After banning Instagram, Russia announces the launch of its own photo-sharing app Rossgram

The Russian state communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to Instagram on March 14 after Meta said that it will allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as "Death to the Russian invaders".

Russia put a ban on Meta-owned Instagram last week, blocking nearly 80 million users from accessing the social media platform. The globally popular photo-sharing application is no longer accessible in Vladimir Putin's land. To fill the void left by Instagram in the country, Russian tech entrepreneurs have announced the launch of an alternate platform with the name Rossgram. Besides similarity in the name, the design and layout of Rossgram are also similar to Meta's photo-sharing app.

The upcoming photo-sharing platform Rossgram will be available for download from March 28. The social media platform is said to feature some additional functionalities, like “crowdfunding and paid access for some content”.

Alexander Zobov, the initiative's public relations director, announced details related to the launch of Rossgram on the VKontakte social network. "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," he noted.

Zobov also revealed the layout and design of Rossgram, which bears a strong resemblance to Instagram. The colour scheme and layout also look quite similar to the Meta-owned photo-sharing platform. Mark Zuckerberg, head of the tech company, is yet to comment on Rossgram's design.

To recollect, the Russian state communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to Instagram on March 14 after Meta said that it will allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as "Death to the Russian invaders".

Meta also said that the change in its hate speech policy is applicable only to Ukraine after Russia's invasion. Zuckerberg-headed company believed that it would be wrong to prevent Ukrainians from "expressing their resistance and fury at the invading military forces".

Commenting on the Instagram ban in the country last week, Adam Mosseri, Head of the photo-sharing platform said, “On Monday, Instagram will be blocked in Russia. This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world as ~80% of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. This is wrong.”