Digital Life in Russia Increasingly Interrupted by Wartime Internet Disruptions
VLADIVOSTOK,RUSSIA – Daily โlife for many Russians is now punctuated by frequent disruptions to internetโ and โฃmessaging services,as authorities tighten control over the digital sphere amid โthe ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Residents report intermittent outages affecting popular platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp, alongside a concerted push to adopt a domestically-developed messaging app, โMAX, raising concerns about surveillance and data security.
Marina, a โฃresident of โVladivostok, recounted โa recent instance in octoberโฃ when Telegram was entirelyโ unavailable, hindering โคher and her colleagues’ work. Neither Telegram nor WhatsApp are included on the government’s approvedโ “white list” ofโ interaction services.
The government is actively promoting โMAX, a Russian messagingโ service, and mandated its preinstallation on all new smartphones soldโ in Russia starting in September. MAX developers claim 50 million registered users, though Mediascopeโ data indicates approximately โ48 million monthly users in October, with โan average of 18.9โ million dailyโข users – significantly lower than WhatsApp’s 81 million and Telegram’s 68 million. MAX openly states โit will share user โdata with authorities upon request and does not employ end-to-end encryption, leading critics to label it a surveillance tool.
State institutions and businesses are being encouraged to transition to MAX, a directive met with resistance. Marina stated her employer is urging MAX adoption,but sheโค and others contacted by the Associated Press have no plans to install it.
Experts suggest the government’s strategy aims to discourage access to independent information. “The authorities’ strategy appearsโ to be to make it challenging for average users to access ‘alternative content’ so that they eventually stop seeking it,”โค explained Denis Volkov,director of the Levada Center,Russia’s leading independent pollster.
Many Russians โคappear resigned to the restrictions.โ As Volkov observed,โ many view them “the same way they feel about the โฃweather: Ultimately, you โฃcan do nothing about it.”
Some individuals attempt to circumvent the blocks using โขVirtual โPrivate Networks (VPNs), but โthese โare also frequently โฃblocked, requiring constant updates. Mikhail Klimarev,โ executive director of the Internet Protection Society, noted the internet’sโค crucial โrole in the Russian economy – from supply chain logistics to transportation – making a complete shutdown impractical.
Though, Klimarev anticipates further restrictions, including potential total blocks on Telegram and โคWhatsApp, and other unforeseen measures.โข “Honestly,I’m watching it all withโ raised eyebrows. They seem to have come up with everything already,and they’re still coming up with something more,” he said.
