VK Group will develop a domestic app store, said the head of the Ministry of Digital Media Maksut Shadaev on air of the TV channel “Russia 24”. Earlier, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed to create an analog of the App Store and Google Play by June 1.

“In the world there is a practice of creating separate app stores, but unfortunately, this practice exists only for the Android platform. We have agreed with major Russian bigtech companies, first of all with the VK group – it has taken on the task of developing this app store,” Shadaev said.

The minister explained that VK will develop the store “not for budget money.” Shadaev noted that the development should become a full-fledged ecosystem, which will develop itself and be regulated by the largest market participants. According to him, the first beta version of the app store will be launched by the end of May.