Russia Has Two Months Left Before It Runs Out of Data Storage

Russia has around two months left before it runs out of data storage. It can be said that this is an effect of the decision of Western cloud providers to pull out of the country due to Russia's actions towards Ukraine.

Russia Has Two Months of Data Storage Left

Russia is reported to have only two months left before it runs out of data storage.

According to a report by Bleeping Computer. the IT storage crisis the country is currently facing is due to Western cloud providers pulling out of the country. Bleeping Computer cited a report by a Russian publication known as Kommersant.

"The Russian government is exploring various solutions to resolve this IT storage problem, ranging from leasing all available domestic data storage to seizing IT resources left behind by businesses that pulled out of the country," per the report.

It is likewise being reported by the publication that a meeting was held at the country's Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Russian firms have been forced to rely on local cloud storage service providers ever since Western cloud providers pulled out of the country. It has been noted by Bleeping Computer that Russia does not have enough data centers that can cater to the data storage needs of the country.

Western Cloud Providers Pull Out of Russia

According to a report by TechCrunch, tech giants Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have all decided, as of press time, to halt cloud sales in Russia. IBM has made a similar announcement as well.

Amazon Web Services, in particular, announced a few days ago that it was going to stop taking new sign-ups not just from Russia, but from Belarus as well.

In contrast to these four, Cloudflare has decided that "it's important to keep the internet running in the country in spite of calls to shut down service there," according to TechCrunch.

How Can Russia Free Up Space?

Bleeping Computer has listed a few steps that Russia can or may take in order to free up more data storage. Its report said that the country can opt to demand ISPs to "abandon media streaming services and other online entertainment platforms that eat up precious resources."

Another option that may yield to problems of its own is for Russia to buy out the remaining data storage from data centers.

Bleeping Computer has noted that Russia may be considering seizing IT servers and storage that have been abandoned by cloud providers that have pulled out of the country. It is being reported that the government is studying the costs of making such a move.

China can prove to be an ally to Russia when it comes to this dilemma as Russia could try to tap into the Asian country's cloud service providers. However, Bleeping Computer has pointed out that China has yet to decide on how much help it is willing to extend to its neighbor.