-
Main servers are located in Germany (Hetzner). Few proxy and backup servers are located in USA (Linode). Both have advance payments for 6 months ahead. I can’t pay now via credit card or PayPal, but can use a wire transfer.
-
BazQux was always hosted in Germany. It’s cheaper, police can’t seize your servers just because they want to destroy your business or racket you (happily, I’m too small to raise their interest, but I sleep better with servers outside of Russia), and, most importantly, internet is working fine here so I could fetch feeds. OK, with GDPR there are some problems with German Internet too (that’s why I’m using USA proxies now), but it’s not like in Russia, where major parts of the web (like the whole Wordpress) are blocked for years (not just now).
-
The same way as earlier – via FastSpring (USA company). They use Hyperwallet (a PayPal service) to make payouts, and it will soon stop making wire transfers to Russia. I’m checking with FastSpring on whether they’ll be able to do wire transfers themselves (like they did until a couple years ago). Hope that I will find a way to receive money.
-
I could email OPML to everybody if something will happen.
-
There are several other sources of major impact:
5.1. Cutting off the whole Russia from the SWIFT. This will make wire transfers prohibitively expensive or impossible at all. Now only 7 banks are cut off from the SWIFT (mine is not affected). But this will affect all businesses working with Russia, and many people living abroad (like migrants inside Russia and Russian migrants outside be unable to send money to their relatives). Banning Central Bank of Russia is actually a much more serious blow, so I hope that there will be no total ban on SWIFT.
5.2. Prohibiting of foreign currency wire transfers by Russian government. There are not enough dollars/euros in Russia after the Central Bank ban, so there are already severe limits for people (you can’t transfer more than $5k/month, and buying cash foreign currency is prohibited). It could be extended to businesses. I hope that it won’t (Russia is very import-dependent), but there could be arbitrary limits and it will be hard to pay for services.
5.3. Cutting off Russia from the Internet (either by Russian government or by the West). Totally stupid thing to do for both sides, but who knows.
5.4. Hosting providers stopping to work with Russia. That’s really horrible, because it will be hard to have alternative for Hetzner with its cheap dedicated servers.
5.5. FastSpring stopping working with Russia – problems with accepting payments (could be solved somehow and payments could be postponed).
5.6. FastMail stopping working with Russia – problems with my email (could be solved too, but not as convenient).
I hope that Internet companies won’t ban Russia because it’s really stupid. If Russia will be isolated from the Internet, nobody inside will know what’s really going on.
So, there are lots of unknowns and I can not guarantee that service will continue to work.
I’m also trying to get the UK visa at the moment (signed a contract on the day the war started, what a coincidence), so I may move to London in a few months and things could become easier. But there is no guarantee for that too.