I would understand that the non-existing Wikimedia United Stated Chapter should need to check if they have investments in/from Russia. The Wikimedia Foundation receives donations worldwide, including Russian citizens. And we provide knowledge to everyone, including Russian citizens. Blocking ourselves when many wikimedians around Russia, Ukraine and many other countries are at risk, is not only bad for our mission, is also risky for our contributors.

From: Nathan <nawrich@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 4:26 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Re: Wikimedia Foundation governance and Russian finances

I read the original e-mail as asking for something more than implementing recent sanctions. I hope and assume that the WMF has already taken the necessary steps to ensure that its activities are in compliance with applicable laws.

I agree with Gerard that the WMF is different from Facebook, and its mission may make taking steps beyond those required by sanctions unnecessary or undesirable. I know there is a BDS-esque movement afoot against Russian interests, but "are you now or have you ever supported Russian interests" is in a category of questions that the WMF should very carefully consider before posing to any party. What may make sense for major corporations may not be appropriate for non-profits with an exclusively educational and explicitly global mission.