Russians to launch ‘Rossgram’- a replacement of Instagram amid war with Ukraine

According to the Reuters news agency, amid the war with Ukraine, Russia has decided to launch Rossgram–a replacement of Instagram on March 28. The website of Rossgram claims that the app will have additional features such as crowdfunding and paid access for some content.

“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 Russian analogue of a popular social network beloved by our compatriots,” Alexander Zobov, the initiative’s public relations director, wrote on the VKontakte social network.

According to a photo shared by Zobov on Vkontakte, Rossgram’s colour scheme and layout will bear a strong resemblance to Instagram. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rossgram’s design.

Russia has in recent months been developing its domestic technology, including AYYA T1 smartphones produced by state conglomerate Rostec.

In November, Gazprom Media launched Yappy as a domestic rival to video-sharing platform TikTok.

Russian state communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to Instagram this week after its US owner Meta( Facebook) said it would allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as “Death to the Russian invaders”.

However, on Sunday it said that it is narrowing its content moderation policy for Ukraine to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state.

Russia, which has already banned Facebook, has opened a criminal investigation against Meta and prosecutors asked a court to designate the U.S. tech giant an “extremist organisation”. The case is due in court on Monday.