Russia will launch its own Google Play store to supplement the restrictions imposed by Google after its invasion of Ukraine.
The organization of Russian technology developers has announced this Play Store alternative called NashStor (our store), which will be compatible with Russia’s Mir card payment system, allowing Russian app developers to receive payments.
According to reports, the alternative app store will be launched on May 9, the date on which the country celebrates its victory in World War II. “Unfortunately, Russians can no longer normally use Google Play to buy apps and developers have lost their source of income,” told ReutersVladimir Zykov, representative of the organization.
YouTube and Google Play this month suspended all paid services in Russia, including subscriptions. This store will not be the first alternative to Google that appears since the beginning of the war. Russian tech giant Yandex launched the Yandex Store, an alternative repository for Android apps.
Russia is also responding to the tech giants’ offensive with lockdowns in the country. Without going any further, a few days ago the Russian communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, blocked the Google News service for allegedly providing access to false information about the military operations that the country is carrying out in Ukraine.
A week earlier, the Russian regulator accused Google and its YouTube video service of carrying out “terrorist activities.” According to Russia, both services broadcast advertising with calls to take out of service the railway communications of the Russian territory and Belarus (a country allied with Moscow).
Other platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were blocked in the country after being declared “extremist” by a Russian court.
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