[slezyr]

Russian guy saying that he is in Chile in the first sentence? Absolutely nothing suspicious.

https://companies.rbc.ru/id/1215600010141-obschestvo-s-ogran...

It is even a Russian company. It was registered a bit before the war started and liquidated not so long ago.

[the_af]

> Russian guy saying that he is in Chile in the first sentence? Absolutely nothing suspicious.

Being Russian doesn't make you suspicious of anything.

There are lots of young Russian people coming to Latin America recently, presumably (if I had to guess) to escape the war. Source: seen this with my own eyes.

[slezyr]

It is strange to mention that he is in Chile and not mention that he is a Russian citizen, and the apps come from a Russian company that was recently re-registered(??? or not) somewhere else.

It could be sanctions, and it is not related to reviews at all.

[madeofpalk]

I'm not sure - is it strange? I moved countries 7 years ago and I probably wouldnt mention my complete immigration history...

[fgonzag]

Are you a national of a country currently at war and heavily sanctioned by almost every large economy in the world?

[Aeolun]

I mean, Viktor doesn’t sound very Chilean to me.

[the_af]

Still not a good indication: many Latin American countries received a heavy influx of immigration from countries in Europe (and elsewhere). This is noticeable in our names and surnames, too. It's not all Spanish names.

[cyberax]

> Russian guy saying that he is in Chile in the first sentence? Absolutely nothing suspicious.

Chile has been a popular destination for Russians to escape the war because it's easy to get a visa and a permanent residency via business immigration.

[oleg_antonyan]

> Russian guy saying that he is in Chile in the first sentence? Absolutely nothing suspicious.

This would be a bit weird in previous life (before the war), but today it's normal b/c wrong nationality means you'll be assumed as evil orc who worship pu*in and support tha war bla-bla-bla. So mentioning that you at least don't live there and you business in not there helps a bit. Source: I'm in the same situation.

And those who actually support the crazy dictator (by making fake companies across the world to bypass sanctions, for example) don't mention their names on the internet, don't ask public for help fighting Apple's decision, and probably don't sell mobile apps at all.

[oleg_antonyan]

Registered 14.10.2021 Liquidated 28.04.2023 So the guy opened a company, 5 months later it got destroyed by crazy dictator and santions. He moves to a new country, starts a new life, and opens a new company there. Now tell me he is sponsoring the war or something like that based on these facts

[darrenf]

April 2023 is 18 months after October 2021, and over a year after the invasion.

[oleg_antonyan]

Liquidating a company takes a lot of time, up to a year in some countries. In Russia last time it took me 3 months. What's your point? That he didn't shut it down the next day invasion began or what?

[Aromasin]

To be honest, provided none of the tax/profit makes its way back to Russia through illegal channels to circumvent sanctions, I don't see the problem. I know plenty of my colleagues migrated out of Russia to Germany, Israel, Turkey, and Greece following the war and started businesses there or continued already existing ones in a new locale. They wanted a new life for themselves, not under the rule of a crazed dictator.

[mm263]

The company is liquidated, which means he doesn't do business in Russia. Also, I love living in the world where doing business is suspicious because of my nationality.

[treprinum]

A former colleague was denied studying at Berkeley due to being Russian (they told him that).

[rchaud]

The US consulate in Russia is closed since the war began -- getting a visa wouldnt be easy, and universities have to get DHS approval to issue an I-20 status document to a non-American. And that's before any issues around eligibility for scholarships, bursaries or loans.

As a foreign student myself, I would not risk trying to navigate the US visa process knowing my status could be jeopardized at any time. Berkeley isn't the only university in the world worth attending.

[oleg_antonyan]

404 Such World Not Found The war only made this much worse, but essentially "wrong nationality" has always been a factor for banks' KYC, for example

[Aeolun]

It was really weird to see someone ask me to implement fraud detection logic, think “This is gonna be hard” and then hear: “If postal code is x, it’s fraud, if not, let em through”. Wut?

We had far more complicated fraud detection algorithms at the startup than at the fortune 500.

[practice9]

Choose a better government, then. Preferably, a one without Soviet/death cult/imperialistic tendencies.

The nation will be judged by its government's actions, because the gov is supposed to be kept in check by the people.

[dang]

Please don't use HN for nationalistic flamewar, regardless of which country you have a problem with. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for, and we ban accounts that do it.

Of course I understand that many people have justifiably strong feelings about this sort of thing, but that's why HN's rules specifically say: "Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[callalex]

Isn’t moving to Chile choosing a better government? It seems like this developer did exactly what you are asking for, but racism is clouding your judgment.

[oleg_antonyan]

Will try being born in another place in the next life, thx for the advice (:

[joshmanders]

> Choose a better government, then.

Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?

[therein]

People really enjoy pointing you towards the suggestion box, as if it is above all coercion, corruption and malfeasance.

[ponector]

How? Is Russian government sent by God or elected by people?

Looks like Russian majority has been supporting occupation of Georgia, occupation of Crimea and probably now doesn't care about current occupation of Ukraine.

Ruling party was reelected before, during and after that.

[volkk]

wow i saw a really stupid take just earlier today on an unrelated thread, but this one actually wins. great job!!

[nmilo]

This is literally just racism.

[gorbachev]

No. Russian is not a race.

It's bigotry, however.

[nmilo]

I'm so glad you got to be technically correct today.

[gorbachev]

I'm glad I could be of service. You're welcome.

[ponector]

Governments everywhere along the globe are enforcing discriminatory rules based on passport and/or birthplace.

And everyone is ok with such "racism".

[nmilo]

If a border agent called me suspicious based only on my passport then yeah that is racism

[ponector]

Then US government is one of the most racist government on the planet. And people support it or don't care.

By applying tons of restrictions to the people based on their passport or place of birth.

For example getting a green card for Indian people.

Or visiting US. What is frictionless for people with Swiss passport is almost impossible for people with "hostile" passport. Getting a US travel visa is not trivial.

[mike_d]

> Then US government is one of the most racist government on the planet. ... For example getting a green card for Indian people.

As an American it is basically impossible for me to immigrate to India and establish citizenship without my parents being Indian and knowing an official language fluently or by "investing" approximately $2 million USD and hiring at least 20 people to work for me.

[ponector]

That is the world we live in. And people are fine with such rules.

There are countries where it is much harder to get residence (not citizenship) than your case with India.

[Aeolun]

Isn’t one of the official languages English?

[Aeolun]

> What is frictionless for people with Swiss passport is almost impossible for people with "hostile" passport. Getting a US travel visa is not trivial.

While I acknowledge the point, as a Dutch citizen it’s harder for me to travel to the US than India. That still seems weird to me.

[mlyle]

No, attempting to prevent money from flowing into a country which is actively waging war against neighbors is not racism.

[mm263]

He is in Chile. The company linked was liquidated in 2021 (including other companies called Sarafan that he created in the past). How did you deduce that money goes to Russia?

[victorbjorklund]

Can we guarantee that he has no family or friends in russia that he sends money to? Or that he hires russian contractors etc?

[AlexBarabash]

Can we guarantee the same thing about you? What stops you from hiring Russian contractors and paying them in crypto? Of course, you can say: 'Well, he is Russian, so it is more likely that he does that, so it is fair to treat him with more suspicion.'

And you know what? Some other people might say: 'Well, this guy is black, and black guys are more likely to commit crimes, so it makes sense if we follow him around the store to make sure that he doesn't steal anything.' And some other people might say: 'Well, he looks like he might be a Muslim, and radical Islamists are more likely to be terrorists, so it is fair that we select him for some additional screening at the airport.'

Would you agree with all those people as well? And if not, what do you think is the difference between you and them?

[LAC-Tech]

Thanks, I'll be sure to make a huge deal everytime I see software from Israel

[kalleboo]

Boycotts against Israeli products have been a thing for over a decade

[nmilo]

You're right actually, I forgot all Russians share a bank account with Putin.

[ponector]

Every person who use russian currency is sharing accounts with putin. Every transaction is taxed with VAT, which goes to support government and war.

[nlitened]

Right, not the billions paid for Russian oil and gas by western countries.

[ponector]

Do you think that your fact will negate mine?

And yes, sanctions are half baked and poorly enforced. "West" continues trading with Russia.

[15155]

Which race is being implicated?

[ipaddr]

East Slavic

[Zetobal]

I would call it xenophobia.

[irusensei]

> "Its okay to be racist when the target is from a sanctioned country".

[emmelaich]

I wondered whether the fake reviews are being made by well-meaning but misguided friends or family. That the reviewers names are Russian is interesting.

OR maybe they're by acquaintances of the author that have some beef with him and have decided to sabotage him?

Is it possible that Apple is discovering some connection between these reviewers and the author that the author is not aware of?

[csomar]

Chile has banned people of Russian names/ethnicity?