Russia is struggling to replicate Google Play with its tech analog drive.

For many Russian IT specialists, the invasion of Ukraine was a disaster. For others, it was an opportunity.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mischustin has become embroiled in controversy over Western sanctions and the flooding of Western companies out of the Russian market. Appeal In April, he urged the country’s IT community to stay in Russia and help build a new sovereign Internet.

Vladimir Zyikov was one of those who answered the call.

“We’ve heard of Missistine, and we’ve done it,” said Zikov, director of projects at Digital Platform, an IT company behind Nashstore, an independent Russian alternative.

Nashtoor is one of Russia’s leading domestic technology analogs seeking to replace Western companies that have been banned by the Kremlin or by international sanctions.

Experts, however, are skeptical that domestic options could be implemented in the long run – or that the current Russian IT sector could gain the knowledge to create a “sovereign Internet” that can operate on its own.

“This is just bullshit propaganda,” said Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Russian Internet Protection Association, who met with opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Other structured analogs include RuTubeRussian response to YouTube; FansA copy of the telegram application telegram; And RosgramAn An app that describes itself as the Russian version of Instagram. They all had significant dental problems.

Google Play is still operating in Russia.A: Google Play, the owner of Google Play, has banned all payment-based services for platforms in Russia – which means that Russian users are not one.You can pay for apps starting in March. Applications for banned Russian companies as well Not available.

Michigan Ordered Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Media to create a Google Play domestic equivalent by June 1.

That Zikov opened the door to the NashStore (“Our Store”), which is described as a “sanction-proof” on its website.

“Our goal is to create a multi-functional and convenient app store,” Zikov told the Moscow Times. “We are just getting started.

Nashstor begins May 9, the day of the patriotic celebrations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in Russia.

Digital Platform lists five government ministries among its partners, and Missistin’s order means officials are eager to see Google Play options off the ground.

But there are also flaws in its connection to the state.

Half an hour after the start of May, NashStore went offline in the midst of the company’s DDS attack. He claimed. More than a million boats flooded its servers. According to Zikov, Nashstor has been targeted because of state support, but he is grateful for the disruption – any advertising, is good for business.

Perhaps more importantly, Nashstor is competing with other Russian companies – as well as with state support – to create a similar product.

An app store called Rumarket opened in April and the Russian Internet giant VK kick off RuStore will partner with state-owned lender Sberbank, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab and technology giant Yandex next month.

Involvement of major Russian companies, RuStore Looks like it was chosen by the government as the official Russian version of Google Play.

Zikov said the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Media had dropped Nashstor to support VK without warning.

“It’s a very unpleasant story, I don’t understand why they did it,” he said.

Government introduced Law Earlier this month, he was forced to go to the State Duma to create a Russian app store and install it on all smartphones and other electronic devices.

A new draft law on data protection has been quickly monitored as an amendment and could be enacted in the coming weeks.

But even if technology companies get state support, they still don’t know how to successfully bring products to market – at least quickly.

Instagram’s replacement Rosgram was created after Russian media censorship Roscomnadzor banned the company from entering the United States. March – But the app has not started yet.

RuStore remains in beta testing and is not expected to be fully launched until the end of the year. Basis Good for VK Vladimir Kiryanko.

On the opening day of the NashStore, users were told to download the app on Yandex Disk, a cloud sharing platform, but the developers of the company did not buy from a Yandex business account – that downloads could be between 1,000 and hundreds of customers. Unable to reach Software.

Even those who were able to register found that their choice was limited.

While in the Apple App Store 4 million They have apps and Google Play. 2.5 millionThe number of apps on the NashStore is close to 1,000. RuStore has even less.

There are a handful of foreign apps on RuStore and NashStore, and there is no way to download the so-called extremist social networks in Russia, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. A limited selection of outdoor apps on the NashStore includes the Singapore Like app and the US-made folder player.

“The issues of foreign developers are a little deeper, because they need to register in Russia and do a lot of things,” Zykov said, citing legal requirements for storing user data on Russian-based servers.

Options like NashStore are only available on Android devices, as it is very difficult to install unauthorized software on Apple. NashStore He asked In April, the Russian parliament pushed Apple to allow such side effects on its smartphones, but no law was enacted.

The future of the NashStore is not secure on Android phones.

Google’s latest Android 13 OSIt is expected to be released this summer Crack On unauthorized software.

In fact, in order to work properly, Russian digital analogs require the production of each component of the digital infrastructure, from micro-chips to operating systems, says expert Kimarev.

You need to join an Android operating system to recreate Google Play. “Everything else may seem sad.”