Samsung recently launched its first Tizen OS smartphone in India and although initial reports said that the Korean tech giant managed to sell 50,000 units in the first 10 days, concerns were raised over Tizen’s skimpy app ecosystem.

Well, the OS might soon be given an unexpected boost from an unlikely supporter. If you’re a smartphone owner, you probably know that the Android and iOS platforms hold dominion over the mobile environment.

Since both operating systems are produced by American companies (Google and Apple), it’s not surprising that the Kremlin is not viewing this situation with favoring eyes.
Apple and Google are the villains, in the minister's story

More specifically, Russian Minister of Communication, Nikolai Nikiforov, has taken to Twitter to denounce Google for the mobile monopoly it has instated with Android (as spotted at Tech Crunch).

Not only that, but the politician believes Android is not really an open-source operating system and would much rather see more people use the likes of Tizen, Sailfish or Ubuntu.

Nikiforov points out that Android is very tightly controlled by the US tech giant and reminds readers of Google’s feud on Acer who wanted to launch rival mobile devices back in 2012.

Moreover, he highlights the fact that Google forces device makers to pre-load a number of its services in order to grant them access to Google Play Store.

This is exactly the view expressed not so long ago by Cyanogen CEO Kirt MacMaster who talked about his hopes of seeing a future version of Android that will be Google-free.

Cyanogen wants to allow developers to integrate their own apps and services directly into the operating system without much fuss and headaches, something that is not currently possible.

Russia is pushing the exodus to open-platform

Going back to Russia, the government is apparently willing to pay big bucks in order to convince developers to migrate their apps to the open-source platforms we mentioned above.

In another tweet, the minister says the Russian government will give grants to developers who are willing to create applications away from the Android and iOS ecosystem.

The main goal is to develop an alternate mobile ecosystem while providing support for the country’s IT industry.

Judging by the initial Samsung Z1 reviews, the Tizen handset seems to work quite seamlessly albeit coming equipped with lower-specs, so if its app ecosystem were a more developed one, the platform might really stand a chance. In Russia - away from the pesky, nosy, spying-obsessed Americans.