Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalyn’s Smart Voting app was removed from iOS and Android stores in September last year. Putin’s spokesman told reporters that the practice was illegal and companies removed it accordingly. The deputy of the opposition leader, on the other hand, shared on his social media account that this was an embarrassing act of political censorship.
This Smart Voting app, which was hotly debated last year, is now being re-downloaded for App Store users in Russia. The Play Store, on the other hand, brought the application again shortly after the elections last year. The store is currently out of service in Russia due to the occupation of Ukraine.
Apple moved away from the Russian market!
Apple became one of the companies that imposed sanctions on Russia after the war. The company had stopped selling all its products in Russia at the beginning of March. Now he has also restored the application by the Kremlin. The company took this decision after it had completely moved away from the Russian market.
The push to remove the Smart Vote app first came before the September election in Russia. The main reason for the removal of the pressure and practice was to want to unite the votes against Putin in the presidential elections. As a result of long discussions, both stores could not stand the pressure and removed the application. Because the Kremlin had threatened to take criminal charges against company employees otherwise.
Russia, after being embargoed by social media platforms and many other companies, counterattacked for some and went to block it in its country. Some Russian application developers have designed alternatives of applications and stores and made them available in their country.
What do you, our readers, think about this issue? How do you think the App Store’s move against Putin after the war? You can express your thoughts in the comments section or on the SDN Forum.
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