After Apple removed VKontakte from the app store, Russian regulators said it would damage communication among its citizens and asked Apple to explain. VKontakte is Russia's largest social networking application. After Apple removed the app on September 28, Russian regulator Roskomnadzor objected to the action, calling it "discriminatory".
The company behind the app VK issued a statement on the matter on Monday, saying that other apps that were deleted include Mail.ru, VK Music and Youla classified. The statement said the apps will continue to work on compatible devices and are only removed from the App Store. However, users may experience problems with notifications and payments. After
removed the VK app, Apple said it was complying with sanctions from the UK for the Russian invasion of Ukrainian . The developers owned or controlled by sanctioned parties were terminated outside Russia because this was obviously evading international sanctions . Apple users everywhere were affected by this decision, not just customers in Russia.
As a report by Reuters pointed out on Wednesday, Roskomnadzor is the main regulator for Russia to connect with the US tech giants. It previously forced Apple to remove an opposition leader's app from the app store, but it only resumed after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
In 2015, Roskomnadzor also asked Apple to host iCloud data generated in Russia in the country, and Roskomnadzor implemented similar regulations on Telegram, Microsoft , Google and other companies.
In February 2022, Apple opened its first corporate office in Russia, and in March, after the Russian government invaded Ukraine, Apple stopped all online sales in the country (only parts required for repairs) and has not been restored so far.
