The US tech firm scaled down operations in the country in 2022 but has recently registered its trademark
One of Microsoft’s Russian subsidiaries has announced plans to file for bankruptcy, according to a note published on the official Fedresurs registry on Friday. The US-based tech giant opted to exit the country shortly after the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
In March 2022, the corporation stopped selling its products and services in Russia, pausing other aspects of its business in the country to comply with sanctions introduced by the West against Moscow amid the Ukraine conflict.
Since then, a wide range of Russian corporate giants – including Severstal, Uralkali, VTB, MegaFon, Gazprombank, and others – have filed lawsuits against the company’s local subsidiary, Microsoft Rus. The total value of the suits related to breach of contractual obligations after the exit amounts to 341 million rubles (nearly $3.6 million), according to the Russian business daily RBK.
Shortly after pulling the plug on operations in Russia, the company stopped renewing Microsoft 365 subscriptions—including Outlook, Teams, Office, OneDrive, and SharePoint services—for its corporate clients, disconnected a number of Russian organizations from cloud services such as Visio Online, Project Online, and Power BI, and introduced other restrictions.
According to data tracked by RBK, the revenue of Microsoft’s Russian subsidiary last year amounted to 161.6 million rubles (nearly $2 million), with net profit totaling 174.1 million rubles ($2.13 million). The data shows the company reported revenue of 6.9 billion rubles ($84.5 million) and a profit of 638.1 million rubles ($7.8 million) in 2021, which marked its last full year of operations in Russia before deciding to quit.
Earlier this year, the multinational registered the trademark ‘Microsoft Places’ with the Russian patent office, Rospatent. According to the filing card, the company plans to provide or grant temporary access to “downloadable computer software for managing hybrid planning, workplace management, office space management,” and other types of software until 2023.
In recent months, foreign corporations—including McDonald’s, Hyundai, Intel, LG, IKEA, Chanel, Rolex, and Louis Vuitton—that had previously exited Russia have begun registering new trademarks in the country, signaling their potential return.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the creation of a program for foreign corporations willing to return to the Russian market, “but only insofar as it aligns with the protection of our own business interests.” Speaking with business leaders in the Kremlin, the president emphasized that Moscow won’t be “rolling out a red carpet” for McDonald’s and other companies.
