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- Applications from the rules: Apple and the Russian authorities are negotiating the pre-installation of RuStore
Applications from the rules: Apple and the Russian authorities are negotiating the pre-installation of RuStore
Apple has entered into negotiations with the Russian authorities and businesses: in the near future, it may be possible to download Russian iPhone applications blocked in the App Store again. A dialogue is underway about pre-installing the RuStore store on Apple gadgets sold in Russia, three sources in the IT market and in government told Izvestia. Experts believe that the chances of these negotiations being successful are high — on September 1, a law on mandatory installation of a domestic app store on all smartphones and tablets sold in the country comes into force in the Russian Federation, and Apple consistently complies with Russian laws and is likely to comply with the new requirements.
Will apps deleted from the App Store be returned to the iPhone
Applications of Russian banks and other organizations blocked in the App Store may return to the iPhone in the near future. Russian authorities, development institutions and businesses are currently negotiating with Apple to allow Russian app stores, primarily RuStore, into the App Store, three sources familiar with the dialogue told Izvestia. The negotiations were also confirmed by a source close to the government. Although there is no agreement yet, he clarified.
Another source claims that Apple, during informal negotiations, promised the Ministry of Finance not to interfere with the placement of RuStore in the App Store. A third interlocutor of Izvestia reported that the issue of RuStore's admission to the App Store was discussed during contacts with the American business of Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Finance, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Apple. VK (RuStore operator) declined to comment.
Applications of Russian banks and other organizations began to disappear from the App Store, as well as the Google Play app store in 2022. This affected the applications of Sberbank, VTB, Sovcombank, Otkritie, Promsvyazbank and many others. For example, M.Video was blocked from non-banking organizations (its application was subsequently returned to the AppStore). For owners of devices running on Android, the problem is solved using alternative stores, primarily RuStore. But Apple practically nowhere in the world makes it possible to use third-party stores.
If the RuStore online app store appears on the App Store, it can be called a sensation without exaggeration, says Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research.
"So far, only the European Union has managed to break this monopoly: the EU law on Digital Markets has obliged Apple to allow alternative app stores in the App Store since March 7, 2024, and also gave app developers the right to refuse to use Apple's payment system, which charges them a commission of up to 30%," says Konik.
Since 2022, when the EU announced these requirements, Apple has tried to torpedo them, in particular, by claiming that downloading applications from third-party sources would lead to unsafe software products that threatened to undermine privacy. However, this lobbying was unsuccessful and the EU insisted on its own, Leonid Konik notes.
When RuStore may appear on Apple smartphones
Theoretically, Apple can make the Russian online store and certain programs work only in Russia on iPhones imported from anywhere in the world, says Vladimir Zykov, director of the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers. The manufacturer can determine the country of the device based on the country initially indicated during activation, geodata from cellular networks, and much more, he claims. Programs can be downloaded and updated in the region they are intended for, the expert says. But it is not yet clear how Apple will actually act, this may be one of the issues for discussion, Vladimir Zykov believes.
Market participants interviewed by Izvestia do not rule out that RuStore may appear in Apple gadgets operated in Russia as early as autumn. On September 1, 2025, amendments to the law "On Consumer Rights Protection" will come into force in Russia, prescribing the installation of Russian app stores on all tablets and smartphones sold in Russia. If RuStore cannot be installed on the device, it will be considered defective, which creates legal risks for sellers. By the way, starting from September 1, according to the government, the MAX digital platform will also become mandatory for pre-installation on gadgets.
The fact that RuStore cannot be installed on the iPhone yet is alarming for retailers.
— The current situation actually gives an advantage to sellers of more or less "gray" imports, whose share in the smartphone market in Russia already exceeds 50%, according to various estimates. White distribution and retail are awaiting clarifications from the regulator or, in the worst case, law enforcement practice," explained Svyaz.ON.
Representative of Inventive Retail Group (the operator of the restore network:) Lyudmila Semushina told Izvestia that this network follows and will continue to follow all legal requirements.
— Now we are figuring out what opportunities and options there are to do everything correctly, because so far there is no de facto law enforcement practice and there are no clarifications, - she said.
Key market players discussed how to meet the requirements of the regulator, because they technically cannot pre-install Russian app stores on Apple devices on their own, according to a source in the home appliance and electronics market. The most realistic approach is to explicitly inform the buyer (for example, on price tags and receipts) that an "iPhone with flaws" is on sale. And it is even possible to take a receipt that the consumer has been notified of the absence of pre-installed programs required by the regulator, the Izvestia interlocutor believes.
Izvestia sent a request to the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko.
Experts believe that the chances of a successful conclusion of negotiations with Apple are high. This American company is generally very loyal to the Russian authorities, Leonid Konik notes.
— Even after 2022, when this corporation left the Russian market along with many Western IT vendors, it carefully pays all local fines. For example, in January 2024, Apple paid a fine of 1.2 billion rubles, which was imposed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia for prohibiting iOS app developers from informing customers inside the app about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the App Store and using alternative payment methods, the expert recalls.
This compliance by Apple stands in stark contrast to the behavior of Google, which was fined by Russian courts in the fall of 2024, with penalties and fines already reaching two undecillion rubles (a number with 36 zeros) for blocking accounts of Russian TV channels on the YouTube platform, adds Leonid Konik.
Integrating RuStore into the App Store would hypothetically allow Apple to comply with the requirements of Russian laws and support its users, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. But before that, a number of issues need to be resolved: to ensure fair fees for the entry of Russian applications to the iPhone, to establish mechanisms for transparent settlement mechanisms between stores and software developers, user support and information security, he believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
