A bill has been introduced to the State Duma that would prohibit the sale of iPhones in Russia without the RuStore app store.

The State Duma has introduced a law obliging the sale of smartphones and tablets in Russia only with access to the RuStore application store.

First of all, the law is directed against Apple, since RuStore is only available on Android. Apple prohibits the use of alternative store applications in Russia.

The bill would prohibit manufacturers from enforcing app installation restrictions in stores. The explanatory note also talks about the availability of payment systems.

At the same time, in the context of sanctions pressure and the disconnection of Russian users and software developers from foreign IT infrastructures of copyright holders of operating systems and application stores built into them, the availability for installation and use of Russian mass applications, banks, payment services and other socially significant applications continues to be limited.

Deputy Anton Gorelkin, one of the authors of the bill, said that the iOS version of RuStore is already ready.

The iOS version of RuStore, as far as I know, has already been developed and may appear on the Apple platform the very next day after our law comes into force.

Anton Gorelkin

He also added that Apple will need time to finalize iOS, so it follows that the law will come into force on September 1, 2025. [Парламентская Газета]