VK bans fully remote employees from living and working abroad, insists all staff must be in Russia

VKontakte, a popular Russian social media platform also known as VK, has banned its fully remote employees from working outside of Russia. Now all VK staff, including the remote workers, must be based inside the country.

In a statement, the company said it’s important to “find a balance between the comfort of the employees and the effectiveness of the business.” The corporate leadership will still allow remote work, but remote workers cannot be based abroad.

“VK is a Russian company,” reads the statement, “and our products are largely tailored to the Russian market. It’s important for us to be in the same context as our users, and to understand their needs.”

In January, independent Russian media reported that VK had decided to fire the employees who had left Russia after Vladimir Putin had announced the mobilization. A company insider said the decision was motivated by information security concerns.

According to another independent outlet, The Bell, VK had no plans of firing everyone who had left, but only some specialists in sensitive positions, whom the company was asking to return to Russia if they planned to keep their jobs.