One of Microsoft’s Russian subsidiaries is planning to file for bankruptcy

Russia’s crackdown on foreign tech isn’t slowing down. This week, President Vladimir Putin said Western platforms like Microsoft and Zoom should be “throttled” to give local alternatives a shot. Just days later, one of Microsoft’s subsidiaries in Russia is planning to file for bankruptcy, reported Reuters.

According to a notice posted on Russia’s official Fedresurs registry, Microsoft Rus LLC intends to declare bankruptcy. Microsoft hasn’t officially confirmed any such news, but the announcement may come soon.

Other Russian Microsoft branches remain in limbo

Per Reuters report, the TASS news agency says Microsoft still has three other legal entities in the country—Microsoft Development Centre Rus, Microsoft Mobile Rus, and Microsoft Payments Rus—but it’s unclear what happens to them next.

This wouldn’t be the first tech giant to hit a wall in Russia. Google’s Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy back in 2022, after local authorities froze its bank accounts. The company said it couldn’t continue operations or even pay employees.

Microsoft’s Russia pullback started after the Ukraine invasion

While Microsoft kept some services going after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the company began scaling down operations in June that year. It cited economic changes and business impacts tied to the war.

Around that same time, Microsoft pulled Russian state-run media apps from its Windows store and blocked ads from Kremlin-sponsored outlets. That’s not all; the tech giant also pulled the plug on its cloud services in Russia in March last year.