Russian government agencies have been ordered to move their computer infrastructure to Linux from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows by 2015, reports eWeek's Fahmida Y. Rashid. An order signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin directs agencies to begin preparing for the transition to open-source software this year. (Rashid's article is based on a report in the Russian-language CNews, translated using Google Translate.)

The order instructs agencies to begin pilot programs using open source software in Russian agencies in 2012, and the transition is scheduled for completion in 2014.

A number of governments across the globe have been giving their stamp of approval to open-source software in the last few years. Japan and the United Kingdom include Linux desktop among in their approved technologies, Rashid notes. A number of federal agencies in the United States are using open source in their data centers, and the White House used Drupal, an open source content management system, to build its website.

The order signed by Putin also sets the stage for the development of a "national repository for open-source applications similar to Apple's App Store," Rashid reports. It will hold applications compatible with a free operating system and is slated for completion in 2012.

Although there has been talk of the Russian government transitioning to open source for several years now, the order signed by Putin appears to signal a major move. "Putin's support of the plan is akin to President Obama saying the federal government will shift entirely to Linux," Rashid writes.

For more:
- see Fahmida Y. Rashid's article at eWeek

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