The Russian government is prioritizing the support and adoption of a domestically developed messenger app, urging departments and institutions to integrate their services into the platform. President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance of this initiative and called for a concerted effort to support the Russian messenger.

Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev informed President Putin about the messenger’s development, highlighting its potential to replace popular foreign services currently used by over 90 million Russians daily.

The VK-developed messenger boasts comparable basic functionality to foreign competitors, is built on a new infrastructure, and incorporates machine learning technology. Shadayev noted the messenger’s high-quality voice calls and its open platform design, allowing for the integration of external services.

The Russian messenger is envisioned to become a versatile tool, facilitating interactions between banks and customers, enabling document presentation, and potentially hosting school-related communications. This wide range of applications underscores the government’s commitment to establishing the messenger as a central platform for various aspects of daily life in Russia.

President Putin stressed the importance of supporting the Internet infrastructure to ensure the messenger’s success. He urged department heads to actively promote the messenger’s adoption by transferring departmental and financial services to the platform.