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# Russian Baikal CPUs Are Losing Their Place in the Linux Kernel
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/linux-kernel-baikal-cpu-support-removal/
- Published: 2026-04-17T07:21:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-17T07:21:05.000Z
- Description: After sanctions, bankruptcy and removal of kernel maintainers, Baikal's unfinished kernel code is being removed.
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: News

Support for Russian Baikal CPUs is being pulled from the [Linux kernel](https://www.kernel.org/?ref=itsfoss.com). Work has begun in the Linux 7.1 cycle to remove driver code and device tree bindings for *Baikal SoC* hardware, with more patches already lined up to follow.

The first removal came with the ATA pull for Linux 7.1-rc1, [merged by Linus Torvalds](https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=5a69195686d5b874ac5a4c7f809ecb75fbc535ef&ref=itsfoss.com) on April 15\. It dropped the *Baikal bt1-ahci DT* binding and stripped Baikal-specific code from the `ahci_dwc` driver, with the ATA maintainer, [Niklas Cassel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/niklas-cassel-b2a10a98/?ref=itsfoss.com), noting that upstreaming for the SoC "*is not going to be finalized*." 

![this picture shows the linux kernel archive mirror with baikal as the searched term and a list of changes related to it shown below in a numbered list](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/04/linux-kernel-archive-mirror-baikal.png)

**You can browse the* [**LKML*](https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/?q=baikal&ref=itsfoss.com) *for tracking Baikal's removal.*

Furthermore, **the code had been sitting unmaintained for some time now**. [Serge Semin](https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Compliance-Requirements?ref=itsfoss.com#:~:text=Serge%20Semin%20was%20one%20of,to%20the%20Linux%20kernel%20community.), who contributed the bulk of Baikal's kernel support over the years, was among roughly a dozen Russian developers removed from the kernel *MAINTAINERS* file [in 2024](https://itsfoss.com/news/russian-linux-maintainers-geopolitics/).

With no one left to maintain it and the hardware itself rare even within Russia, there appears to be no rationale for keeping the code around.

## Some background info

The Baikal line of CPUs is the work of [Baikal Electronics](https://www.baikalelectronics.ru/?ref=itsfoss.com), which was founded in January 2012 as a spinoff of [T-Platforms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Platforms?ref=itsfoss.com), a Russian supercomputer company.

It started with a MIPS-based chip for embedded applications, then pivoted to [ARM](https://www.arm.com/?ref=itsfoss.com) for its later processors, all manufactured at [TSMC](https://www.tsmc.com/english?ref=itsfoss.com). The plan was to supply Russian state-owned enterprises with domestically produced CPUs as an alternative to Intel and AMD.

But Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine ended that. Sanctions cut off TSMC access, 150,000 Baikal-M units already manufactured were seized in Taiwan, and ARM production licenses were lost. The company filed for bankruptcy in [August 2023](https://wccftech.com/end-of-road-for-russian-cpu-manufacturer-baikal-as-company-declares-bankruptcy/?ref=itsfoss.com).

It did not stay down. By the end of 2024, Baikal had shipped [a total of 85,000 processors since its founding](https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/russias-baikal-has-produced-85-000-of-its-cpus-since-2012-aims-for-more?ref=itsfoss.com) and began serial production of the Baikal-U1000, a RISC-V microcontroller, [in September 2025](https://www.cnews.ru/news/line/2025-09-22%5Fkompaniya%5Fbajkal%5Felektroniks?ref=itsfoss.com) (*in Russian*).

The [current lineup](https://www.baikalelectronics.ru/products/?ref=itsfoss.com) consists of the Baikal-T (MIPS), Baikal-M and Baikal-S (ARM), and the Baikal-U (RISC-V).

Those already running Linux on Baikal hardware will need to stay on [Linux 6.18 LTS](https://itsfoss.com/news/linux-kernel-6-18/) or earlier, as newer kernel versions are dropping the support.

---

**Suggested Read 📖:** [*The Linux Kernel is Finally Letting Go of i486 CPU Support*](https://itsfoss.com/news/linux-kernel-i486-cpu-support-removal/)

[The Linux Kernel is Finally Letting Go of i486 CPU SupportThe support remained in the Linux kernel all these years after every other major platform dropped it.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/icon/android-chrome-512x512-378.png)It's FOSSSourav Rudra![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/thumbnail/i486-support-linux-kernel-eol-banner.png)](https://itsfoss.com/news/linux-kernel-i486-cpu-support-removal/)