Last year, Russia’s Digital Development Ministry allocated 39.5 billion rubles for the creation, development, operation, and promotion of a “national video platform,” Kommersant reports.
Details. The funds were received by Edinoe Video, a company linked to VK. Its CEO is listed as Andrei Borodin, who previously headed the Digital Development Ministry’s subordinate organization FGBU TsEKI.
According to the newspaper’s sources, the project is being overseen by VK. Granting VK Video the status of a national video platform is intended to “raise the status” of the service. In addition, the “national” status gives businesses guaranteed access during internet restrictions, mandatory pre-installation, and integration with Gosuslugi, the publication writes.
Another 4 billion rubles was allocated to create and develop a “multifunctional information exchange service.” No further details are known. The publication notes that this wording was used in the federal law adopted to create the “national messenger” Max.
Project priority. The Digital Development Ministry’s total spending in 2025 amounted to about 457 billion rubles, meaning that funding for the “national video platform” and the “national messenger” accounted for nearly 10% of the budget.
Context. Last year, former TV host Marianna Maksimovskaya was appointed CEO of VK Video. Such a position appeared in the company’s structure for the first time. The decision came amid the company’s difficult financial situation: VK’s net loss in 2024 nearly tripled, while its debt burden increased by one and a half times. The company then decided to carry out an additional share issue to attract extra financing.
VK Video is a video platform within the VK ecosystem. The service was launched in test mode in October 2021 as a unified platform combining the resources of VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, and other company products. Its full launch took place in 2023.
The Max messenger also belongs to the holding. VK CEO is Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of Sergei Kiriyenko, the first deputy head of Vladimir Putin’s administration.