The Ministry of Digital Development proposed to make the Russian RuStore app store mandatory for pre-installation on gadgets released in Russia and other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The Ministry of Economic Development, Rospotrebnadzor and FAS became co-executors of the project. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the relevant document on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts.

RuStore pre-installation on smartphones and tablets is planned to replace another Russian Applist application, which provided access to "socially significant information resources." As explained in the document, "the functionality of the unified app store duplicates and extends the functionality of the Applist app."

Mikhail Klimarev, executive director of the non-profit organization Society for the Protection of the Internet, told The Insider that if the initiative is adopted, Russian users will be able to install the Sberbank application, which was removed from the App Store in April. However, Apple must agree to this.

“I don't remember a single instance of Apple letting go of app control on their devices. But I remember many cases when the company was accused of violating antitrust laws - Apple does not allow anyone to pay for services without platform fees. Here, it turns out, they will have to make an exception for a country that is under the toughest sanctions that have ever happened in modern history. I assess this undertaking as unpromising,” commented the expert.

At the end of June, a draft law was submitted to the State Duma on the creation of a Russian application store pre-installed on devices sold in Russia. It is assumed that software from the list approved by the Ministry of Digital Development will be loaded into it. The necessity of the bill was explained by the restriction of the work of foreign app stores Google Play and AppStore and their possible withdrawal from the Russian market.

Prior to this, VK launched a beta version of RuStore. The Russian app store became available for Android smartphones at the end of May. RuStore was developed by 10 Russian IT companies, including VK, with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development.

In mid-May, we also launched another Russian app store, NashStore, developed by Digital Platforms ANO. Users were unable to download it immediately due to a DoS attack. According to Arseniy Shcheltsin, CEO of Digital Platforms, over 4,500 attacks have been repelled in the month since the application was launched.

Previously, the Ministry of Digital Development promoted Applist, a catalog of various applications, including services of "socially significant" Russian sites. In the spring of 2021, the application became mandatory for pre-installation on smartphones and tablets sold in Russia with iOS and Android operating systems.