Russian YouTube clone steps in amid Western brand exodus
Cool Cola, Wkusno i tochka, or CFC are just a few examples of how Russians have "handled" the departure of many well-known Western brands from their market. After food products and well-known fast-food restaurants, it's now time for a Russian version of YouTube. This is a faithful copy of the original from the USA.
Russia has been familiar with sanctions since 2014, when it first attacked Ukraine, illegally occupying Crimea. The next and more extensive series of sanctions, which resulted in many foreign brands leaving the Russian market, only came after the escalation on February 24, 2022.
At that time, brands like McDonald's and Coca-Cola withdrew from the country ruled by Vladimir Putin, and access to many platforms like Facebook and YouTube was significantly restricted. And as it turns out, these effects of the war are among the most painful for millions of Russians.
It's no wonder that the Kremlin government immediately began working on creating equivalents of the mentioned brands. In the case of McDonald's, almost identical "Wkusno i tochka" restaurants appeared, and Cool Cola replaced the famous Coca-Cola.
Russia fights sanctions by duplicating American brands
Over time, however, in the case of food products, sanctions proved ineffective. Russia began to circumvent them by importing such goods from neighbouring countries or somewhat further countries like India. Consequently, among others, Coca-Cola returned to store shelves.
Social media was much more challenging to replace, and although it worked through VPNs, its capabilities were limited. Moreover, social media was hazardous for the government's rhetoric, for which it was much better if Russians lacked access to information from the West.
As a result, after many months of work, a Russian YouTube video was created. As the creators mention, it uses functions similar to those of the "unfriendly" service. However, the most important thing is that the equivalent of American YouTube will "promote videos important for Russia."
This is another attempt by Russians to replicate this service. So far, RuTube and VKvideo have been created, but they did not catch on in society. This time, it may be different as the interface is almost identical to the original.
