As Russian authorities recently blocked several social networks, including Facebook and Instagram. However, it seems that the Russian government already has an alternative platform planned for sharing users' images: the Rossgram.
This new service will be considered a Russian version of Instagram, which will be officially launched on March 28, according to a statement from the Russian authorities. This platform will allow users to share photos in a similar format to what happens on Instagram, but with the watchful eye of the government – and possibly with the same Russian propaganda that is found in other social media in the country.
Remember that, at the time of the blockade, Instagram had more than 80 million users in Russia. However, on March 14th the authorities decided to block the Meta platform.
BUT: War in Ukraine: Tech companies take a stand on the war, impose sanctions on Russia
Rossgram will be an initiative created by Russian entrepreneurs as an alternative to Instagram, with additional features such as the possibility of creating paid messaging systems – which only followers who pay a monthly fee will be able to access.
Alexander Zobov, director of public relations for the initiative, shared on the social network VKontakte an image of what the new platform could be, indicating that it will be very similar to Instagram, at least in terms of colors and some of the visible features.
This is not the first time that Russia has created a platform similar to one that already exists. Incidentally, in November, Gazprom Media launched Yappy, a video-sharing social network to rival TikTok internally.
