Moscow, April 8 (Agency) The Russian government is searching for a lead developer for creating a domestic alternative to App Store and Google Play services, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Friday. At least three Russian companies are taking part in negotiations, including Sber, Yandex and VK. The latter will present its platform for application developers in May.
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media is also considering launching a domestic app store based on the open-source software, with the platform to be integrated with the state detection system to prevent and eliminate hacking attacks, the newspaper said, citing sources. Yet, Kommersant said that creating an app store is only the tip of the iceberg, as it will be much more difficult to engage developers of popular applications, including foreign applications. Apple Pay and Google Pay services are not available for Visa and MasterCard cards issued by Russian banks anymore, as these payment systems suspended their operations in the country in March. Apple Pay does no longer support Russian card payment system Mir as well. Some foreign companies decided to leave Russia after Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24.