The removal of Russian programmers sparks a debate about the politics of the Linux kernel

“Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements. They may return in the future if sufficient documentation is provided.”

This two-line comment, submitted by major Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, accompanied a patch that removed about a dozen names from the kernel’s MAINTAINERS file. Notably, “some entries” contained either Russian names or .ru email addresses. The “various compliance requirements” in this case were sanctions against Russia and Russian companies resulting from that country’s invasion of Ukraine.

This merger did not go unnoticed. Replies to the kernel mailing list asked about this “very vague” patch. Kernel developer James Bottomley wrote that “we” (apparently speaking for Linux maintainers) received “actual advice” from the Linux Foundation’s attorney. Collaboration by employees of companies on or affiliated with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (OFAC SDN) is subject to “restrictions” and “cannot be included in the MAINTAINERS file be”. “Sufficient documentation” would mean proof that someone is not working for an OFAC SDN entity, Bottomley wrote.

A series of messages followed questioning the legitimacy, the suddenness, the potentially US-forced and unverified nature of the commit, as well as broader questions about the separation of open source code from international politics. Linux creator Linus Torvalds entered the thread saying, “Ok, lots of Russian trolls out and about.” He wrote, “It’s completely clear why the change was made,” and noted that “Russian troll factories” aren’t reversing it and that “the ‘various compliance requirements’ are not just a US issue.”