INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian software developers have submitted early versions of homemade alternatives to Instagram, TikTok and Zoom, the RBC news
websitereported Thursday.Instagram was blocked by Russian authorities following the invasion of Ukraine, while TikTok and Zoom restricted
include bringing back one-third of the 110 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) in revenues lost by small and medium businesses due to the
Instagram ban, as well as expanding into Belarus, Kazakhstan and the UAE once Looky is up and running in 2024-25.A Looky spokesperson told
and TrueConf Enterprise 2.0 both intend to replace Zoom, Skype and Google Meet for Russian corporate entities, while Pochta 2.0 is a
corporate email system that reportedly plans to cover its own costs.Five social media projects received preliminary government approval last
month and are awaiting decisions on government funding, RBC cited unnamed sources as saying
A cabinet spokesperson contradicted that claim, saying only two projects have been picked and will cover 1.2 billion rubles ($19.8 billion)
in costs themselves.Experts interviewed by RBC say they doubt the viability of domestic social media and video conferencing analogs, urging
the government to support existing alternatives instead of funding new products from scratch.German Klimenko, the founder of the
