Russian social media company VK makes its own app store available

Russian social media company VK has released a beta version of its own app store RuStore for Android users. The development of the app store was co-financed by the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media.

“Creating a Russian app store is a necessary task dictated by market conditions,” Maksut Shadaev, Minister of Communications and Media, said in a statement according to Reuters. In addition to the Russian government, Internet company Yandex, lender Sberbank and antivirus developer Kaspersky also helped finance and develop the app store. VK says more than 100 apps will be available in the store at launch, including some government departments, and more apps will be added daily.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Google and Apple have restricted access to their app stores and services to Russian users. For example, Russians can no longer download or update paid apps from the Play Store and Russian users are unable to make payments in the App Store.

RuStore is not the first Russian alternative on the Play Store. On May 9, NashStore from non-profit ANO Digital Platforms appeared. Among other things, the organization has promised ways for Russian developers to earn money from apps and says it charges relatively little commission.