# A beautiful initiative from UA



## jamwerks (Mar 11, 2022)

*An Open Letter of Support for Ukraine from Sandeep Gupta, COO, Universal Audio.*

We at Universal Audio have been stunned and saddened by Russia's aggressive and inhumane invasion of Ukraine leaving millions of people displaced and in fear for their lives, families, and country. This includes Ukrainian members of the UA family that live and work in Kyiv.

Much of the world, including many governments and private corporations, has responded to this crisis with economic sanctions — hoping to move the Russian people to pressure their leadership to stop the war. After much consideration and discussion, we at Universal Audio have decided to act in support of the proud Ukrainian people.

*As of today, we are pausing all UA sales and support activities in Russia and Belarus, and we have blocked all IP addresses from those countries on all our websites and services.*

Secondly, beyond our own corporate donations, we have designated next *Wednesday, March 16* as a special UA Giving Day. On that day, all online store proceeds will be donated to humanitarian relief efforts for the Ukrainian people. *Please help spread the word!*

We will continue to be in close contact with our Ukrainian staff as they defend their country and their families, some of whom have made it safely to Hungary. We will continue to apply pressure on Russia and do what we can to support the people of Ukraine and will stand with others who choose to do the same.

We hope that actions by the world community and companies like ours will bring an end to this senseless violence and look forward to a more peaceful future.







Sandeep Gupta
COO
Universal Audio


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## bFooz (Mar 11, 2022)

They effectively joined the war.

But what if they used 100% of income made by sales in Russia to provide a humanitarian help in Ukraine? That would be so awesome and so kamic neutral. They could even raise prices a bit for Russians and all that money would go to Ukraine! That's for real heart-minded people IMO.


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## dcomdico (Mar 11, 2022)

How exactly does Mr Gupta think that punishing artists and craftspeople is somehow going to change Putin’s mind about the war? This trend of exacting revenge on the Russian people is regressive and this kind of virtue signaling by companies in the audio space such as UA reflects poorly on them and diminishes my enthusiasm for their products. Such actions will have opposite the intended effect and ironically prevents Russians from expressing their discontent by partaking in the promotion. Like many people suffering from war fever, I don’t think they thought this one through.

What we should be doing is pressuring all parties involved, including the US, to negotiate a peace plan, which should already have happened since the sticking points are not by any means irreconcilable. What would be beautiful is demanding peace not pretending to seek it through retribution and the rhetoric of escalation.


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## jcrosby (Mar 11, 2022)

Izotope pulled the same nonsense... Seems like we'll see a lot of this in the coming week. And 100% agree, the government is the issue not the citizens. All this accomplishes is sending a virtue signal, and pandering to board members.


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## Francis Bourre (Mar 11, 2022)

Nothing is beautiful during a war... But economic sanctions are there to pressure people and destabilise a country, its citizens, without entering or escalating the current military war. Each sanction is not designed to have a big impact, but all the sanctions grouped in every domain on the long term could change the public opinion, the political stability of the country, and influence the future negociations with the russian government.
It's the only road left to try to stop this war, without engaging a bigger military war.


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## imusic (Mar 11, 2022)

I do not think "oligarchs" have any UAD nor VIs on their computer ... (do not like this idea)


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## Crowe (Mar 11, 2022)

Plugin Alliance as well, has stopped selling to Russia and Belarus. I am not necessarily against this.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

Yesterday I heard a journalist with experience from Ukraine and Russia say something like:

"The sanctions won't hurt Putin, they will hurt the common man and especially the middle class. But to think that this will cause an uprise against Putin may be a mistake. The Russian people is used to suffering; they have done it for so long during history."


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## Crowe (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Yesterday I heard a journalist with experience from Ukraine and Russia say something like:
> 
> "The sanctions won't hurt Putin, they will hurt the common man and especially the middle class. But to think that this will cause an uprise against Putin may be a mistake. The Russian people is used to suffering; they have done it for so long during history."


Yeah. History does indicate that. But then what are we supposed to do? Do nothing? Not sanction Russia? There's an issue with this line of thinking just as there is with the idea that sanctions will work. Short of nuking the Kremlin (disregarding the obvious repercussions) there's very little that people seem to think will have any effect.

Its a difficult situation and I have no answers.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 11, 2022)

dcomdico said:


> What we should be doing is pressuring all parties involved, including the US, to negotiate a peace plan, which should already have happened since the sticking points are not by any means irreconcilable. What would be beautiful is demanding peace not pretending to seek it through retribution and the rhetoric of escalation.


Many countries have already tried this, and Russia isn't interested in peace....period. This is painfully obvious. I'm onboard with these sanctions.


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## aeliron (Mar 11, 2022)

Like people vandalizing the Russia House restaurant and pouring out vodka that actually isn't made in Russia. And banning “Anastasia” 😂


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

Crowe said:


> Yeah. History does indicate that. But then what are we supposed to do? Do nothing? Not sanction Russia? There's an issue with this line of thinking just as there is with the idea that sanctions will work. Short of nuking the Kremlin (disregarding the obvious repercussions) there's very little that people seem to think will have any effect.
> 
> Its a difficult situation and I have no answers.


The sanctions have been put in place by our leaders to signal to us, the population, that "we're taking action, we're handling this", when in reality there's not a thing they can do about Putin's invasion (*) for fear of nuclear response from Russia.

(*) nothing in terms of direct military intervention, i.e. by European and American air forces.


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## ptram (Mar 11, 2022)

With credit card payments blocked, I don't this will change much. In any case, it's time we trash all Russian tubes (real or simulated) from UA's tube devices!

Paolo


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## NekujaK (Mar 11, 2022)

It's very difficult to implement punitive measures that actually have a meaningful political effect, especially against totalitarian governments that don't care about their people to begin with. Such governments will do what they need to survive at the expense of their people, no matter what, and the military will be first in line to receive whatever meager resources are available.

Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Central America... the list goes on, and in all cases, it's the citizens who suffered far more from sanctions than the political regimes or their military.

At the end of the day, sanctions that affect the daily life of citizens are mostly symbolic gestures that have little effect on influencing policy or deterring bad behavior on the part of government leaders.

Have such sanctions ever fully stopped the belligerent actions of a dictator? Not saying that sanctions are a bad thing necessarily, but let's at least be realistic about their effectiveness (or lack thereof), who they actually hurt, and the self-interested PR payoff for companies/organizations that impose them.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

Here in Denmark, two Russian artists were gonna have their work displayed in an already planned exhibition, but now the county cancelled it. The two artists - two sisters - have been living in Western Europe and USA since they were 18, and they spoke with criticism against Putin and his attack on Ukraine on our national TV.

How does cancelling their exhibition make any sense at all?

Do our politicians really think we, the people, are so stupid we can't separate innocent Russians from Russians who support the Russian regime?


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## AudioLoco (Mar 11, 2022)

Every little helps. 
If some Russian audio engineer starts seeing that his/her government actions impacts directly on him/her as well, he/she might start caring more and at least ask questions and want to be more aware of the situation (sure - there won't be a musician anti war movement in Russia because of UAD). 
I understand that the price for asking questions in Russia is 15 years in prison at the moment, but these non lethal responses are a good way of raising awarness in a society with total censorship and no free press in my opinion.
Sanctiones are a waaaay better then engaging in an actual war (which should be avoided at all costs, nobody wants WW3) in my opinion and if I had a company still doing business in Russia, I could never look in the eye the 2 million (as for today....and counting) children, women and elders fleeing their homes, and the men left to fight and die. (is feeling this virtue signaling?)


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## AudioLoco (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Here in Denmark, two Russian artists were gonna have their work displayed in an already planned exhibition, but now the county cancelled it. The two artists - two sisters - have been living in Western Europe and USA since they were 18, and they spoke with criticism against Putin and his attack on Ukraine on our national TV.
> 
> How does cancelling their exhibition make any sense at all?
> 
> Do our politicians really think we, the people, are so stupid we can't separate innocent Russians from Russians who support the Russian regime?


I agree that a cultural embargo is wrong! I agree that putting all Russian people in one basket is wrong!
It is full of war hating Russians in and out of Russia.

Having said that I consider the UA move and so many other western companies' actions to be the right thing to do at the moment.

These are two different things IMHO.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

AudioLoco said:


> Every little helps.
> If some Russian audio engineer starts seeing that his/her government actions impacts directly on him/her as well, he/she might start caring more and at least ask questions and want to be more aware of the situation (sure - there won't be a musician anti war movement in Russia because of UAD).
> I understand that the price for asking questions in Russia is 15 years in prison at the moment, but these non lethal responses are a good way of raising awarness in a society with total censorship and no free press in my opinion.
> Sanctiones are a waaaay better then engaging in an actual war (which should be avoided at all costs, nobody wants WW3) in my opinion and if I had a company still doing business in Russia, I could never look in the eye the 2 million (as for today....and counting) children, women and elders fleeing their homes, and the men left to fight and die. (is feeling this virtue signaling?)


I'm sure the common people in Russia will be thankful for having their awareness raised by our sanctions while they're standing in line for hours to buy whatever food is available.


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## AudioLoco (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I'm sure the common people in Russia will be thankful for having their awareness raised by our sanctions while they're standing in line for hours to buy whatever food is available.


They won't be thankful - but maybe start asking why did their leader put them in this shitty and totally avoidable situation.


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## aeliron (Mar 11, 2022)

ptram said:


> With credit card payments blocked, I don't this will change much. In any case, it's time we trash all Russian tubes (real or simulated) from UA's tube devices!
> 
> Paolo


Anyone have some Russian samples to trash?

But DON’T empty the recycle bin yet


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

AudioLoco said:


> They won't be thankful - but maybe start asking why did their leader put them in this shitty and totally avoidable situation.


It's possible. But it's also possible it will cause resentment among the Russian population against us.

Edit:
Not least because the Russian propaganda machine will know how to paint a picture of us evil, bad people over here.


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## JoeWatkin (Mar 11, 2022)

I've become way too skeptical to take a statement like this at face value...


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## AudioLoco (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> It's possible. But it's also possible it will cause resentment among the Russian population against us.
> 
> Edit:
> Not least because the Russian propaganda machine will know how to paint a picture of us evil, bad people over here.


it's possible - still got to do something I think.
I agree about the propaganda bending everything, but still, the Russian people hopefully won't ignore that these sanctiones happened all together just after, and are heavily related to, the "special military operation" in Ukraine.


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## el-bo (Mar 11, 2022)

Donating sales money = Good

Sanctions at small business level = Bad

imo, of course...


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 11, 2022)

3DC said:


> Sure they will feel the initial impact but they will recover from this very fast.


I doubt it. The Ruble is worthless and their economy will soon follow. How will they recover with being shut off from most of the world?


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## rrichard63 (Mar 11, 2022)

Trying to block everyday commercial transactions between rank-and-file citizens, transactions that have no military significance, is counterproductive. Even more counterproductive are the cancellations of concert performances and other cultural exchanges. And even more counterproductive than that is pulling the plug on news/propaganda sources and social media.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 11, 2022)

rrichard63 said:


> Trying to block everyday commercial transactions between rank-and-file citizens, transactions that have no military significance, is counterproductive. Even more counterproductive are the cancellations of concert performances and other cultural exchanges. And even more counterproductive than that is pulling the plug on news/propaganda sources and social media.


So let me ask this....if this was the invasion of Poland in 1939, would it still be okay to carry on "business as usual" with Germany?


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## rrichard63 (Mar 11, 2022)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> So let me ask this....if this was the invasion of Poland in 1939, would it still be okay to carry on "business as usual" with Germany?


As long as what we're talking about is culture (which includes, for example, music production tools) and exchange of information (including misinformation), yes. So if I wanted to buy something today from Wavelet Audio or Splash Sound, I would.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> So let me ask this....if this was the invasion of Poland in 1939, would it still be okay to carry on "business as usual" with Germany?


It’s not comparable. In ‘39 there was the option of engaging Germany with military. Today with Russia that option does not exist because in contrast to back then, the world incl. Russia now contains nuclear weapons. So sanctions are imposed in weakness instead by leaders in Europe and USA etc. in order to signal to the home populations they are “taking action” - toappear strong when in fact they have been set checkmate by President Putin‘s threat of nuclear response if anyone intervened in his plans (read: intervene with our military forces). And now the average Russian person on the street will suffer because of our sanctions.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> It’s not comparable. In ‘39 there was the option of engaging Germany with military. Today with Russia that option does not exist because in contrast to back then, the world incl. Russia now contains nuclear weapons. So sanctions are imposed in weakness instead by leaders in Europe and USA etc. in order to signal to the home populations they are “taking action” - toappear strong when in fact they have been set checkmate by President Putin‘s threat of nuclear response if anyone intervened in his plans (read: intervene with our military forces). And now the average Russian person on the street will suffer because of our sanctions.


So what do you propose is the appropriate response? Let Russia’s economy and culture flourish while they commit genocide? Turn a blind eye? Honest question.


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## givemenoughrope (Mar 11, 2022)

"ASCAP has also suspended all payments to RAO, the Russian PRO, pursuant to US government sanctions."

And thank God I say..this really changes everything


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## PaulieDC (Mar 11, 2022)

bFooz said:


> I don't see anything "beautiful" by blocking Russian people.


The point is for many companies to stop eCommerce so that the people in Russia directly feel the result of Putin and rise up against his intentional atrocities. It's not temporarily fair to the Russian people but since news agencies are cut off there and the people don't hear the truth, this is one way to get "notify" the Russian people. It's not ideal but it can be somewhat effective. Will Putin care, probably not, but that's the reason. Yes I have been to Russia and have Russian friends, not just pontificating an unfounded opinion. But if you were to ask people from Russia, many would agree that a message needs to be sent, such as economic cutoff.

What I AM against is any animosity towards Russian people who aren't even living there, which is ridiculous, most of them don't want this. The Russian players in the NHL are now getting treated pretty badly and are being blasted for not speaking out against Putin, etc etc. Clueless non-Russian people don't know how it all works, especially if you have family back in Russia... they have to keep public opinions stifled for safety.

UA is doing the right thing, along with MANY other companies from Shell to Visa/MasterCard to Apple to many many others. And I agree with you, it's not fair at all to the artists in Russia, but right now what's happening to the Ukrainians is way more unfair by three orders of magnitude.


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## PaulieDC (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I'm sure the common people in Russia will be thankful for having their awareness raised by our sanctions while they're standing in line for hours to buy whatever food is available.


I was in Russia in the end of the 80s when the people were still standing in line for food. The cold war ended and prosperity in some ways did occur. To have to return to that, is a very effective way to get the people top ask what's going on because the truth is NOT being told, I assure you, and I've said enough already. It's not helpful for us to take a general-opinion at this if we don't completely understand the culture. There's a much bigger picture going on here. I'm sure there will be replies fired back but at this time I'll hush up and ignore the thread.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Mar 11, 2022)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> So what do you propose is the appropriate response? Let Russia’s economy and culture flourish while they commit genocide? Turn a blind eye? Honest question.


I don't know honestly. I'm just so sad. The average Russian cannot speak their mind for fear of the regime punishing them severely, and now they have to endure even harder times because of our sanctions. But I see both sides of the argument here - of course. Like I'm sure you do too. There is no good solution.


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## kro (Mar 11, 2022)

Sigh.... I'm Russian... I was one of the people standing in line for food during my entire childhood. Most of the time, they'd run out of food and we'd have to go home empty handed. Fun fact huh? 

To say that the Russian people have _any say whatsoever _in what their essentially self-elected dictator Vladimir Putin does is absolutely ignorant. Their democracy is not real. Russia doesn't have the same kind of free speech as America does... people are silenced and punished for speaking out against the government... their is no open forum for discussion, communication and private messages are monitored and censored by the government. People's families are punished and hurt. 

To expect the Russian citizens to "rise up" is a delusion only people who work in the film industry would suggest. Life isn't a movie and it isn't fair. You have no clue what it's like living in Russia... You say whatever you want in a public forum then go make music with your thousands of dollars worth of gear, thinking you've somehow cracked the case, thinking you've offered some kind of valid solution to oppressed people from another country whom you know nothing about. Frankly I'm disgusted to hear some of you speak and have lost much respect for this community.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 11, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I don't know honestly. I'm just so sad. The average Russian cannot speak their mind for fear of the regime punishing them severely, and now they have to endure even harder times because of our sanctions. But I see both sides of the argument here - of course. Like I'm sure you do too. There is no good solution.


Agreed. It’s just awful to see what’s happening. I suppose the biggest thing right now is spreading awareness.


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## MaxOctane (Mar 11, 2022)

kro said:


> To expect the Russian citizens to "rise up" is a delusion only people who work in the film industry would suggest. Life isn't a movie and it isn't fair. You have no clue what it's like living in Russia... You say whatever you want in a public forum then go make music with your thousands of dollars worth of gear, thinking you've somehow cracked the case, thinking you've offered some kind of valid solution to oppressed people from another country whom you know nothing about. Frankly I'm disgusted to hear some of you speak and have lost much respect for this community.


@kro Instead of being disgusted at people who are not aware of actual conditions inside Russia, you could continue to tell people how it is. I'm very interested in your opinion on what action (if any) businesses should take against Russia.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 11, 2022)

kro said:


> Sigh.... I'm Russian... I was one of the people standing in line for food during my entire childhood. Most of the time, they'd run out of food and we'd have to go home empty handed. Fun fact huh?
> 
> To say that the Russian people have _any say whatsoever _in what their essentially self-elected dictator Vladimir Putin does is absolutely ignorant. Their democracy is not real. Russia doesn't have the same kind of free speech as America does... people are silenced and punished for speaking out against the government... their is no open forum for discussion, communication and private messages are monitored and censored by the government. People's families are punished and hurt.
> 
> To expect the Russian citizens to "rise up" is a delusion only people who work in the film industry would suggest. Life isn't a movie and it isn't fair. You have no clue what it's like living in Russia... You say whatever you want in a public forum then go make music with your thousands of dollars worth of gear, thinking you've somehow cracked the case, thinking you've offered some kind of valid solution to oppressed people from another country whom you know nothing about. Frankly I'm disgusted to hear some of you speak and have lost much respect for this community.


This is why, as I mentioned, it's important to spread awareness (a secret weapon, if you will), and you've done just that. We are all rational people here....sometimes it gets heated and ridiculous, but that's Human nature.


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## CT (Mar 11, 2022)

There will, hopefully, be a time after the dust settles, when it will be a good idea to intellectualize about geopolitical strategy and tensions and how situations like this come about/how to avoid them in the future. I don't think the time for that is now, though, when a sovereign nation is being invaded under the most comically transparent falsehoods, and having its infrastructure destroyed, its people terrorized, brutalized, and murdered, while the rest of the world (the parts that aren't complicit, anyway) is basically dared by the aggressor to do something about it.

I'd hope no one here, or at Universal Audio, or anywhere else, is so bereft of common sense and decency that they harbor an abject hatred of all Russians everywhere as a result of all this. I doubt many of us from elsewhere can fully grasp the surreal position that average, decent Russians (which all are not, I'm sorry to say, knowing some thoroughly indoctrinated Russians) now find themselves in. Government sanctions and private businesses/cultural institutions deciding to curtail their dealings are an attempt to dissuade the Kremlin's wanton thuggery and savagery. Those average, decent Russians are hit by some of the effects too. Do any of us relish that? Does anyone's skin not crawl a bit at the notion? I hope not. But in a nuclear-armed world, what other sensible recourse is there? This is the shitty bed we've made for ourselves.

I understand having misgivings about who some of these measures ultimately hit hardest, and about what those people can truly do to change things anyway. I understand thinking that this seems like a milquetoast PR move from Universal Audio. I don't think any of that means that we should be content to see this kind of behavior undertaken on the world stage with utter impunity. I will not pretend to have better ideas for a resolution... but I'm pretty sure the "try to broker peace" idea has occurred to someone, somewhere, in an involved government, though at least they have VI-Control as an open source diplomatic think tank, just in case it hasn't.


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## rrichard63 (Mar 11, 2022)

Returning to Universal Audio for a moment, apparently they are refusing to sell to people in Russia and Belarus. I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, they are refusing to take money out of the Russian economy. How does that hurt the Russian government or war effort? I would think the Russian authorities would be glad that the dollars are staying in Russia. On the other hand, given what has happened to the ruble, I doubt that anybody in Russia can afford to buy anything from UA anyway.

Either way, the effect of this part of UA's announcement is almost entirely symbolic and, I think, empty. The other part, donations to aid organizations, might be very helpful. That depends on the organization(s) selected. Some, like Doctors Without Borders, are very efficient and (as far as I know) effective. Others spend so much of what they raise on administration and fundraising that they might as well be labelled rip-offs. I much prefer the approach of developers (and others) who say specifically what organizations they will donate to.


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## kro (Mar 11, 2022)

MaxOctane said:


> @kro Instead of being disgusted at people who are not aware of actual conditions inside Russia, you could continue to tell people how it is. I'm very interested in your opinion on what action (if any) businesses should take against Russia.


It makes no difference whatsoever to the Russian government whether some virtual instrument company does business there. Such actions are meaningless and misdirected.

Russian citizens have nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine. 100% of every Russian I know, including my family, believe Putin is a dictator... who _magically _wins every "election" and continues ruling with no term limitations. Putin and his gang of government officials are responsible for the invasion, not "Russia".

I'll mention one more thing before I go spend time with my family - putting restrictions on businesses selling to Russian citizens and punishing normal people for their oppressive government's actions, is akin to punishing a victim for being victimized. "Russia" is the victim, Putin and his government, who Russians actually refer to as mafia, are predators. Saying what I'm saying right now on Russian social media would have my accounts removed from the internet, no question.

Don't restrict business and hurt everyone else in Russia because of their crooked leader's choices - Putin doesn't care about his citizens, the only people who suffer from such restrictions are those who are already suffering and have nothing to do with the messed up invasion of Ukraine. Every Russian I know is incredibly sad for the Ukraine and have disagreed with Putin's rule long before any of these events.


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## jcrosby (Mar 11, 2022)

Francis Bourre said:


> Nothing is beautiful during a war... But economic sanctions are there to pressure people and destabilise a country, its citizens, without entering or escalating the current military war. Each sanction is not designed to have a big impact, but all the sanctions grouped in every domain on the long term could change the public opinion, the political stability of the country, and influence the future negociations with the russian government.
> It's the only road left to try to stop this war, without engaging a bigger military war.


Sanctioning banks, shell companies, organizations, infrastructure, etc directly tied to the war chest? 110%. This is the effective way sanctions are employed, and cuts to the core of hitting Putin where it hurts, while simultaneously making his war that much more difficult to maintain...

But private software companies sanctioning their own customers that have no meaningful direct tether to the war chest (many of which are likely not in support of)? I just don't see what this actually accomplishes other than being a PR stunt that appeals to appeasing flames from superficial social media outragers, and pleasing board members who are more concerned about the image of their brand than having any genuinely meaningful impact.

I actually think post 3 on page 1 (IIRC) had one of the smartest middle grounds I've seen offered up... Allow sales in the region, donate a large portion of those sales to Ukraine, and make it clear to customers in that region before they purchase anything, that a portion of their sale will go directly to Ukraine. Companies could even opt to accept donations from customers in the region by adding an optional donation button at checkout, etc.

But cutting them off completely really doesn't accomplish much. It's essentially guilt by association, while simultaneously ruling out a smarter option for adding an additional way to raise donations.


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## creativeforge (Mar 12, 2022)

PaulieDC said:


> The point is for many companies to stop eCommerce so that the people in Russia directly feel the result of Putin and rise up against his intentional atrocities. It's not temporarily fair to the Russian people but since news agencies are cut off there and the people don't hear the truth, this is one way to get "notify" the Russian people. It's not ideal but it can be somewhat effective.



This ▲ makes some sense. It could be a way for the Russians who shop online to get a better idea that something of great magnitude of evil is going on, while their media has been neutered and they are uninformed by the official channels.


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## Roger Newton (Mar 12, 2022)

kro said:


> Don't restrict business and hurt everyone else in Russia because of their crooked leader's choices - Putin doesn't care about his citizens, the only people who suffer from such restrictions are those who are already suffering and have nothing to do with the messed up invasion of Ukraine. Every Russian I know is incredibly sad for the Ukraine and have disagreed with Putin's rule long before any of these events.


The west will restrict business for a while but you will see fairly soon that those restrictions will be lifted and the status quo will be resumed.


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## lokotus (Mar 12, 2022)

I don´t think that has much impact, because of the dictatorship and false propaganda.
Instead let them access the websites but see much higher prices from their Russian ip adresses for a while and tell them that the surplus they are paying when buying a plugin will be donated to help Ukrainian people, explaining shortly what this is all about.
That might wake more people up from the false propaganda and would have more effect than simply shutting sites down...


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Mar 12, 2022)

aeliron said:


> Like people vandalizing the Russia House restaurant and pouring out vodka that actually isn't made in Russia. And banning “Anastasia” 😂


Perhaps, because in a world of internet access and informational knowledge worldwide. We find that many have almost no education and are clueless on history, politics and how the world works.

Sadly, when looking at the lives of many of those who put flags for profile pictures, they have little love for those in their own circles, let alone for the world as a whole. It is becoming increasingly clear imv that this signalling is in fact a replacement for people's personal guilts and regrets in their own lives and lack of action on daily matters. A sort of projection to self-redemption move.

Such personalities, do not have real remorse, they think acting remorseful is enough. I don't count myself out of such actions, but fortunately I choose not to carry them out, seeing the longterm danger to my own vulnerability to such delusions. Short-term it seems to make sense, long term it makes monsters out of people


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## Mike Greene (Mar 12, 2022)

I've deleted a number of posts that are veering too political. This topic is obviously relevant to our industry, so the thread is good (I've struggled with the topic myself), but this isn't the place to discuss the war in general, and it's definitely not the place to get into a geo-political finger-pointing discussion on what may have led up to this conflict. Posts about sanctions in general are a tougher call, and I left many, but will probably delete future ones.

As always, my deletions are admittedly sloppy, and my apologies to those who may have been deleted in error.


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## szczaw (Mar 12, 2022)

Francis Bourre said:


> Nothing is beautiful during a war... But economic sanctions are there to pressure people and destabilise a country, its citizens, without entering or escalating the current military war. Each sanction is not designed to have a big impact, but all the sanctions grouped in every domain on the long term could change the public opinion, the political stability of the country, and influence the future negociations with the russian government.
> It's the only road left to try to stop this war, without engaging a bigger military war.


You clearly don't understand the Russian mentality. If you target Russians as individuals, in some you'll trigger us vs them response and in others confirm their biases. You're dealing with a different culture that is not as materialistic, and ready to everyday eat cabbage with oil to attain victory.


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## gsilbers (Mar 12, 2022)

Very happy to donate.


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## Macrawn (Mar 12, 2022)

I'm in support of this. It is unfortunately, up to the common people in Russia to finally stand up and say, we actually like the benefits of being connected to the West and leadership needs to go. 

I think it is the right thing for all Western companies to pull ties from both of those countries. There are serious consequences for making this act of war in Europe and it isn't something people are going to be able to comfortably watch from their couch as if it isn't happening. Everyone is going to be impacted by this in Russia.

I'm sorry but this is the correct move. I'm sad that the common folk in Russia will feel the impact of this, but they have to feel it otherwise there will be no change or end to this kind of aggression. 

But I'm also aware that a lot of companies are cut off anyway from doing business there due to the bank issues, so many companies can't do business as usual anyway. McDonalds for example lost everything there regardless of their moral position on it.


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## PaulieDC (Mar 12, 2022)

szczaw said:


> You clearly don't understand the Russian mentality. If you target Russians as individuals, in some you'll trigger us vs them response and in others confirm their biases. You're dealing with a different culture that is not as materialistic, and ready to everyday eat cabbage with oil to attain victory.


For the most part you are right. But I would say not so much with the younger crowd there that has grown up post-Cold War. The mentality you’re talking about is what I knew when I was there 30 years ago. But the younger group maybe not so much, as evidenced by the amount of protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg and other areas. Those kinds of protest probably wouldn’t of happened 30 years ago, so in someways the younger citizens are seeing something they’ve not known. Time will tell if it’s effective.


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## timprebble (Mar 12, 2022)

bFooz said:


> They effectively joined the war.
> 
> But what if they used 100% of income made by sales in Russia to provide a humanitarian help in Ukraine? That would be so awesome and so kamic neutral. They could even raise prices a bit for Russians and all that money would go to Ukraine! That's for real heart-minded people IMO.


I replied to someone else making this suggestion in the 'drama zone' which seems to have been deleted. But as it is not an unreasonable question to ask, my reaction was about unintended consequences. On the surface your idea seems good, but... Consider if a Russian citizen was investigated as a potential dissident (eg the band Pussy Riot are an obvious example) how do you think it would be interpreted if they found out the same suspected dissident had been clearly funding Ukraine via such purchases? I would imagine it would not go down well. This was reinforced after reading this thread by someone describing how life is now in Moscow:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1502075252989382664.html

"I can't say much about people's feelings because now you can get up to 15 years in jail for criticizing this 'special operation', calling it a war (yes, you can't), 'spreading fakes', supporting sanctions or calling for protests....


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## PaulieDC (Mar 12, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I don't know honestly. I'm just so sad. The average Russian cannot speak their mind for fear of the regime punishing them severely, and now they have to endure even harder times because of our sanctions. But I see both sides of the argument here - of course. Like I'm sure you do too. There is no good solution.


Agree completely.


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## M_Helder (Mar 12, 2022)

Russian here.
No offence to the OP, but I don't see anything beautiful in such rhetoric.

iZotope, UA, Plugin Alliance... claiming that limiting operations in Russia will somehow help put pressure on the Russian government is comical, at best. To think that this will be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back and pushes people to riot is... baffling? So let's pretend for a moment that people calling the shots aren't any of that, but in fact very smart, intelligent and alert businessmen. That would mean that they saw an opportunity and took advantage of it, scoring some PR points and good will from their customers. Fair enough, I guess.

And yet @bFooz somehow offered a more elegant and beautiful alternative - just donate all the proceeds from the Russian IPs towards Ukraine humanitarian aid funds, don't block anyone. Such a simple, non-aggressive and brilliant idea. Let us -the aggressor, help people too! Weirdly enough, not a single software company I know of caught on with the idea, resorting to segregating Russians and joining the 'cancel' culture movement instead. Pity. 

Hell, I'd buy a plugin or two If I knew that the money could actually save someone's life or at least ease their suffering. Because, you see, in my country sending money to Ukraine, even to your relatives who live there, is now considered treason by the state. Let that sink in for a moment... So buying software and indirectly helping those affected by this catastrophe is actually a very valid, safe and effective solution on all fronts. Otherwise you are just encouraging piracy and alienating people. Good people.

Which leads us to the problem of 'who is actually affected by this'. The truth is, that the only people these niche software sanctions are hitting, are the ones that you see in newspaper headlines, getting dragged into police buses face-first and beaten up by hundreds at the protests across the country. IT specialists, artists, photographers, journalists, musicians, directors, architects, sound engineers, scholars, doctors, peacefully protesting against heavy armoured battalions of brainwashed police forces are the 'Russian clients' that you are trying to 'educate'. We don't need outside motivation to understand that what's happening is wrong, thank you very much.

The people who do, however, will never hear your plea.


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## kro (Mar 12, 2022)

I urge you to _please please please_ read what I'm about to write... at least the first 2 paragraphs.

In 2015, there was a man named Boris Nemstov. During that time, just like now, the Russian government was warring with Ukraine. Nemstov was the loudest voice leading the opposition against Putin's military actions. Nemstov was the epitome of speaking up, protesting, and constantly being arrested and "detained" by the Russian government. 

On February 27, 2015 Nemstov appealed for a march opposing military actions towards Ukraine. You can probably guess what happened next... hours later Boris Nemstov was shot in the head. Luckily (sarcasm) Vladimir Putin took control of the murder investigation of his assassinated opposition. That's what happens to prominent political leaders who oppose Putin - constantly arrested, "detained" and then shot in the head. Not a cold war story - 7 years ago. That is the reality of Russian democracy. 

Russians _have been_ speaking up against their leadership since Vladimir Putin took power more than a decade ago. I've shared an example of what happens to prominent political voices who try to affect change of Russian leadership... can you imagine what happens to the voices of average Russian citizens? "Voices of average Russian citizens" - a laughable concept - those voices are silenced before they are ever heard. And now those voiceless people are being restricted and punished by businesses from countries who don't understand that such restrictions have no affect whatsoever on the Russian elite government, the only people who those restrictions hurt are the powerless. Russia is not America my friends. Please understand.

Should victims fight their oppressors? YES. Should victims be _forced _to fight their oppressors? NO. What should businesses do instead? Send proceeds of sales to Ukraine. Don't _hurt _people - _help _people.


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## ashX (Mar 13, 2022)

1. That statement is a pure marketing because russians cant buy products anymore with their VISA and Mastercard cards, Paypal is also banned there.
2. You only punish russian audio engineers and musicians who bought their products from you = means they will NEVER ever buy products and will use warez (pirate) stuff.
3. They will hate you for doing that and not their government.
4. Will you guys here also stop buying products from KeepForest (Belarus) and Wavelet Audio (Russia)?
5. So that basically means anyone who buys virtual instruments and sample libraries could get robbed/his or her licenses will be blocked because he or she was born in a specific country (in future that country might be yours).



M_Helder said:


> And yet @bFooz somehow offered a more elegant and beautiful alternative - just donate all the proceeds from the Russian IPs towards Ukraine humanitarian aid funds, don't block anyone. Such a simple, non-aggressive and brilliant idea. Let us -the aggressor, help people too! Weirdly enough, not a single software company I know of caught on with the idea, resorting to segregating Russians and joining the 'cancel' culture movement instead. Pity.


Good point but companies like UAD and Plugin Alliance do care about their money and profits more than they care about lives of Ukrainians. They are doing pure marketing like 'We stand with Ukraine' but do nothing but populism. They dont want to lose their money.


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## jazzman7 (Mar 13, 2022)

The point has already been made that no one in Russia can currently use a Credit Card to pay for their goods anyway, so what real difference would cutting off commerce make... except as a symbolic gesture? 

I like the second idea better. Have a sale that sends proceeds to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and leave it at that.

Arguing punitive measures and international politics in a community that has traditionally been without borders seems like a gigantic waste of time. Writing some great music and contributing to a spirit of peace sounds like a better idea.


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## AudioLoco (Mar 14, 2022)

(The idea of the donation to Ukraine via plugin purchases in Russia etc is cheecky and enticing I have to say, but on a practical note, I can't believe people are taking it seriously: it would be soon found out and blocked, or worst, the customers would be put at terrible danger of getting arrested for "aiding the enemy")

Sanctions are not meant as a "revenge" or "punishment" on the people of Russia.

They are clearly meant as a *temporary* non violent emergency way of pressuring the government of Russia to stop the horrible war of aggression. As soon as possible. Stop killing people. Stop Escalating. *Now*.

After the war ends, it will surely - by design - stop. That's the idea. Americans and Europeans can't wait to get their lower gas and oil prices back. UA can't wait to have their surely thousands of Russian talented sound makers back buying their products. Mcdonalds and Apple as well. But it all has to happen *fast - *otherwise it might mean "after P. is gone".

Many Russian commentators and P's critics I have heard and read have confirmed they believe it is the right way forward.

On the other hand, I take into account also that, taking these actions in a "small market" situation like ours, not only risks alienating the wrong people, like some rightly suggested - unfortunately there are also the lessons in history showing us that usually such type of dictators fall only for geopolitical causes, and not internal revolt due to discontent in the population, as their gripe is so strong.
So the easiest way out of this war, which is the fall of P. due to an internal revolt/coup, isn't on any very near horizon for now in my opinion - but, nevertheless, some kind of external pressure is due.
Is no response the only "correct" response?

In Russia there is a huge 1984-style propaganda apparatus and a super violent regime so some people are just hostages and are terrorized do to any move, some don't know anything more then what the state TV is telling them. I understand that and most people in the West are fully aware of that. That is why luckily, there isn't a "clash of civilization" kind of cultural hatred towards the Russian people and a no turning point phase is still far.
But, it is still true, ideally, that 144 million Russian people could get the better of one person, and are the *only* ones who can save us from their little guy - without risking a wide spread war in the whole world. It is still true that some brave people, willing to fight this, exist, like the ones holding white placards in Moscow and getting arrested.
Still for 20 years most accepted a fascist government, state murders, systematic state discrimination against LGBT people and the other wars, so why shall they do anything now as it's not even them being bombarded and all they want is to keep life as normal, dressing Levi's, eating burgers, mixing music with cool tools etc.... 
So being upset about the idea of soft sanctiones and not being able to use some plugins while millions are displaced and children are killed every day, sounds totally out of place to me (to put it really mildly).
The victims here are very clear for everyone to see. Let's get real here.

Honestly I am just so sad every day since the start of this and I just can't wait to see this madness end.
Hopefully through negotiations and dialogue.

I don't posses the baton of eternal truth, I'm just a musician, and I might be wrong, about this and many other things - but this method of using sanctions seems sensible to me.
The possible pain or simple alienation caused by these soft measures is not even minimally comparable with what the people are feeling while getting bombed in Kyiv just as I'm writing.
But at least in Moscow they will feel life doesn't just go on as usual.

The bottom line for all of this is simply: nobody wants this war

(Mike if you delete this I understand)


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## thevisi0nary (Mar 15, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Yesterday I heard a journalist with experience from Ukraine and Russia say something like:
> 
> "The sanctions won't hurt Putin, they will hurt the common man and especially the middle class. But to think that this will cause an uprise against Putin may be a mistake. The Russian people is used to suffering; they have done it for so long during history."


The sanctions absolutely hurt Putin by virtue of damaging the Russian economy to cause military disruption or increase public outrage. Music VI companies cutting support or even access to already purchased products from are not “sanctions” lol.

I wonder if people here in the US would have the same positive opinion about these positions if they did the same thing to us. 

ReFX: “We don’t support the US war in the Middle East, so say goodbye to your $1000+ VI investment.” Hey buddy neither did we, it still happened.


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## glyster (Mar 18, 2022)

It's incredibly naive to think Russian government is detached from the rest of the country. Its government, people, and economy form a system that cannot function without each other. People in Russia, whether they agree or not, is part of that system.

Do not forget the blood spilled by people rise up in history to win their own democracy and freedom from monarchy and dictatorships. Complacency is complicity. Each day this war goes on, Ukraine people are dying for no good reason. Imagine losing everything overnight and live as a refugee in a foreign country with a family to feed. 

Boycott Russia until they stop.


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