[ Thanks to Steven J.
Vaughan-Nichols for this link. ]
“If you stand against Russia’s de facto dictatorship
you have another enemy besides Prime Minister Vladimir Putin:
Microsoft. According to a New York Times report, the Russian
government is using a new tactic “for quelling dissent:
confiscating computers under the pretext of searching for pirated
Microsoft software.” Furthermore, the Russian state is doing this
with the help of Microsoft’s Russian attorneys.“Microsoft, reports the New York Times, doesn’t start these
inquiries and only does what they’re required to do by Russian law.
The dissidents, ranging from environmentalists to journalists, tell
a different story. “Without the participation of Microsoft, these
criminal cases against human rights defenders and journalists would
simply not be able to occur,” said Russian newspaper editor Sergey
Kurt-Adzhiyev.”