The Russian smart speaker market is an amazing symbiosis of technology, government regulation, and folk humor. While Amazon Echo can order a taxi and Google Nest shows recipes, our Alisa, Marusya, and SberSalute are trying to understand what “import substitution” means and why, in response to “turn on the light,” they offer you a subscription to VK Combo.
In this article, we will look at how the upcoming YouTube blocks, mandatory installation of domestic software, and “friendly” initiatives of Roskomnadzor will turn our speakers into ideal assistants — if, of course, you need an assistant that knows only three phrases and knows how to reboot.
1. Alisa, Marusya, Salute: who is who?
Today in Russia there are three main players:
- Alisa (Yandex) — the most popular, recognises voice, can joke, and is integrated with Yandex.Music, Kinopoisk, and taxi services.
- Marusya (VK) — heir to the “Capsule,” friends with VK Music, Mail.ru, and social networks.
- Salute (Sber) — with Sberbank voice assistants, focused on finance and SberHealth.
All of them are the pride of domestic IT. And all of them will soon become even more domestic. How? Read on.
2. YouTube blocking: music will become native
The main headache for developers is that users ask to play a clip on YouTube, and there is “Western content.” The new strategy: to completely block access to YouTube through speakers, allowing only VK Music and Yandex.Music.
3. Forced installation of “Marusya” on all speakers — or not?
Recently, the State Duma floated the idea of obliging manufacturers to pre‑install the voice assistant from VK — Marusya — on all smart devices. The argument: “ecosystem unity.”
In practice, it would look like this: you buy a Yandex speaker, turn it on, and instead of a greeting it says: “Install Marusya to continue. This will take 10 minutes and require a VK Combo subscription.” If you refuse, the device switches to “grandma’s radio” mode — FM only.
Deputy Ivanov, chairman of the digital committee:
“We are not imposing, we are offering. But if you do not accept the offer, we will block your speaker by IP. Just kidding. Or not?”
4. Knowledge base without Wikipedia: how we will search for facts
The next step is to cut off access to Wikipedia (aka “a manual for Western agents”). Instead, speakers will be connected to a unified answer database of “Gosuslugi” (State Services). Now for any question you will receive an official, legally verified answer.
Example dialogue:
User: Alisa, how many planets are there in the Solar System?
Alisa: To obtain this information, you need to log in via ESIA. Confirm?
User: Yes.
Alisa: According to Rosreestr, there are 9 planets in the Solar System. But Pluto was excluded by a decision of the academic council in 2006. For clarification, submit an application on the portal.
User: …5. Technical isolation: no Western code
As you know, all advanced AIs work on Python and use cloud services like AWS or Google Cloud. Our speakers are being migrated to domestic Elbrus processors and Red OS. The response time will increase from 2 to 30 seconds, but that is the price of security.
By the way, updates will now be distributed not via GitHub, but through secure FTP servers of the Ministry of Communications. To download the patch, you will have to click the button:
And do not forget to update the firmware — now it is available only after signing consent to biometric data processing.
6. Communication between speakers: the new protocol “GosGolos”
Another initiative is to force Alisa, Marusya, and Salute to communicate with each other through a unified protocol. Now, if you ask Marusya to set a timer, she will send a request to Alisa, who will check your balance with Sber, and then all three will reboot simultaneously. As a result, the timer will never be set, but you will receive a notification: “Synchronisation with state systems completed.”
7. What is the result? The Patriot Speaker of 2026
Let us gather all the innovations into a single portrait of an ideal Russian smart speaker:
- Does not play Western music, does not show videos from YouTube, does not search for “wrong” facts.
- Requires authorisation through Gosuslugi for any action, even to turn off the alarm.
- Answers only questions from the approved list. If the question is not on the list, it plays the anthem.
- Has a built‑in “Pushkin Card” module for paying for books and buckwheat.
8. But there is also a bright side
Such speakers are absolutely safe. Hackers will not be able to break them, because inside there is nothing but recycled 1C code and the “Moscow Says” voice pack. They cannot spy on you (or they can, but they report directly to the FSB, so you are in safe hands). And most importantly, they are the only ones in the world that respond to the request “Unlock” clearly and in a state‑like manner:
Command not recognised. For unlocking, contact technical support. Waiting time — from 2 hours. Thank you for being with us.
Conclusion
Russian smart speakers are going through a difficult transformation. Yes, they are still a bit slow, confuse words, and demand subscriptions for everything. But with each new law, they become closer to the people — after all, the people are also slow, confused, and sign everything they are asked to. So do not worry: soon your speaker will understand you perfectly. The main thing is not to ask it questions that have no answers in official sources.
Satire. All similarities with real legislative initiatives are coincidental, just like the stable operation of voice control in a basement with poor Wi‑Fi.
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P.S. If you have read to the end, it means your speaker has already rebooted twice and offered you to take out a loan. You are welcome.
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