One of the largest populations of computer programmers is in Ukraine.
It is an important hub for the programming language Python, which underpins sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon.
People asked what made Eastern Europeans good at programming. Strict teachers and long winters are the typical answers we give. Lukasz Langa, the developer in residence of the Python Software Foundation, told Insider that it was a joke.
Python was created in the early 1990s and is now an open-source project. According to Langa, Serhiy Storchaka is the second-most prolific recent contributor to Python and tenth-most prolific of all time.
As Russia invaded his country, Storchaka faced an impossible choice. He decided to stay in Ukraine. Andrew Svetlov is an influential Python developer who specializes in asynchronous networking support.
Konotop is a city in northeastern Ukraine which is occupied by Russian forces. Russian tanks were on the road 2 km from my house, and Russian armored vehicles were passing by my windows. I'm most likely to find myself in the occupied zone, where the law doesn't apply.
Russian troops have surrounded the city.
Langa, who has been in touch with the two developers, was unable to contact Storchaka.
He told Insider that neither of them wanted to leave their country even in the face of the great risk.
The Python developer community rallied to help Storchaka's younger family members as the military crisis worsened.
Langa was able to secure temporary housing for Storchaka's niece and best friend, aged 11. Langa drove over 300 km to Warsaw to pick up keys and basic necessities for the family after they crossed the border.
Storchaka isn't a household name outside of the Python community, but within it's ranks, it's hard to overestimate the impact of Serhiy's contributions.
According to a recent ranking by analyst firm RedMonk, Python is the second most popular programming language after Java. It is projected to surpass Javascript in user traffic at its current rate of growth.
One of the many Ukrainians working in the tech sector is Storchaka. Langa is encouraging Python programmers to donate to the Red Cross Appeal.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia invaded on February 24. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country.
Alex Serdiuk, a co-creator of the startup Respeecher which has around 30 employees, told Insider that it is very hard to build your plans right now. He is in a village near the Moldova border, which makes him happy because his wife and kids can leave if they need to.
Langa told Insider that the situation was very serious. We are afraid of the conflict getting worse.
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