I also object to this classification, but it seems to be based on the fact that they were founded by Russian founders and have a huge presence in Russia.

Which still doesn't make them a Russian company, IMO. The article is rather sloppy in other respects too, like the fact that Jetbrains isn't "obscure". Just because the author has never heard of them, doesn't mean they aren't well-known.

It is extremely well-known that JetBrains is really a Czech company and not a Russian one at all. It is run primary by Czech nationals and even named its Kotlin language after a scenic island in the country. The article from this American magazine is a slander.

I work for JB.

In my perception 85% of all employees are Russian. Yes the company is officially registered in Czechia and has an office there, but this is more due to legal reasons because it's much simpler to sell Software internationally from EU than from Russia. Consequently, the Czech office mainly contains Legal, Marketing, HR and only few devs. The by far biggest office is in St. Petersburg and the "Kotlin island" lays near to St. Petersburg and is visible from JBs office, hence the name.

First time I've heard someone other than Zeman use the name "Czechia" outside of a joke.

Kotlin _is_ a Russian island

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotlin_Island

JetBrains is a Czech company that is founded by Russians and has offices in Russia

It's as much Czech as Yandex is Dutch.