Google no longer offers paid apps or paid app upgrades for Russian users. A new support page, first spotted by 9to5Google, says “ Google Play is blocking downloads of paid apps and paid app updates in Russia effective May 5, 2022.”
Many companies have voluntarily ended their business in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, but Google is making it clear that it does not voluntarily stop payments in the country. In March, Google said it was forced to “suspend”its billing system for users “due to a malfunction in the payment system.”( The Big Four credit card companies voluntarily pulled out of Russia in March due to the invasion of Ukraine, making it almost impossible for Google to offer paid apps.) Google now says blocking paid apps is “part of our compliance efforts.”
Google has a blog post summarizing its efforts to help Ukraine, but continuing to do business in Russia makes it exceptional in high-tech. Microsoft, Apple, Intel and nearly 1,000 other companies have left Russia, and Google was accused in a recent Forbes article of being “Putin’s most obedient US tech censor.”One of the reasons Google can meet Russia’s requirements is that the country has one of the most competitive search markets in the world. Google search is in second place in Russia, second only to the largest Russian technology company Yandex. If Google leaves the country or is kicked out of the country, it risks completely losing the market.