National Software Platform (NSP)

April 1, 2011. The Government of the Russian Federation on commission session on high technologies and innovations approved creation of the national software platform (NSP). The project was implemented by two departments - the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, and by the end of 2015 was closed at absence though some results.

History of Scientific Production Enterprise

2010

The plan of transition on domestic software of state agencies of the Russian Federation

The Government of the Russian Federation approves in 2010 the plan of transition within five years to a domestic analog of Windows for all state and state-financed enterprises. At this time this OS takes the leading positions in the market, but it is a peculiar type of technology dependence, not to mention the economic party. The cost of the software license of the tamerikansky company runs to each user into money, and recently Microsoft began to watch closely use of piracy versions of the program more.

Counteraction to distribution of illegal software will become stronger in process of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. But there are also positive sides – the Russian developers will get chance to declare oneself if not for the whole world then all over the country. Besides protection of Windows against malicious codes demands very great efforts from the average user. It is especially unsafe for the budgetary institutions working in military industrial complex.

Until the end of 2011 it is recommended to budgetary institutions to pass to software, being in free access. In the third quarter 2011 it is going to designate requirements imposed to software packages for state institutions and to formats for data exchange between them.

In the middle of 2012 it is going to put into operation uniform data center for storage of all these state-financed enterprises. Creation of requirements to packets of additional programs with the subsequent placement them in domestic data processing centers will be the next step.

Also the first edition of the Information Society program provided that in a year after the beginning of its action 2% of all installations on the Russian computers — without public authorities and local government authorities, only at the expense of budgetary institutions and the organizations should fall on the national operational platform. And in a year — 5%.

The order of formation of technology platforms is approved

For the first time started talking about development of "the Russian analog of Windows" in the summer of 2010. Officials decided not to invent the operating system (OS) from scratch, and to take as a basis as it is usually done around the world, a distribution kit of freely distributed Linux operating system with open source codes.

The starting point of existence of two projects of the same name (The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and the Ministry of Economic Development) under the name "National Software Platform" can be considered 2010. Then, on August 3 at a meeting of Government Commission on High Technology and Innovation the order of formation of technology platforms in the different industries was approved (medicine, power, transport and so forth). By the platform it was meant

"the communication tool directed to increasing efforts for creation of perspective commercial technologies, new products and services, to attraction of additional resources for carrying out research and development on the basis of participation of all concerned parties (business, science of the state, civil society) …".

The Scientific Production Enterprise is meant as not the new operating system like "goslinuks", and a repository, i.e. storage of the open source (OS) for government employees, the Kommersant newspaper wrote. In white papers it is called fund of algorithms and programs. What there will be? Distribution kits of free Linux OS, program for it (office suites, e-mail clients, specialized software like accounting, etc.) and also tools for development of the new applications useful to officials^[1].

"The national software platform is a wide concept, it cannot be represented as only a distribution kit for desktops and server divisions, - Alexey Novodvorsky, the deputy CEO of Alt Linux explains. – It and solutions for client devices, since smartphones, and a system for the data-centers and supercomputers".

The position of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications assumes that the repository (storage in which elements of the software for Linux are stored and processed) was in Russia and was state-owned property. At the same time, management of a repository will be entrusted to commercial structure, for example, to Rostelecom which is an operator of the electronic government.

"In all components of Scientific Production Enterprise there has to be a competition — it concerns also the Linux distribution kits which will enter it, and application programs — the CEO Pingwin Software Dmitry Komissarov explains. — Actually, the Scientific Production Enterprise is just a set of requirements, the standards approved by the customer i.e. the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. The main condition of hit in the state repository: developers will have to provide source codes and all infrastructure of creation, support and development of software".

2011

The list and structure of technology platforms is approved

The government commission approved the list of technology platforms (about three tens) in April, 2011. In the field of ICT it included the National supercomputer technology platform and Scientific Production Enterprise. It was planned that within a national software platform a number of the technologies separated into 10 categories will develop:

• "basic system software" (OS, compilers, etc.);
• "software and system engineering" (development tools, project management, etc.);
• "the distributed and high-performance computing";
• "means of rapid development of applied applications for management and accounting";
• "intelligent search systems, cognitive systems, semantic technologies";
• "telecommunications, navigation, multimedia and mobile systems";
• "technologies of creation of electronic state solutions";
• "technologies of information security";
• "technologies of the automatic analysis of texts in a natural language, first of all Russian";
• "technologies of automation of design-technology activity of the manufacturing and defense enterprises (CAD)".

Until the end of 2011 the list of the software which should include the operating system and the basic software package had to be approved. Transition of authorities of the Russian Federation to it had to be complete by 2015.

It was reported that the national operating system will become a part of the platform. It was planned that trial version of the operating system will be available in 2011, full – by 2013, the Deputy Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications Ilya Massukh reported. The distribution kit of a system had to be free, but it was supposed to levy a payment for its service. "Practice of compulsory use of national OS in state agencies will not be, its implementation will have only advisory nature", - Massukh said. But in case of purchase of any foreign systems public authorities will have to explain why they give a priority to them, but not the national platform.

Funding plan of 490 million rub for two years

In 2011-2012 490 million rubles should be selected for works on a national software platform (from the budget of the Information Society program). However, the representative of Sirius Concern said at once that he will be not enough these means. The budget of all state program Information society calculated till 2020 makes 88 billion rubles.

Creation of the coordinator of TP "Scientific Production Enterprise"

Organizational design of TP "Scientific Production Enterprise" was completed in December, 2011 by creation of the autonomous nonprofit organization ANO NPP which integrated dozens of developer companies, institutes and associations. As founders of ANO the RAS, state corporation "Rostec", the Russian union of rectors and also associations "Russoft" and "Domestic software" acted.

The Sirius concern entering into Rostec became the coordinator of work of ANO. His head Leonid Ukhlinov of that time assured of a conversation with CNews that this organization in collaboration with Alt Linux company developed the formulations describing activities of TP "Scientific Production Enterprise".

As for the National software platform of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, upon it it was legally issued the project under the auspices of Ministry of Economics slightly earlier. The ex-Deputy Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications supervising the Information Society program at the Minister of Communications Igor Shchegolev Ilya Massukh confirmed to CNews that this was included by Scientific Production Enterprise in the state program from the very beginning of her statement — at the end of 2010. On Ukhlinov's assurance, this direction in Information society appeared at the suggestion of Sirius, and respectively the concept of the project in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications can be considered similar to NPP Ministry of Economics. Later at the beginning of 2016 in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications in a conversation with CNews noted that the official mission of Scientific Production Enterprise from Information society was creation of set of basic software products for ensuring technology independence of the state of the western suppliers of the proprietary software and creation of conditions for information security support of the crucial systems.

Criticism of Scientific Production Enterprise

"Government institutions a little in what differ from private companies: if they solve the problems by means of free providing better, than using proprietary, let continue to do it on health — Stanislav Protasov, the senior vice president of Parallels company said in October, 2011. — In the USA, for example, NASA, CIA, the Pentagon and many others use OpenSource-developments on an equal basis with the software of Microsoft and Apple. But it has nothing in common with the project of Scientific Production Enterprise. Our question is raised in a different way: state structures are not offered to test the open source software, and it is offered to use it and only it"^[2].

Sometimes it is necessary to hear that the idea of a national software platform comprises a logical contradiction. If such platform is really created based on Open Source, then such software will be more than for 90% is manufactured not in Russia, and abroad. Respectively, and the Scientific Production Enterprise at us will turn out more likely some American-German-Indian, but not Russian. Such criticism is completely justified if to consider that the word "national" in Scientific Production Enterprise means only origin of an array of the source texts used in a program component. But to aim at "national purity" of a program code – quite strange purpose in which it is difficult to see the reasonable pragmatical grounds. Obviously, the purpose of Scientific Production Enterprise is not in achieving Russian at any cost, and in something another. In what?^[3].

Members of Scientific Production Enterprise

An applicant on Scientific Production Enterprise was the Rostekhnologii state corporation with the Sirius concern entering into it which owns a blocking stake of ALT Linux. At the same time at the time of application the participant list of Scientific Production Enterprise consisted of 65 organizations among which and the research organizations (to YIP RAHN, ISP RAS, Informica), and universities (MSTU of Bauman, MIEM, MIPT), and developer companies of software (1C, ABBYY, ALT Linux), and associations (RASPO, "Russoft", "Domestic software").

Tender for a prototype of Scientific Production Enterprise is won by Pingwin Software

At the end of September, 2011 tender for creation of a prototype of Scientific Production Enterprise was won by the Pingwin Software company belonging to NGI fund which large shareholder is the former Minister of Communications Leonid Reiman. Even in the summer of 2011 Penguin supported the appeal of the Russian non-profit partnership of assistance to development of the open source (RASPO) which opposed conditions of this tender: RASPO were not pleasant short terms on development of a prototype and the idea of creation of the only version of Scientific Production Enterprise. But it did not prevent Penguin and one more participant of RASPO — to VNIINS to submit the bid and to win it with the offer to develop a prototype for 5 million rubles at the starting price of tender in 27 million rubles. The CEO of Penguin Dmitry Komissarov promised to involve in development of Scientific Production Enterprise of the VNIINS programmers and other companies entering into RASPO.

On December 27, 2011 the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications approved a prototype of a national software platform — the operating system which is fated to replace Windows on computers of officials and school students. The Deputy Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications Ilya Massukh signed the acceptance act of a prototype of the national software platform (NSP). Instead of a reference distribution kit of Scientific Production Enterprise developer — Pingwin Software — suggests to make four, on one from each of the main Russian by developer Linux

Using this platform officials expect to achieve economy of the budgetary funds going for payment of licenses for computer programs over time. It will be possible to save up to 80% of all expenses, or 1.72 trillion rub for several years, said in the project presentation.

As well as required tender terms, Penguin handed over documentation on a prototype at the end of October. And then nearly two more months the state accepted this documentation — during this time under the terms of the Information Community program there had to take place one more tender — on development until the end of 2011 of a reference distribution kit of Scientific Production Enterprise.

The prototype is "a difficult subject", the expert of selection committee Vitaly Lipatov, the CEO of the St. Petersburg developer Linux "Etersoft" explains. It is the big project, in the test program — 73 points and everyone — "not click a button", Komissarov told Vedomosti. According to him, tests lasted five days, from them three days — in the ministry and two more — in remote access. The member of the commission Lipatov is the architect competing Linux system Alt Linux so the commission "did not give to Penguin to descent in anything", he assures. Lipatov explains that he had notes to a prototype test procedure which was offered by Penguin. The project several times was considered and returned to completion, also the Minister of Communications Igor Shchegolev told the other day. But at a yesterday's meeting the commission recognized that Penguin made corrections on a number of notes, and recognized others insignificant, Komissarov is glad.

Development of the technical project for the following tender on creation of the platform became one of results of creation of a prototype of Scientific Production Enterprise and Penguin suggested to take instead of one standard as a basis four main Russian distribution kits — Alt Linux, MSVSphere, "Naulinuks" and ROSA, Komissarov tells. "Penguin" showed versions of these distribution kits compatible among themselves: the program for one of them works also in others. As a result there has to be a fund of the algorithms and programs compatible for all distribution kits, and the operator who will support this fund.

Massukh said to Vedomosti that programs for Scientific Production Enterprise can be written not only under Linux: the ministries, departments and budget organizations will actively rent programs using cloud services^[2] through the Internet].

2012: Classification of results of development of prototypes

In January, 2012 the Director of the department of state policy in the field of IT of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Igor Milashevsky distributed the letter in which reported that the publication of results of development of prototypes basic a component of the national software platform (NSP) "is not allowed" as they "contain the materials relating to questions of information security support of the software solutions used in public authorities of the Russian Federation".

About existence of such letter Dmitry Komissarov, the CEO of Pingwin Software company which executed development of these prototypes according to the government contract from the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications wrote in the blog on Facebook. In a conversation with CNews it confirmed a receipt of the letter, however refused further comments. Let's remind that earlier Komissarov said that the course of the project will be the most public.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications at the same time reported to CNews that results of works have no official state status of privacy. "However, considering the research nature of works, these results can be used at further development of Scientific Production Enterprise regarding information security support and also during creation special a component, meaning existence of the similar status", - officials^[4] add^[4].

Results of works were accepted on December 27, 2011. As earlier reported Pingwin Software, after that the company sent in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications the letter with a request for the publication of the prepared documents and prototypes.

In addition to Pingwin Software the letter with prohibition on the publication of results from the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications was received also by Vitaly Lipatov - the CEO of Etersoft company acting as the expert in the commission on acceptance of works. According to Lipatov, materials were provided for examination without any limit, and did not undertake any non-disclosure obligations from experts.

"I am surprised with restrictions for the publication of results of works, - Lipatov says. - The situation when Open Source which, according to requirements of the state customer, was transferred to it under the free license suddenly stops being free is absurd". According to him, for many developers of domestic software it is important to see specifications and prototypes of that platform which they will use and for which will develop the software.

The Russian national OS became … American

The source familiar with the results of works accepted by the commission told CNews that as a prototype of the national operating system of Russia the state customer on behalf of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications accepted the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 distribution kit of the American Red Hat company which is simply renamed into MSVSphere.

MSVSphere represents the version of the classical MSAF with open source codes which is a clone of outdated Red Hat 5.6 (nowadays current version of Red Hat carries number 6.1). The source of CNews in the ministry reports that, most likely, after copying from servers of Red Hat company, codes of MSVSphere were practically not modified: after studying of the description of initial packets it is possible to assume that the supplier (VNIINS) changed only 8 packets from 2 thousand initial. This fact is explicitly reflected in the product: on an absolute majority of packets of Msvsfera there is a copyright of the American Red Hat.

In the same way copyrights of Red Hat are set on components of the assembly environment of Msvsfera "A development tool 1.0" which represents a clone of the assembly koji system developed by RedHat. The source of CNews notes that the difference between the original of Red Hat and the copy of MSAF consists in the changed logos and configuration files. The environment of assembly is a crucial element of infrastructure of Scientific Production Enterprise. Having approved the American koji in this status, the ministry selected the worst option for Russia as domestic programmers do not take part in its development and development that puts Scientific Production Enterprise into dependence on Red Hat.

Red Hat is favourite OS of the Pentagon and CIA

Red Hat on which the distribution kit of MSVSphere - one of the professional Linux distribution kits, most popular in the world, is based. He is certified by the main global manufacturers of servers and software and takes strong positions in a public sector of the USA.

In 2003 Red Hat Advanced Server received the international certificate "General Criterions of Security" Common Criteria which allowed to apply it in law enforcement agencies of the USA, and later it became the first Linux distribution kit which received the certificate of COE of the Pentagon.

After that the Pentagon actively purchased the products Red Hat within the program of gradual migration on the open source software. Recently it became known that the Pentagon will use "cloud" and server solutions of Red Hat for creation of own "cloud" platform. As the partner of Red Hat in this Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) project is also a supplier of the U.S. National Security Agency, CIA and Ministry of internal security, Red Hat has good chances to become "a favourite distribution kit" and these security officers.

Who lobbies Red Hat in Russia

Due to the interest of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications in a clone of Red Hat it is possible to remember close partnership of the developer of the same name of family of the Red Hat distribution kits and IBM company. The Red Hat company enjoys the greatest support of "the blue giant" among all world developers Open Source in opposition of Microsoft and IBM.

The state commission of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications on acceptance of components of Scientific Production Enterprise was headed by the deputy minister Ilya Massukh who before appointment of the Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications as the adviser worked in the Russian representative office of IBM where participated in promotion of products of the American company in a public sector.

Elena Solomatina, the president of the VNIINS group lobbying Red Hat under the Russian name "MSVSphere" is a spouse of Milan Prohaska, the head of Vdel group. In turn Vdel acted as the sole distributor of products and services of Red Hat company in the territory of Russia. Milan long time worked in the Russian division of IBM. The Russian office of the company always actively contributed to the development of Vdel. In 2010 between the American Red Hat, VNIINS and Vdel the agreement on cooperation was signed. The office of the created VNIINS of the NCPR subsidiary company supervising promotion of Msvsfera locates at the address Tverskaya St., 7, in the building of the Ministry of Communications and mass communications.

The development plan for the National software platform for 2012-2013

On May 17, 2012 the Russian association of assistance to development of the open source (RASPO) submitted for discussion the action plan on project implementation of creation of the National software platform in 2012-13.

It includes the offers designed to solve effectively the tasks set for Scientific Production Enterprise within the state program Information society and orders of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2299-r about transition of federal executive authorities to the open source.

The plan transferred to RASPO to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation includes 8 points. The association suggests to carry out Research and Development in such directions as: development of infrastructure and basic elements of Scientific Production Enterprise of production quality on the basis of prototypes of the information systems prepared in 2011; development of standards of Scientific Production Enterprise and means of automated verification of compliance to standards; development of set of the specialized application standard project solutions (SPS); development of a stack of program components for razvo a rachivaniye of cloud platforms based on Open Source and also implementation of a row applied the Russian Labour Party in the form of cloud applicaions.

For the stimulation of producers of the free software and universities training specialists in the field of Open Source it is offered to select 50 grants for total amount not less than 750 million rubles.

Among measures of organizational character It should be noted training of government employees in work with a basic packet of Open Source and holding the regular actions directed to promoting of Open Source among the existing and potential users (exhibitions, conferences, round tables, publications in media, transfers on radio and television).

Producers of a computer hardware (domestic and foreign) it is recommended to oblige to equip the released devices with drivers for ensuring their work together with the systems of Scientific Production Enterprise.

As a result of implementation of this plan the Fund of algorithms and programs filled with working samples of basic system components (operating systems and the infrastructure systems), the main applications for needs of public authorities in the form of basic standard project solutions (document flow, budgeting, project management, the systems of collective work, processing system of citizens' appeals, etc.) and specialized application solutions for needs of OGV should be put into operation (ZAGS, Electronic ZhEK, Electronic municipality, Electronic school, "the electronic situational center for prevention of emergencies", etc.).

2015: Liquidation of Scientific Production Enterprise

By the end of 2015, both ambitious projects started in 2010 in support of the Russian software development, and which received the identical name — a national software platform, stopped the existence. The project through the Ministry of Economic Development is frozen, the project under the auspices of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications is also actually closed.

As CNews knew, the project of a technology platform "A national software platform" (TP "Scientific Production Enterprise") supervised by the Ministry of Economic Development it is officially possible to consider frozen. Record about the beginning of liquidation of the legal person of project coordinator — ANO NPP — appeared in the USRLE still on October 2, 2015. At the same time according to CNews, the project with the identical name — the National software platform, entering the state program of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications "Information society (in 2011 — 2020)" — now also exists only on paper. Money for it continues to be selected, but since 2012 all of them at the end of reporting periods come back in the budget. Thus, both projects started for assistance of the industry of the Russian software upon were inefficient.

According to the source CNews familiar with chronology of events, the decision on closing of ANO NPP was made at a meeting of founders of the organization at the end of summer of 2015. In Ministry of Economics, answering a question of the reasons of liquidation of ANO, reported to CNews that in 2015 department together with Centre for Strategic research fund and Institute of world economy and informatization carried out the assessment of effectiveness of activity of technology platforms.

"One of evaluation criteria is existence and development of the strategic research program, plan of activity of a technology platform and other documents — note in Ministry of Economics. — Due to the non-presentation of TP 'Scientific Production Enterprise' of the specified documents, this platform was included in the list lagging behind"^[5].

However in the ministry emphasize that liquidation of ANO was performed not on an initiative and without approval of Ministry of Economics though the platform future question in department was considered.

"At the same time the organization — the coordinator of a technology platform, but not a technology platform as such was liquidated — say in the ministry. — The Ministry of Economic Development considers the direction which covered ANO NPP strategically important and priority. In this regard at one of the next meetings of the Interdepartmental commission on technology development of presidium of Council for upgrade and the innovative development the question of development of the specified direction and, perhaps, about the choice of the new organization coordinator will be considered".

Commenting on CNews a situation in the project of Scientific Production Enterprise from Information society, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications was limited to assurance that the idea of creation of Scientific Production Enterprise regarding formation of uniform storage of the computer programs and ensuring use of the specified programs by the interested public authorities was realized in the created national fund of algorithms and programs for electronic machines. "The fund is put by the order of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of February 17, 2014 No. 22 into operation. Now state agencies conduct its filling — say in department.

At the same time, when studying the budget of the Information Society program (in particular for 2016) it is possible to notice that "creation of Scientific Production Enterprise" and "creation of fund of algorithms and programs" are different positions in finance documents. According to a source of CNews familiar with specifics of distribution of means in the state program, the volume of its financing is detailed only to the level of the main actions within which specific projects are already submitted. In this case "Warning of information and technology threats to the national interests of Russia" in which both the Scientific Production Enterprise, and fund, and some more projects are registered is about an action. A bureaucratic system is arranged so that in the budget it is impossible to get rid only of one project, without having mentioned the others in the same direction. And it is even impossible to refuse separately its financing, let any works in its framework it is real and it is not expected. It is only possible to receive money, and then to return them to the budget. It also occurs through Scientific Production Enterprise.

In 2012 for it it was selected, and then 115 million, in 2013 — 7 million, in 2014 — 70.4 million, in 2015 — 53.26 million are returned, and in 2016 are planned to dispose of 50.46 million similarly.

For the beginning of 2016 it is possible to note that through NPP Ministry of Economics any project actually was not performed. Rostec assured CNews that all membership fees of participants (30 thousand rubles a year) were spent for economic needs — lease of premises for meetings, I go and so forth the project did not receive the State money. As for the second Scientific Production Enterprise, in September, 2011.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications managed to hold a scandalous competition on creation of prototypes basic a component of Scientific Production Enterprise. The budget selected for these works within Information society made 27 million rubles. Alt Linux, VNIINS, "RBC software", Soyuzinform and also Pingwin Software applied for them. The victory was won by the last with the bid price of 5 million rubles. Actually they were accepted by the customer only at the end of December, 2011. Further development of the project ended that the relevant contract for 2012 was not signed at the scheduled time — till February 1, 2012.

From the point of view of the CEO Viola of Linux Alexey Smirnov, the lack of results on the line of Ministry of Economics is in many respects caused by transformations in Rostec during which at the beginning of 2013 the Sirius concern was transferred under management of Ruselectronics holding, and TP "Scientific Production Enterprise" was left without formally appointed coordinator. This circumstance was aggravated with the fact that rank-and-file members of ANO NPP had no real powers on management of activity of society that considerably extinguished an initiative and forced many to refuse organizational membership at all.

See Also

• Beta (Russian software platform)

Notes