A variety of companies have been suspending services to Russia due to the country’s military operations in Ukraine. Now,Crunchyrollis joining the list of media giants like Disney and Netflix who are refusing to offer their products to the country.
Sony Pictures Entertainmentwhich owns Crunchyroll, had previously suspended theatrical releases in the region. Now the Crunchyroll website no longer works in Russia. According to their temporary page, the company is suspending its operations there “due to disruptions in payment and service support.” This suspension of streaming includes Wakanim as well, who has Crunchyroll as a parent company. Both of these companies were the last major services that streamed anime in the country.
Related:Sony Suspends All PlayStation Sales in Russia
Many other companies have been restricting media access to the country including Amazon Prime, Paramount Pictures, and Universal Pictures. Even video game services like theNintendo Switch eShop are no longer availableas the company that processed payments is no longer available. With both Visa and MasterCard also suspending services in the region as well as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, there are extremely few options for Russian citizens to make purchases outside of cash.
With so many services ceasing in the region, Russia has begun to plummet into digital, financial, and media isolation. While a major reason for this cessation is to support the people of Ukraine and hopefully bring an end to the ongoing conflict, it’s entirely possible that many companies are also pulling away as the country’s economy is now massively declining, making it a poor investment.
Related:Pokemon GO is Shutting Down in Russia and Belarus
Russia has also taken its own stands to attempt to boycott and block services themselves. Both Facebook and Twitter have been banned in the country with access to YouTube looking tentative as the company banned all Russian accounts from making money on their videos. However, Russians have seen a 600 percent increase in the use ofvirtual private networkswhich could help them access content outside of their county according to Top10VPN, a service that tracks user numbers for such products.
While it has yet to be seen if these restrictions will truly affect Putin’s current war efforts, they have been severely affecting the lives of average Russian citizens. Pictures showing massive waits for business have been shared and many artists in the country have expressed concerns that they will no longer be able to continue business as they can no longer accept payments from clients outside of Russia easily.
