The government has proposed creating a Russian application store. It will be required to be pre-installed on gadgets

The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma a draft law on the creation of a national application store.

As conceived by officials, it will be mandatory pre-installed on gadgets. The store itself will feature software from the list, which will be approved by the "federal executive body responsible for regulatory and legal regulation in the field of information technology."

“In the context of sanctions pressure, continued uncertainty with the supply of equipment and disconnection from foreign IT infrastructure, it becomes necessary to provide Russian citizens with familiar Internet services and channels of interaction,” this is how the explanatory note to the bill justifies the need to create a Russian application store.

• After the start of the war in Ukraine, the App Store and Google Play removed the applications of many Russian companies that fell under Western sanctions. In addition, Visa and Mastercard payment systems announced the termination of their work in Russia, due to which payments in Google Play and the App Store became unavailable.
• Following this, the development of several app stores for Android devices was announced in Russia. One of these projects is engaged in VK. In mid-May, ANO Digital Platforms opened the NashStore app store, positioned as a Russian alternative to Google Play. Also, the CEO of Gett in Russia, Anatoly Smorgonsky, launched a demo version of the RuMarket application store.