2024
Ministry of Digital Development changes strategy for development of Russian open source repository
In mid-April 2024, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation announced a decision to revise the course of the experiment to create a national open source repository in the Russian Federation. Instead of a new platform, it is planned to use the service of one of the market participants, and redirect the saved funds to the development of Open Source projects.
 | It was decided to choose one of the already existing publicly available domestic repositories instead of creating a new platform, the Ministry of Digital Development told Kommersant. |  |
The department added that proposals to change the course of the experiment were sent to governments, in case of a positive decision, it could resume within a couple of months, that is, by about mid-June 2024.
According to market participants surveyed by the publication, the issue of choosing a site for the Russian analogue of GitHub is secondary, and it is important what mechanisms will be used to form communities around open source projects. In their opinion, without a competently created and working according to the general rules of the community of developers, such projects will not receive proper development, the interlocutors of the publication believe.
The head of the department of digital solutions of the agency "Polilog" Lyudmila Bogatyreva noted that by April 2024 Russia there are local repositories of large companies: RTK-Phoenix Rostelecom(""), "Sphere" (), T1 (""), GitVerse etc Sber. Most likely, RTK-Phoenix will be chosen for the national open source repository, she suggests.
There is also a platform for the development ON GitFlic of the company, ReSalt the director of business development of the company told Kommersant. Denis Ramazanov In his opinion, the presence of such a platform "significantly reduces the risks associated with restrictions on access to foreign repositories and the spread of vulnerabilities in software components."[1]
Repository creation delayed due to funding issues
On March 20, 2024, it became known that the implementation of the project to create a Russian open source repository - an analogue of GitHub - was postponed indefinitely. The reason is the lack of the necessary funding to deploy and maintain the further operation of the service.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin made a proposal to create a domestic platform for the joint development of IT projects in September 2021. The need for a national repository arose due to the current geopolitical situation and the blocking of Russian users on GitHub. In December 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development proposed to allocate 1.3 billion rubles to create a repository, which since 2007 have been without movement in the accounts of the Rosinfokominvest fund (created for investment in domestic IT solutions in the early stages).
The Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT) has been appointed responsible for the creation of a domestic analogue of GitHub. However, according to the Vedomosti newspaper, the money from Rosinfokominvest for the implementation of the project as of March 2024 was not received. At the same time, the focus of the initiative has shifted to the issues of increased use of artificial intelligence in data processing and code processing procedures, as well as the widespread involvement of the IT community to solve these problems.
Market participants note that the need for a national open source repository has actually disappeared. The fact is that since 2022 there have been private platforms for joint development and hosting of code. These are services such as RTK-Phoenix and Lukomorye from Rostelecom, Sphere from T1, GitFlame from Innopolis, Moshab from the Moscow government, Gitflic from Astra Group of Companies and GitVerse from Sberbank. Against this background, says Svyatoslav Bocharov, head of the analytical group of the Institute for the Study of World Markets, it would be difficult for the national repository to attract a new audience. In addition, to maintain its work, regular investments would be required, which are estimated at 300-500 million rubles over three years.[2]
2023
The source code of the Alt OS for the RISC-V platform will appear in the national repository
On June 6, 2023, the BASEALT company announced that it had passed the selection and was included in the number of participants in the experiment to create a national repository of free software. The list of participants is posted on the website of the Ministry of Digital Development. Read more here.
Ministry of Digital Development: The Russian analogue of GitHub will work according to the freemium model
State software the open source repository Russia in will work according to the freemium principle. That is, there will be basic free functions, as well as paid services in demand by professional developers, which will allow the operator to earn and direct these funds to the development of the repository itself and communities. The deputy head Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Parshin spoke about this in March 2023.
| | We want to have an economic engine inside this model that creates the operator's interest in developing the product. Therefore, the decree on the experiment states that only non-profit organizations can be participants in the selection. We must give the opportunity to receive income, direct it to the development of the site, but not to extract commercial profits, - he said in a conversation with Forbes. | |
For example, the use of a service for corporate development can be paid. Tariffs can depend on the available space, the number of developers in the team, access rights management, and more.
According to Parshin, all code available on public global repositories will be mirrored and hosted in a national repository.
| | We will welcome all developers from both Russia and other countries to use our resource, "said the Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. | |
The Ministry of Digital Development expects that hundreds of thousands of developers will use the national open source software repository. GitHub and other public repositories, according to various estimates, have at least 2 million Russian-speaking users, Parshin says.
| | GitHub positions itself primarily not as a technological solution, but as a social network where professionals, united by common goals and tasks, exchange code and opinions. I would like the Russian analogue to have the same story, "he said.[3] | |
Started accepting applications for participation in an experiment to create a Russian repository of open source software
On March 21, 2023, the Ministry of Digital Development and the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT) began accepting applications for participation in an experiment to create a national repository - the domestic analogue of GitHub. The first stage of selection will last until April 1, 2023.
Project participants will be able to publish their own software under an open license in the national repository. Participation in the selection can be both state bodies and organizations, as well as private companies and individuals.
According to the Ministry of Digital Development, first the departments and participants in the experiment will develop technical requirements for the repository, the rules for its use and choose the operator. Then the software (software) will be published in available public repositories, "not discrediting our developers," and then in the national one.
The selection criterion will be experience with Open Source projects. To confirm the experience, you must specify links to information resources (Habr, Github, etc.) in the application.
The main goals of the experiment in RFRIT were named:
- Support the Open Source Developer Community
- Create an environment for them to work together
- increased participation of Russian companies in development.
The fund noted that software created, including for budget funds, can be used to implement new projects. As a result of the experiment, it is planned to create a national software repository open source with and form a regulatory framework for publishing Open Source projects.
On March 21, 2023, it became known that the Prime Minister signed a decree on the allocation of RFRIT about 1.3 billion rubles to create a national repository of open source software.[4]
The Ministry of Digital Development decided to allocate 1.3 billion rubles to create a Russian analogue of GitHub
The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation is going to send funds in the amount of 1.3 billion rubles to create a national repository of open source software (a kind of analogue of the GitHub service), which since 2007 have been without movement in the accounts of the Rosinfokominvest fund. This was reported in the department on March 13, 2023.
According to Vedomosti, the recipient of Rosinfokominvest funds will be the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT), which will at the same time be an intermediate link and in the future transfer money to the ANO Open Code. A source close to the organization told the newspaper that the ANO is developing a terms of reference for creating a repository.
| | The activities of the ANO "Open Code" are aimed at providing services for the creation, maintenance and development of an ecosystem of developers and users of system and application software using the principles of open source code, the website of an autonomous non-profit organization says. | |
The experiment to create a Russian analogue of GitHub should start in early November 2023. It will last until September 2024.
According to the director of the Center for Import Substitution Competencies in the field of ICTIlya Massukha, the amount of 1.3 billion rubles should be enough to create a platform, but "it is necessary to think about further support and motivation for programmers to use it." The general director of BASEALT, Alexei Smirnov, noted that large developers of free programs have their own infrastructure and are unlikely to be interested in changing it [to the national repository].
Earlier, Maxim Kiselev, director of the strategic development department of project activities of the RFRIT, said that as part of the reform of development institutions, the fund was transferred the function of developing IT exports from the liquidated Rosinfokominvest[5]
2022
The Government of the Russian Federation has begun the creation of a national open source software repository
On November 1, 2022, in Russia, in accordance with a government decree, an experiment began on granting the right to use programs for electronic computers, algorithms, databases and documentation for them, including the exclusive right to which the Russian Federation belongs, under an open license and creating conditions for using open source software (software).
As part of this experiment, which will last until April 30, 2024, the creation of a national software repository with. open source Participants in the experiment Ministry of Digital Development-,,,, MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Federal Registration Service Russian Information Technology Development Fund (RFRIT) as well as other government agencies, state corporations, legal entities and individuals who applied.
RFRIT, together with Ministry of Digital Development, must select participants by May 1, 2023, the list of which will be approved by the department by June 1, 2022. After that, the fund must develop a repository for storing the code and the requirements for its operator. The software will be distributed under an open license.
The creation of a repository of Russian software was announced in May 2022 at one of the conferences in Kazan. At this event, Sergei Sergienko, adviser to the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, noted that it is for the state that the advantages of open source are most significant. According to him, cases of secondary use of previously made developments are isolated, which led to and leads to an increase in costs and a delay in development deadlines. The draft open Russian license eliminates a number of conflicts with domestic copyright protection legislation. At the same time, the license allows you to commercialize or close the code in secondary use without any additional approvals.[6]
Plan to create a national open source repository
A national open source repository will appear in Russia. The Ministry of Digital Development announced this on October 13, 2022.
The government adopted an appropriate decree.
The document provides for the experiment:
- creating a national repository ON with; open source
- placing in it software created, including for budget funds, for reuse in other projects;
- development of regulatory framework for publishing open source software.
All this will be done before April 30, 2024. Work will begin on November 1, 2022.
In addition, the decree contains an open license form, on the terms of which the software will be published by state bodies and corporations.
| | It is important for us to support the open source software community and create an environment for them to work together that is free from sanctions risks. Thanks to the published form of an open license, software created, including for budget funds, can be used to implement new projects, - said Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maxim Parshin. | |
| | The experiment that was decided to be carried out is extremely important. Its success will allow you to organize the publication on the terms of free licenses of a large part of the software developed for budget money - unless it has a secrecy stamp. This is not only an opportunity to avoid duplication of work, but also the introduction of products into civilian circulation, and a very effective anti-corruption measure, "commented Alexey Smirnov, General Director of BASEALT. | |
| | We have been working for a long time to create a Russian ecosystem for the development and implementation of open source software. This solution is an important and relevant step in the development of our digital sovereignty. With proper management, we will get a good additional impetus for the development of the domestic one - and ITindustries we will accelerate the creation and development of the necessary software solutions, "said Ilya Massukh, director of the Center for Import Substitution Competencies with ICT. | |
Notes
- ↑ Coda is looking for an old house
- ↑ The Russian analogue of GitHub has not yet received funding
- ↑ The national open source software repository will work according to the freemium model
- ↑ Acceptance of applications for participation in the experiment on the development of the use of open source software will last until April 1
- ↑ Hung funds of Rosinfokominvest can be given to the Russian analogue of GitHub
- ↑ Open source experiment starts on November 1
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