Russia Plans To Launch An App Similar To The TikTok Platform

Gazprom-Media, Russia's leading media agency owned by state-owned energy conglomerate Gazprom, will launch an app similar to TikTok, China's music video and social media sharing platform.

According to Gazprom-Media CEO Alexander Zharov, an application called "Ya Molodets" was developed with the support of the Innopraktika Foundation.

Zharov said the application will be released in the next two years with a remarkable feature that accelerates the creation of new video services for Russian bloggers and that it will support sharing of similar short videos like TikTok.

Gazprom-Media is one of Russia's largest media organizations , owning a number of the most viewed TV channels and a variety of radio stations.

Earlier this month, Zharov said Gazprom-Media would launch two YouTube-like sites in the next two years, including an improved version of the Rutube streaming service - a platform that serves Russians.

Gazprom-Media acquired it in 2008. Mr. Zharov said that in the past year, the company has been striving to modernize this entertainment channel to attract Russian citizens, given the popularity of YouTube.

In recent years, YouTube has become an increasingly popular platform for young Russians, with some of the most viewed channels reaching millions of hits.

Russian officials have repeatedly increased their efforts to tighten control over Internet content in order to combat extremism online.

The Russian House of Representatives also passed a law last week that allows users to block Internet platforms, including YouTube, if these channels violate the censorship and discrimination regulations.