"Routebe" as an alternative to YouTube Russian efforts to impose applications that serve its war narrative

The Kremlin is making persistent attempts to keep Russians away from using popular sites such as YouTube and Instagram, and to adopt local alternatives that support the official version of its war on Ukraine. The Ministry of Digital Development in Russia revealed its support for alternative local social networks such as "Rotube" and "Vista".

The Kremlin is trying to keep Russians away from popular sites such as YouTube and Instagram, and has offered local alternatives in an effort to steer public opinion into adopting the official version of its war on Ukraine.

And last month, the Ministry of Digital Development in Russia said that it was taking emergency measures to support local social networks that would be an alternative to the most popular sites frequented by many people around the world, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

The ministry revealed that the number of downloads of applications such as "Rotobe", the alternative to YouTube, as well as "Vista", the Russian alternative to the "Instagram" application, increased remarkably. While "Western" sites, as Russia calls them, remained blocked due to sanctions.

Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, banned Facebook and Instagram last month, after their owner, Meta, imposed restrictions on Russian media.

Russia has also temporarily suspended Meta and other social media companies, making it difficult for Russian content developers to monetize any Russian social media account.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin urged the State Duma earlier this month, saying, "Our bloggers should leave foreign platforms."

“Our brains, men and programmers are able to improve our platforms,” he added, citing the examples of Rutube and VKontakte, the Russian alternative to Facebook.

Russian authorities can arrest any Russian who publishes news that contradicts the official version of the Kremlin.

The Russian government has passed a law threatening imprisonment for anyone who spreads what authorities consider false information about the military intervention in Ukraine, which the Kremlin refers to as a "special military operation."

The law applies to traditional media as well, such as newspaper and magazine websites, as well as television stations.

Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the money would be invested in Rotube to make it more user-friendly.

These efforts have had some success domestically, though Russian users are still sticking to foreign platforms,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Last month, nearly two billion Russian users visited YouTube via the web (not via an app), according to estimates provided by the analytics firm Likeweb Ltd..

And apps and browser extensions that enable people to access blocked social networks have recently boomed, with demand for virtual private networks, or VPNs, up 2700% compared to the average daily demand in the week before the attack on Ukraine, according to research firm Top10VPN.com. PrivacyCo Ltd is based in London.

According to this website, the Kremlin blocked more than 900 websites related to the war.

Russia has warned that YouTube could be banned permanently, after it banned Russian state media channels.

After YouTube banned the Duma channel earlier this month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "YouTube appears to be imposing its own judgment. The content of our channel must be uploaded and transferred to Russian platforms, and quickly."

DumaTV is an independent, non-profit media company, entirely dedicated to covering the work of the Russian House of Representatives.