NashStore: Google Play Store Could Be Replaced In Russia

Russia’s attack on Ukraine has isolated the country internationally and cut it off from many Western IT offerings. That is also the reason why Russia now wants or rather should develop alternatives. The Google Play Store will also be replaced. The sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine are far-reaching, Russia is being hit by numerous economic and technological constraints.

In some cases, the “lines” to the West itself have been cut, which is especially the case with the media and social networks. This also has other effects on social media: Only a few users will actually notice a Facebook block, Meta’s large social network hardly plays a role in Russia, and VKontakte is the clear top dog there. In the case of Instagram, things are different: the image-centric network is also extremely popular in Russia and has no real local competition. The outrage from users and influencers was correspondingly great when it became known that Instagram was being blocked. So Russian developers decided to create a – rather outrageous – Instagram clone and Rossgram will be launched soon too. Infographic World Wide Web: Life without the Internet for 2/3 in Russia unimaginable

“Our Store” NashStore

However, the planned alternative to the Google Play Store is likely to be a much larger project. Because this is according to a report from the news agency Reuters currently underway. This is due to the restrictions on payment features in the Google app store and on YouTube. “Unfortunately, Russians can no longer use Google Play to buy apps and the developers have lost their source of income,” said Vladimir Zykov, one of the creators of the Russian Play Store alternative, which calls itself the NashStore, which translates to ” Our store.” translate.

NashStore is supposed to work with Android and the Russian Mir credit cards, and it is scheduled to launch on May 9. The date is not a coincidence, as it is the day when Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.