According to some page I found NGINX is the #2 web server in the world, used by nearly 40% of all sites. Now what possible reason could a Russian search engine funded by data mining and targeted...
According to some page I found NGINX is the #2 web server in the world, used by nearly 40% of all sites.
Now what possible reason could a Russian search engine funded by data mining and targeted advertising have to want to take control of it?
The rate at which the Russian government pushes its highly skilled workers towards emigration is honestly astonishing. This is some next-level bullshit. It makes me even more confident that I need...
The rate at which the Russian government pushes its highly skilled
workers towards emigration is honestly astonishing. This is some
next-level bullshit. It makes me even more confident that I need to get
out, at least as long as these people stay in power.
And, before you say anything about how this is private business stuff,
Rambler&Co is owned by SberBank, which in turn is
controlled by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. And as far as
I know, such decisions cannot be made without an approval of someone
from the Kremlin or from the White House.
The Russian one.
I am actually going on a trip to Germany in about a week. I'll be there for about seven days, and it's as much a tourist trip (visiting a Weihnachtsmarkt, drinking Glühwein and Pils, eating Wurst,...
I am actually going on a trip to Germany in about a week. I'll be there
for about seven days, and it's as much a tourist trip (visiting
a Weihnachtsmarkt, drinking Glühwein and Pils,
eating Wurst, etc) as it is a “reconnaissance operation”. That
is, walking around neighbourhoods, looking at how people are going
through their lives, going to the local supermarkets, watching the local
TV, and stuff like that. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully all this
time and money spent on German lessons weren't
umsonst.
Verrrrry interesting. Do you have a source for the bit about decisions requiring state approval? Not being familiar with SberBank, to me they appear at first glance to operate just like any business.
Verrrrry interesting. Do you have a source for the bit about decisions requiring state approval? Not being familiar with SberBank, to me they appear at first glance to operate just like any business.
I mean… what kind of source would you want exactly? It's kind of a self-evident fact to most Russians. Hermann Gräf (Rus. Герман Греф), the CEO and the Chairman of Board of SberBank, used to be...
I mean… what kind of source would you want exactly? It's kind of a
self-evident fact to most Russians. Hermann Gräf (Rus. Герман
Греф), the CEO and the Chairman of Board of SberBank, used to
be the Minister Of Economics and still goes to the White House regularly
to discuss the bank's policies. Most recently
on the 31st of October.
He is a well-known friend of Vladimir Putin since at least the late
1990s.
That's all interesting to know. As a non-Russian I have no familiarity with either SberBank or Rambler. Do they merely rub shoulders with and partner with the government, or are they a de facto...
That's all interesting to know. As a non-Russian I have no familiarity with either SberBank or Rambler. Do they merely rub shoulders with and partner with the government, or are they a de facto state-controlled media outlet? When you say they can't make decisions like the NGINX claim without approval from the Kremlin or White House, I'm trying to determine if that's an explicit requirement of their corporate policies, or just conjecture about something plausible but not formally acknowledged.
The Russian government is a mafia state. It seeks to control the country's major industries from the shadows, by engaging with the oligarch owners via behind-the-scenes meetings. Whether the...
The Russian government is a mafia state. It seeks to control the country's major industries from the shadows, by engaging with the oligarch owners via behind-the-scenes meetings. Whether the engagement is via pressure or a promise of benefits, I don't know.
I'm willing to bet said owner won't dare go against the government's wishes, for fear of being robbed of their money (a way would be found: the governmental structures are corrupt enough) or even killed (as has happened with plenty of Putin's critics over the years).
These aren't mutually exclusive. Again, 50 % + 1 share of SberBank are owned by the Central Bank of Russia, so they are controlled by the state, and Gräf is a friend of Putin and Medvedev, so they...
Do they merely rub shoulders with and partner with the government, or
are they a de facto state-controlled media outlet?
These aren't mutually exclusive. Again, 50 % + 1
share of SberBank are owned by the Central Bank of Russia, so
they are controlled by the state, and Gräf is a friend of Putin
and Medvedev, so they definitely rub shoulders.
When you say they can't make decisions like the NGINX claim without
approval from the Kremlin or White House, I'm trying to determine if
that's an explicit requirement of their corporate policies, or just
conjecture about something plausible but not formally acknowledged.
It's a conjecture, but it's not a far-fetched one. Obviously, they
don't have a provision like “no make big thing without Vova yes”
anywhere in the official documents, but it's also obvious that Russia's
ruling class are not the kind of people who would just leave
Sberbank, the biggest and most powerful bank of Russia,
completely free to choose their own policies.
Yes, thanks. And before yall ask, no, “Vlad” is not it. “Vlad” is a hypocorism of the name Vladislav, not Vladimir. It's kind of like calling someone named Wallace “Will”.
Yes, thanks. And before yall ask, no, “Vlad” is not it. “Vlad” is a
hypocorism
of the name Vladislav, not Vladimir. It's kind of like calling someone
named Wallace “Will”.
That's, uh... what the fuck? So, Rambler claims that Nginx source code belongs to it because Igor Sysoev, the creator of the server engine, was Rambler's employee during its creation, even though...
That's, uh... what the fuck?
So, Rambler claims that Nginx source code belongs to it because Igor Sysoev, the creator of the server engine, was Rambler's employee during its creation, even though the engine was created in Sysoev's free time. How the fuck does that even make sense?
Probably depends on his employment contract. It's extremely common for US tech companies to claim that everything their employees create belongs to them, even if it's created entirely on their own...
Probably depends on his employment contract. It's extremely common for US tech companies to claim that everything their employees create belongs to them, even if it's created entirely on their own time and on their own devices. I don't think it's been tested much in court, but it's very common to have a section like that in contracts.
Unfortunately beyond that one, I don't really know. I don't work in the field but I had a friend that did, so it was something that became known to me hahaha.
Unfortunately beyond that one, I don't really know. I don't work in the field but I had a friend that did, so it was something that became known to me hahaha.
In related news, VKontakte, one of the biggest social networks in Russia (and CIS in general), now displays "Powered by NGINX" down the user menu. If you hover over it, it says, in Russian...
In related news, VKontakte, one of the biggest social networks in Russia (and CIS in general), now displays "Powered by NGINX" down the user menu.
If you hover over it, it says, in Russian (perhaps depending on the chosen UI language; emphasis from source):
VKontakte is one of the millions of services using NGINX.
According to some page I found NGINX is the #2 web server in the world, used by nearly 40% of all sites.
Now what possible reason could a Russian search engine funded by data mining and targeted advertising have to want to take control of it?
Hmm.
The rate at which the Russian government pushes its highly skilled workers towards emigration is honestly astonishing. This is some next-level bullshit. It makes me even more confident that I need to get out, at least as long as these people stay in power.
And, before you say anything about how this is private business stuff, Rambler&Co is owned by SberBank, which in turn is controlled by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. And as far as I know, such decisions cannot be made without an approval of someone from the Kremlin or from the White House. The Russian one.
Made any progress towards GTFOing out of the country?
I am actually going on a trip to Germany in about a week. I'll be there for about seven days, and it's as much a tourist trip (visiting a Weihnachtsmarkt, drinking Glühwein and Pils, eating Wurst, etc) as it is a “reconnaissance operation”. That is, walking around neighbourhoods, looking at how people are going through their lives, going to the local supermarkets, watching the local TV, and stuff like that. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully all this time and money spent on German lessons weren't umsonst.
Good luck, man.
Verrrrry interesting. Do you have a source for the bit about decisions requiring state approval? Not being familiar with SberBank, to me they appear at first glance to operate just like any business.
I mean… what kind of source would you want exactly? It's kind of a self-evident fact to most Russians. Hermann Gräf (Rus. Герман Греф), the CEO and the Chairman of Board of SberBank, used to be the Minister Of Economics and still goes to the White House regularly to discuss the bank's policies. Most recently on the 31st of October. He is a well-known friend of Vladimir Putin since at least the late 1990s.
That's all interesting to know. As a non-Russian I have no familiarity with either SberBank or Rambler. Do they merely rub shoulders with and partner with the government, or are they a de facto state-controlled media outlet? When you say they can't make decisions like the NGINX claim without approval from the Kremlin or White House, I'm trying to determine if that's an explicit requirement of their corporate policies, or just conjecture about something plausible but not formally acknowledged.
The Russian government is a mafia state. It seeks to control the country's major industries from the shadows, by engaging with the oligarch owners via behind-the-scenes meetings. Whether the engagement is via pressure or a promise of benefits, I don't know.
I'm willing to bet said owner won't dare go against the government's wishes, for fear of being robbed of their money (a way would be found: the governmental structures are corrupt enough) or even killed (as has happened with plenty of Putin's critics over the years).
These aren't mutually exclusive. Again, 50 % + 1 share of SberBank are owned by the Central Bank of Russia, so they are controlled by the state, and Gräf is a friend of Putin and Medvedev, so they definitely rub shoulders.
It's a conjecture, but it's not a far-fetched one. Obviously, they don't have a provision like “no make big thing without Vova yes” anywhere in the official documents, but it's also obvious that Russia's ruling class are not the kind of people who would just leave Sberbank, the biggest and most powerful bank of Russia, completely free to choose their own policies.
For the non-Russians wondering whatever the fuck "Vova" is: it's a dimunitive of "Vladimir", referring to Vladimir Putin.
Yes, thanks. And before yall ask, no, “Vlad” is not it. “Vlad” is a hypocorism of the name Vladislav, not Vladimir. It's kind of like calling someone named Wallace “Will”.
That's, uh... what the fuck?
So, Rambler claims that Nginx source code belongs to it because Igor Sysoev, the creator of the server engine, was Rambler's employee during its creation, even though the engine was created in Sysoev's free time. How the fuck does that even make sense?
Probably depends on his employment contract. It's extremely common for US tech companies to claim that everything their employees create belongs to them, even if it's created entirely on their own time and on their own devices. I don't think it's been tested much in court, but it's very common to have a section like that in contracts.
If I may share an opinion that's not entirely enlightening:
That's some bullshit.
Yup. Always read your contract and be careful when developing things.
Any other things to be on the lookout for? I'm not looking to get hired, but you never know.
Unfortunately beyond that one, I don't really know. I don't work in the field but I had a friend that did, so it was something that became known to me hahaha.
Here is another source, definitely doesn't appear to be good for Nginx or those of us that manage it.
https://habr.com/en/post/479968/
In related news, VKontakte, one of the biggest social networks in Russia (and CIS in general), now displays "Powered by NGINX" down the user menu.
If you hover over it, it says, in Russian (perhaps depending on the chosen UI language; emphasis from source):