With blackjack… and hookers…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to generate diplomatic and economic fallout. One casualty of the conflict has been the average Russian’s access to digital resources, and in the wake of the invasion, both Apple and Google cut off the use of their respective app stores — a blow to businesses and customers alike. Businesses struggle to distribute apps to the Russian audience, and consumers lose out on access to the latest app trends and risk being left behind in the ever-changing world of technology. But Russia may have a fix for that, with plans for its own app store.
As Reuters reports, Russian developers are building an alternative to the Google Play Store, called NashStore (“Our Store” in English). The service is set to launch on May 9, Russia’s national holiday celebrating victory in World War II. Vladimir Zykov, the director of projects at Digital Platforms, says the store is a direct result of Russian developers losing income streams from the lack of access to the Play Store.
The Kremlin’s attempt at a substitute for app stores is likely part of a broader (and now necessary) effort to wean Russians off of foreign technology and services. May 9 has historically been, as Reuters notes, a very important holiday in Russia with major military parades. The launch of NashStore on Victory Day could also be part of a nationalist impulse that dovetails with the Russian government’s efforts to control information, including its crackdown on freedoms online. Unfortunately, limiting Russian access to apps vetted outside the country might lead to a perfect opportunity for Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, to set up an app store full of spyware, eventually creating a true surveillance state.
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