Russia is directed

Marina, a 45-year-old freelance copyright, has been based on WhatsApp for her work and personal life.

But one day last month, which changed dramatically when the call to the colleague did not go properly. They tried Telegram – another messaging app popular in Russia – but it also didn’t work.

It was one of the millions of Russians facing new restrictions imposed in mid -August in the Russian media -regulators on the calls made through two platforms – the most popular applications of the country.

The terms coincide with the crackdown on the new application “National Messenger” known as Max and created by a Russian firm, closely controlled by the Kremlin.

The monthly number of WhatsApp and Telegram users is estimated at 97 and 90 million, respectively – in the country with 143 million people.

From the parents to the tenants’ parents, most of their daily lives go through them. WhatsApp – the owner of which is a meta appointed extremist organization in Russia – especially popular with the elderly because of how easy it is to register and use.

In some parts of Russia, especially in remote and rarely related places in the Far East, WhatsApp is much more than communicating with friends and colleagues. Mobile viewing is sometimes painfully slow, so people use the application to coordinate local questions, taxi orders, alcohol and news exchange.

Both apps offer encryption at the end, which means that no third party, nor even those who own them can read messages and listen to calls.

Officials say applications refused to store Russian users’ data in the country as required by the law, and they claimed that scammers use applications to exchange messaging. However, the figures of the Central Bank indicate that most scammers are still going on on ordinary mobile networks.

Telecommunications experts and many Russians see repression because the government is trying to keep track of who people are talking to, and perhaps what they say.

“Authorities do not want us, ordinary people, support any relationship, connection, friendship or mutual support. They want everyone to sit quietly in their corner,” says Marina, who lives in Tula, 180 km (110 miles) south of Moscow.

She asked us to change her name, experiencing that talking to foreign media could be dangerous.

The new Max app is aggressively promoted by pop stars and bloggers, and from September 1, all devices sold in Russia must be pre-installed.

It was launched by a VK, which belongs to the largest social network of the same name. A platform similar to Facebook is controlled by the Giant Gazprom oil and one of the closest trusted persons Vladimir Putin, billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk.

Max should become a super application, combining several functions, including public digital services and banking.

The model reflects Chinese WeChat – the main thing in everyday life, but also the censorship and observation tool.

Max’s privacy policy states that it can transfer information to third parties and government agencies, potentially giving access to security services or making users vulnerable to leaks.

In Russia, where people are held accountable for critical comments or private messages, and the black market of personal data nourishes the epidemic calls for scams, this is a real problem.

Although many Russians are worried about new restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram, the introduction of Max, the state already has huge funds to spy on their citizens.

According to the law, you can only purchase a SIM card with your national certificate, and security services have access to telecommunications operators. This means that they can find out who you are calling as well as your location.

This month now illegally share your sim card with anyone, except for a close relative.

But Max can potentially allow the authorities to read and your messages – and avoiding apps is getting harder.

Schools are now obliged to move parent chats to the app.

In the Rostov region bordering Ukraine, Max is accepted as a alert system; In St. Petersburg, it is associated with emergency services.

Despite the impetus, Max remains far beyond his competitors – this week he claimed to have 30 million users.

The Kremlin has long been not easy to offer people on the Internet, which Vladimir Putin once called the CIA project.

The first legislative restrictions took place in 2012, shortly after mass opposition protests, officially to protect children from suicide content.

Ten years later, when Russia launched a full -scale invasion of Ukraine, the government has blocked popular social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and X, and most independent media, leaving them available only via VPN.

The new restrictions continue to go: as of this month, the Russians face fines for “intentionally search” on the Internet for extremist materials – more than 5,000 resources from a constantly growing black list made by the Ministry of Justice. Examples include a book by opposition leader Alexei Novol, who died in prison in 2024, and Ukrainian songs.

Another prohibition is targeting advertising on platforms related to “extremist” organizations, essentially ending with an Instagram advertisement, which many small enterprises relied on both on the shore.

VPN ads are also prohibited, and when using these applications is not illegal, it can be considered a burden in criminal cases.

In addition to their problems with WhatsApp and Telegram, many Russians are now getting used to life without mobile internet, as whole cities are facing regular cutting.

From May, every Russian region has seen the mobile internet descend.

In the summer, they dimmed, up to 77 regions hit the shutdown at the same time at the peak, according to Na svyazi (In general) project.

Authorities justify measures to protect people and infrastructure from attacks by Ukrainian drones – Kiev’s reaction to tireless and deadly bombing of Russian cities.

But some experts doubt that the shutdown of the mobile internet – which many Russians use instead of broadband – is an effective tool against drones.

Local authorities, who are responsible for counteracting drones, have no other means for this, explains telecommunications expert Mikhail Klimarau.

“No air defense systems, no army – all on the front line,” he says. “Their logic goes: we turned off the Internet, and there was no drone, hence it works.”

In Vladimir, 200 km (125 miles) east of Moscow, two of the three districts of the city were offline for almost a month.

“It is impossible to check bus routes or schedules,” says Konstantin, a resident who also asked to change his name. “Information boards at stops also show mistakes.”

Taxi tariffs have grown because drivers cannot accept orders on the Internet.

State Television in Vladimir twisted the shutdown as “digital detox”, showing residents who said they now like to walk, read and spend time with friends.

In Krasnoarsk, a city with more than one million people in Siberia, mobile internet has disappeared throughout the town for three days in July and is still working poorly.

Some officials have rejected complaints, and one bureaucrat Krasnorsk believes that remote workers who have lost their profits should “go and work for a special military operation” because the war in Ukraine is known in Russia. She later apologized.

The government is now working on a scheme that will allow the Russians to access only vital online service during shutdown, such as banking, taxi, deliveries – and Max Messenger.

This is a dangerous step, prevents Sarkis by Darbinan, lawyer and co -founder Digital Rights Group Rks Global.

“There is an opportunity for the authorities to use this measure for other purposes other than combat drones,” he says.

He believes that the Kremlin’s modern approach to Beijing’s Internet.

“Unlike the Chinese, the Russians have spent decades, enjoying cheap, fast internet and foreign platforms,” ​​he says. “These services have become deeply rooted not only in the everyday life of people, but also in business processes.”

As long as those who are wary set by Max on their devices can still find the way around it.

Marina from Tula says that her mother, teacher of the school, was instructed to load the messenger, but stated the superiors that she had no smartphone.

People can still call each other using ordinary mobile networks, although it is more expensive, especially when talking to someone abroad – and not safe.

There are other means, such as using VPN or alternative messaging applications previously reserved for technology, and those that process sensitive information.

But as the Internet, fewer people will find ways to avoid it – and it suggests that the Internet is still available to them to try.

Additional reporting by Yaroslav Kiruhin