Often caught in the vast shadow of rival Windows and IBM-compatible systems, Apple Computers' Russia subsidiary Wednesday announced increased profits as well as plans to expand its penetration of the CIS market by going after state business and improving its Russian-language offerings.


"We are going to be more aggressive," Jean Jacques Maucuer, new managing director of Apple Computers CIS, told a news conference. "We plan to significantly increase our market share in Russia, making our technology and our products more visible and affordable."


Currently, Apple -- maker of the Macintosh hardware line -- controls only 1.7 percent of Russia's computer market, said public relations manager Viktoria Pavlova, blaming the low figure on a lack of reliable information about the company's products.


In the United States Apple holds about 10 percent of the market, though there too Windows and IBM-compatible operating systems dominate.


The low market share did not stop Apple's Russian operations from turning a profit. The company's net profits this year rose 250 percent to $24 million, officials said.


Maucuer said the company is well aware of "some skepticism" among Russian consumers toward the Macintosh.


"Many believe that Macintosh is only good for publishing, that it is very expensive and incompatible. We want to convince people that Macintosh is in fact an affordable, compatible computer. It is good for business, and home use."


Maucuer said that Apple plans to boost its dealership network by opening 10 new branches in the Russian provinces and will concentrate on strengthening its position on the educational, publishing and multimedia markets where it already has a significant share, including more than half in the publishing arena.


Apple views the Russian government as another major potential market to tap.


"We won't be able to get the highest possible market share in this country without becoming a reliable platform for major state projects," Maucuer said.


The company is introducing a new program kit packaged with new computers called Apple Russia Office, to counter its prior lack of software targeted specifically at Russia, Maucuer said.