With all of the sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the Ukraine invasion, Google has largely shut down its services in the country, including accepting payments, and as a result Russians are unable to make any kind of purchase on the Google Play Store.
NashStore, Russian for “OurStore”, is being developed by Russian tech/app developers as an alternative to Google Play. It is planned to be released on May 9, which is Victory Day in Russia.
According to Vladimir Zykov, project director of Digital Platforms:
“Unfortunately, Russians can no longer normally use Google Play to buy apps and developers have lost their source of income,”
“This is why we have created a Russian app shop, NashStore,”
The new store will service all Android users and will be compatible with Russian Mir bank cards, allowing local developers to make money again by selling their applications.
Even if this alternative store does launch, the shutting down of Google Play in Russia would have a significant impact on the country’s app developers since their software would still only be distributed within Russia.
