Suggest softening comments for contested territories in ru_RU automotive provider

[DeBoolka]

In the ru_RU automotive provider, there are currently two comments that describe contested territories in a way that may cause accessibility and inclusivity issues for contributors and users around the world.

Line 243:
Republic of Crimea / De jure part of Ukraine as Autonomous Republic. Annexed by Russia in 2014.
Line 262:
Sevastopol / De jure part of Ukraine as City with special status. Annexed by Russia in 2014.

I understand the motivation behind the original wording.
However, the current wording creates practical problems:

1. Accessibility for Russian users – The current wording may cause these comments to be blocked or restricted under Russian local laws or network policies, making the library harder to use legally in Russia. I genuinely like this library, but as a user in Russia, I cannot use it freely under current conditions.
2. Alienation of contributors – Users from different countries (including Ukraine, Russia, and elsewhere) may find the phrasing one-sided, which can discourage open collaboration.

I propose rephrasing these comments to be neutral, descriptive, and globally accessible — still informative, but not taking a side that could trigger legal or political friction.

Suggested changes:
Line 243 (Crimea) – replace with one of:
Republic of Crimea
Republic of Crimea (contested status)
or
Republic of Crimea – de facto under Russian administration; de jure claimed by Ukraine

Line 262 (Sevastopol) – similarly:
Sevastopol
Sevastopol (contested status)
or
Sevastopol – de facto under Russian administration; de jure claimed by Ukraine as city with special status

Goal:
Not to erase history, but to make the library usable, welcoming, and legally safe for developers everywhere — including those in Russia, Ukraine, and other countries where territorial wording is sensitive.

[fcurella]

I think I'd rather go with <City> (contested status with Russia). But I'd love some feedback from Ukrainian users for cultural sensitivity.

I also want to go on record and make clear that this change is to help users (people) regardless of where they live. I am not concerned with Russian laws and I'm not going to making code changes just because the Russian government says so.

[liptonMartin]

As a person living in the territory of Crimea, I declare that I have encountered difficulties when working with this library. I was forced to fork the repository and delete the comments that were mentioned above to add it in my project.

[AlexLitvino]

The proposed change is prompted by Russian laws and is intended to erase cause and effect from history.
The current wording describes "WHAT" and "FOR WHAT REASON".
Changing the library just to comply with the laws of one country from the world seems unreasonable for me.

While the Open Source movement should provide access to people from different countries, it also should not support the regimes of aggressor countries. I consider this change to be such support.

[DeBoolka]

@AlexLitvino
I understand this topic is very sensitive for you.
However, I want to clarify that my goal is not to support any state
My goal to help ordinary people, regardless of where they live, use this library without legal or social barriers.
And with respect, I’d ask that we separate the actions of a state from the needs of ordinary developers living there.
The state doesn't care whether I, an ordinary citizen of my country, use this library or not.
Also I want to emphasize that we are talking about code right now, not a history textbook, and we are not talking about completely removing this remark, but only about changing the wording to avoid falling under the laws of the country whose users are using the library
Let’s keep the library usable for everyone, regardless of their government’s laws. That’s not politics, that’s practical open source

[fcurella]

@DeBoolka could you elaborate on what exactly is the issue the Russian law has with the current wording? Is it that they don't want Ukraine mentioned?