Cisco To Wind Down Russian, Belarus Business

Cisco will wind down its business in Russia and Belarus, becoming the latest Western tech giant to confirm a complete withdrawal from that market.

The networking giant confirmed the development to Reuters, after it stopped business operations, including sales and services, in the region in March.

There is no word at this stage whether any Russian distributor for Cisco will continue nromal operations. It is estimated that 20 percent of Russia’s network infrastructure relies on Cisco equipment, so this is potentially a significant blow for Moscow.

Tech withdrawals

At the same time as Cisco was confirming it was shutting down its business in Russia and Belarus, another Western giant – namely sportswear maker Nike – also said on Thursday it was making a full exit from Russia.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February has of course triggered worldwide condemnation, as well as punishing and wide ranging sanctions that will impact the Russian economy for years to come.

Departure plans for other firms are reportedly being ramped up due to the prospect of new laws being passed in coming weeks, that will allow Moscow to seize assets and impose criminal penalties.

Already gone

Recently pullouts from Russia includes the likes of SAP, Intel, Nokia, McDonald’s, and Renault.

IBM said recently it is closing down its Russian operation and axing hundreds of staff, and Taiwan is banning most chip exports to Russia, furthering tech shortages for Putin’s regime.

Microsoft recently further reduced its its already suspended business operation in Russia, letting go 400 staff in the process.

Microsoft, like many other technology firms, had already suspended new sales in Russia.