In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Netflix suspended service in the country on Sunday, March 6. This comes just days after Netflix announced it was halting all Russian projects and acquisitions. Despite a regulation requiring it to distribute state-backed channels, Netflix previously stated that it had no plans to add state-run channels to its Russian service.

The streamer has 222 million subscribers worldwide. It runs the service in collaboration with Russia’s National Media Group. It had been increasing its emphasis on international content, in part because of the success of international series such as Lupin, Money Heist, and Squid Game.

Netflix’s current situation in Russia

“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” Netflix’s spokesperson confirmed this. Netflix launched in Russia in 2016, so it hasn’t been that long. Moreover, Netflix has fewer than 1 million subscribers in Russia. Notably, Netflix was developing four Russian originals.

The titles include, Zato, a neo-noir detective drama, an untitled series, Nothing Special, a drama about a young actor working at a disability charity, and finally, Anna K, a contemporary retelling of Anna Karenina. Anna K and Nothing Special both finished filming in December. The untitled series was nearing the completion of filming.

Twitter reacts to Netflix suspension in Russia

https://twitter.com/Lizbeth69108338/status/1500539892430000129?t=x0FxRSJjmbt864cd9rp2Ig&s=08

https://twitter.com/cbcDougDirks/status/1500612099713626114?t=DGARNKCu0NDgJgwtLJ7CtQ&s=08

https://twitter.com/yinchuchen/status/1500750861488001024?t=Ck7_Pb1QTVz1701VC4W7sA&s=08

When will the streaming service resume operations in Russia?

So far, there has been no official announcement of when Netflix will resume operations. Hence, we will have to wait. It’s not just Netflix, many companies have recently moved their operations out of the country. Companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Dell have announced sales suspensions in the country, while Ikea has closed stores and Nike has stated that it will no longer fulfil online orders. In terms of entertainment, all the major studios have announced that they will no longer release films in Russia.

What are your thoughts on this recent development? Leave a comment below.