Russia to launch own photo-sharing app 'Rossgram' after Instagram blocked by Kremlin

Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, followed by heavy sanctions on Moscow, the Vladimir Putin-led country is attempting to exist in a vacuum while continually chalking out means to fend for itself. As the Kremlin continued to cut down on its online space and even restricted access to social networking application Instagram, Russia-based tech entrepreneurs are set to launch a photo-sharing application within the domestic market. To fill the void left by social media giants amongst several other international penalties, Russia is set to launch a replacement application - Rossgram, which is slated for launch on March 28. 

The official website of Rossgram listed certain additional features in the new service, such as crowdfunding and paid access for some content. According to snips shared by Rossgram makers, the colour theme and layout of the upcoming application resembles Instagram. 

Moscow set to replace Instagram with Russian-made Rossgram

"My partner Kirill Filimonov and our group of developers were already ready for this turn of events and decided not to miss the opportunity to create a Russia analogue of a popular social network beloved by our compatriots," Rossgram's Public Relations Director Alexander Zobov stated in an official statement. 

After the US-based social media giant Meta allowed its users in Ukraine to post statements like 'death to Russian invaders' on its platform, Russia's state communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to Instagram on March 14, 2022. 

"As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to Russian soldiers'. We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," ANI quoted Meta spokesperson Andy Stone as saying. 

Instagram and Facebook banned in Russia 

Notably, Instagram, which is the most popular social media website in Russia, was spared in the first round of sanctions but later Meta was accused of allowing anti-Putin sentiments on Facebook. Therefore, it might have been tagged as an “extremist organisation” by Roskomnadzor leading to its subsidiary Instagram’s ban. Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta said that the temporary alterations in the hate speech policy toward Russia are applicable to Ukraine's users only as, after the Russia-led war on Kyiv, it is incorrect to prevent Ukrainians from 'expressing their resistance and fury at the invading military forces.' 

Russia, although has banned Facebook, opened a criminal probe against Meta's hate speech policy wherein Russian prosecutors has sought that the court deems the US social media giant as an 'extremist organisation'. 

Image: Twitter@Translatedwarden/AP/Pixabay