Seems like Microsoft can’t catch a break these days, everyone wants a piece of it.
Even as the software giant [wrestles with the European Commission](/search/article.php/3809926/EC+to+Microsoft+Youve+Got+30+More+Days.htm), Reuters is reporting that Russia has launched an anti-trust probe of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The investigation centers around alleged cutbacks in supplies of the Windows XP operating system.
There’s certainly more than a little bit of irony in the charge that Russian’s are being denied access to Microsoft software, given the country is known for [rampant software piracy](http://www.economist.com/markets/indicators/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13652159).
According to [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL471676820090604), Russia’s state anti-monopoly agency is looking into whether Microsoft had violated antimonopoly legislation by cutting delivery of the Windows XP operating system to Russia both separately and pre-installed on personal computers, as well as in its pricing policies.
In the [European Commission case](/government/article.php/3821841/EC+Brass+to+Skip+Microsofts+Antitrust+Hearing.htm), Microsoft is facing charges, going back several years, that it illegally tied Internet Explorer to Windows in the European Union (EU). Microsoft potentially faces billions of dollars in fines if it loses that case which is still pending.