Russia is seeking an unfathomable sum of money from one of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles — a 2 followed by 36 zeroes — after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube.
The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to $20 decillion — or around $20 billion trillion trillion. That dwarfs the size of the global economy.
At $110 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund figures, world gross domestic product looks modest in comparison. Google parent Alphabet, meanwhile, has a market value of around $2 trillion.
Russian state media TASS reported this week that a Russian court had earlier ordered Google to restore the YouTube channels — several of which have been blocked since 2022 — or else face mounting charges, with penalties doubling every week.
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