person who is 100% against this invasion

Thanks for clearing that up. There are commenters on HN who have a vested interest in Russia taking eastern Ukraine.

version_five2• 4 years ago

Yes, I agree. I don't think this is such an inappropriate stance to have. It's up to the owner in the end, but personally I don't agree in mixing politics with business.

aaomidi• 4 years ago

Companies are literally political entities.

albertopv• 4 years ago

Companies make weapons, or tools to make weapons, even if not intended. An IDE could be used to develop a fighter plane control sw. Companies pay taxes that are used to also buy weapons that kill people. Everyone should be involved in politics, even companies.

munk-a2• 4 years ago

I absolutely agree - now if only all of the companies in the US could stop lobbying for pro-business legislation we could have a fairer and more equitable world. I care a lot more about how twisted our legal system has become than companies declaring opposition to unjust wars.

lame-robot-hoax• 4 years ago

Companies are comprised of people and should be allowed to speak on politics if they so choose to.

dudus• 4 years ago

As sanctions are looming any company that is based on Russia, has offices in Russia or makes business with Russian companies are at risk of having these sanctions affect their bottom line.

They simply don't have the luxury of staying out of it. Some damage control is needed

mung• 4 years ago

Should say... I dunno, Alphabet provide un solicited commentary on their take of... Australia's refugee detention centres? Not really.

Should a Russian-based company make a statement on their country invading another as the world (of customers) looks on? Probably.

Politics is everywhere, avoiding it can sometimes be an unintended statement too. Sometimes you have to state your position or others will state it for you.

TulliusCicero• 4 years ago

Yes, and perhaps later they can claim to just be following orders.

pm90• 4 years ago

Then ban lobbying.

nefitty• 4 years ago

This is concise and yet hugely inspiring. I love seeing people and their companies publicly committing to their ideals. Software engineering is ripe for further movement toward self-awareness. This industry is one of the most powerful parts of our modern world, and placing oneself closer to a recognition of that impact on the real lives of humans is very welcome.

Thanks for the bravery JetBrains.

sergiotapia• 4 years ago

The balls on these guys wow. It's one thing to do this from Palo Alto. It's different when the kremlin can snatch you. Support Jetbrains and purchase their tools.

mosdl• 4 years ago

I was literally looking at using Jetbrains space in a new startup and was wondering about their Russian ties.

Anyone have comments on how Space has worked out (or not) for them?

CyberRabbi2• 4 years ago

JetBrains is one of the bravest developer tools companies in the space. Please support them. Bravo!

yread2• 4 years ago

They will be in a very difficult position: huge offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk and in Prague. Czech Republic just announced no new visa will be granted to Russian citizens (except for humanitarian reasons)

silexia2• 4 years ago

No one should use Jetbrains. They have offices in Saint Petersburg and Moscow and when Putin threatens their families if they don't put spyware in your IDE, they will put spyware in your IDE. It probably has already happened.

LoveGracePeace2• 4 years ago

The OP's post praising JetBrains is not flagged. Interesting.

This post, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30453689, asking if JetBrains products are safe to use considering the current Russian Military attack against the Ukraine, is flagged. Also Interesting.

templarchamp• 4 years ago

I STOPPED USING JETBRAINS. All fake profile responses can try some other sites.

As JetBrains we condemn the attacks taking place

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