Russian
Sanctions Retaliation Escalates: Dumps Intel/AMD And Now Foreign Cars
Ignoring
for one second yesterday disastrous air crash in Ukraine, the
'boomerang' of sanctions continues to be thrown back and forth
between the US and Russia. Having restricted Russian firm's access to
USD funding, Putin has come out swinging. His first act was to demand
that state departments and state-run
companies will no longer purchase PCs built around Intel or AMD
processors
(which might explain AMD's slashing their outlook); but now he has
hit out at the heart of what has made America great (in the eyes of
some) - banning
the use of foreign cars for officials in favour of home-produced
cars.
Russia's
policy on Western technology is clear: The country can live without
it, especially
if key issues like economic
sanctions,
NSA
spying
and GPS
cooperation
aren't resolved to its leader's satisfaction. It looks like this
tough stance extends to US-designed computer chips too, as a Russian
business newspaper is reporting that
state departments and state-run companies will no longer purchase PCs
built around Intel or AMD processors.
Instead, starting in 2015, the government will order up to one
million devices annually based on the "Baikal" processor,
which is manufactured by a domestic company called T-Platforms. An
interesting twist, however, is that the Baikal processor is actually
based on an ARM (Cortex-A57) design, which means the East / West
divorce isn't quite as complete as it might sound. It could also mean
that many Russian bureaucrats won't get the chance to be a Mac or a
PC: they'll have to use some sort of ARM-compatible, presumably
Linux-based
operating system instead.
And
now Putin has gone after the auto sector...
(via Reuters)
Top
Russian officials may soon forfeit the sleek black Mercedes
limousines that speed them through the Kremlin gates in favour of
home-produced cars as part of a push to protect domestic industry
threatened by Western sanctions over Ukraine.
Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he had signed an order limiting
purchase of imported cars for state and municipal officials - a move
in line with Vladimir Putin's bid to increase self-reliance from
engineering to defence, but carrying more symbolic than commercial
importance.
...
To
address the concerns, domestic producers Sollers , Kamaz and GAZ have
been asked to design a car for government officials by the end of the
year under a project known as "Cortege".
"We
have drafted a resolution that bans the state and municipal purchase
of certain types of foreign-made equipment and vehicles, notably such
conspicuous issues as the purchase of vehicles for officials,"
the government's website quoted Medvedev as telling deputy ministers
at a meeting on Monday.
*
* *
As
Putin recently opined, the boomerangs are coming home...
“The
US is certainly one of the world’s leaders. At some point it seemed
that it was the only leader and a uni-polar system was in place.
Today it appears that is not the case. Everything in the world is
interdependent and once you try to punish someone, in the end you
will cut off your nose to spite your face,” he said.
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