Google bows to further anti-Russia pressure

US internet giant Google is blocking the download of paid apps from its Google Play store in Russia.
On one level this is a fairly superficial tweak, given that Google had previously ‘paused’ Google Play’s billing system for Russian users. On further inspection, however, it does feel like a significant extra step towards cutting the country off from much of the meaningful experience derived from owning an Android smartphone.
“As part of our compliance efforts, Google Play