Linux kernel has been stripped of Russians - Linus Torvalds responds harshly to criticism

The creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds, has confirmed the removal of twelve Russian developers from the kernel support team. He responded firmly to criticism of this decision.

Initially, Greg Kroah-Hartman, the lead kernel developer, announced the removal via the project's mailing list, citing compliance requirements. The previous contributions of the mentioned developers will remain in the kernel.

Linus Torvalds strongly rejected critical voices, particularly those he claimed were from "Russian trolls." He emphasized his disapproval of Russian aggression due to his Finnish background, stating that the decision is final.

“Well, a lot of Russian trolls.

The removal primarily affects developers responsible for supporting hardware drivers, including those for Acer and Cirrus Logic. The Linux Foundation has not yet officially commented on this decision. It remains unclear how they will regard other existing or potential Russian developers.

Sources: Hardwareluxx, Phoronix