>Google removed the app in Russia under pressure after officials threatened to imprison its local employees, a person close to the company said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-16/russia-ta...

>Google removed the app Friday morning after the Russian authorities issued a direct threat of criminal prosecution against the company’s staff in the country, naming specific individuals, according to a person familiar with the company’s decision.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/russia-naval...

This is shadier than it seems. The opposition organization FBK (ФБК) was just called out as "extremists," and with this government decision, they wrote mails to Google and Apple to block "extremists." There are published answers from Apple with details.

https://twitter.com/ioannZH/status/1438750081402953728

Any government can easily classify any opposition as "extremists" now and Apple and Google will ban them.