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Caving to pressure from the Australian-Ukrainian technology community and after consultations with the Ukrainian embassy, Canva, Australia’s most successful private tech business, is exiting Russia completely.
The graphic design behemoth stopped receiving payments from Russia on March 1, shortly after the country invaded Ukraine, but maintained its free service, complete with anti-war graphic templates and a pro-peace flag.
Read here: Canva continues operations in Russia despite ongoing war (commsroom.co)
Canva improved its language after Australian-Ukrainian activists started calling out the company in mid-May but stopped short of dropping out of Russia, claiming it was assisting anti-war voices in the nation.
However, co-founder Cliff Obrecht announced that the company is limiting access to Russia indefinitely, affecting approximately 1.4 million members.
Canva’s 1.4 million Russian users make up less than 2% of the company’s overall customer base.
According to Obrecht, things had changed even though the business was pleased with its role in raising awareness earlier in the conflict.
He said in a blog post, “Though there was room for voices and protest during the early stages of the war, the Russian government has now shut down the vast majority of communication channels, making it impossible for people to voice dissent.”
“Those who do find workarounds or stand up in opposition to the government now face horrendous charges and prison sentences for speaking out.
“Most recently, in talking with the Ukrainian government to better understand the ongoing changes in the war, the decreasing impact that our platform can now have inside Russia became apparent to us,” Obrecht added.
“Our goal has always been to most effectively support Ukraine and respond in the manner most likely to help bring an end to the war, which is why we’re fully withdrawing from Russia today.”
In early March, Russia’s parliament approved a harsh rule punishing those who propagate “false information” — usually interpreted as referring to anti-war remarks — with up to 15 years in prison.
Local Ukrainian activists told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the law was a significant reason why they disagreed with Canva’s initial justification for staying in the nation, with one calling it “grotesquely illogical.”
The activists later staged a demonstration outside Canva’s Sydney offices, which was an uncommon sight for a firm that prides itself on social liberalism.
Atlassian, another Australian software company, has stopped selling its collaboration software to Russian state-owned companies and those that support the conflict, but not to small enterprises in the country. Canva’s stance may put pressure on Atlassian and other Australian software companies.
Canva clients in Russia who have pre-paid will not receive refunds. However, this will be a tiny number of accounts due to the payment embargo it implemented following Western sanctions.
Over the past, Canva’s foundation has donated $US1 million to help those affected by the war.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
