Free Linux System

Free Linux System (Rus: Бесплатная система Linux/Besplatnaya sistema Linux) is a Linux distribution produced by Russian computer company Moscow Computers, The distro is fully independent and not based on any distro. Development of the OS first began in 1995, it was released exclusively in Moscow in 1996 for free. A paid version came out in 1997 that costed about $50 US dollars adjusted for inflation. The distro was released across 40 oblasts in July 1997 and pretty soon made it's way into Ukraine and Estonia, where it then was released across much of western Europe. A official launch of Free Linux System in the west occurred in March 2000, it pretty soon was one of the most popular operating systems in France and by far the most popular Linux distro of that time. ELORG (A former Soviet tech company that ceased operations 14 years after the collapse of the USSR) sued Moscow Computers for illegally using ELORG licensed programs without permission. However, in 2005 just after the lawsuit began, ELORG folded due to bankruptcy. In 2006, the western branch of Free Linux System formed a more user-friendly distro, using the XFCE user interface. This version was released in Russia in 2007. Many distros are based on it, including Red Star OS (A Linux distro produced specifically for the citizens of North Korea) and more than 700 more. Moscow Computers was acquired by Canonical in 2017 and development of Free Linux System still continues to this day.