Russia has repeatedly restricted mobile internet access and granted itself sweeping powers to cut off mass communications, disrupting messaging apps and virtual private network (VPN) services in what diplomats have described as a ‘major crackdown’.
A major technical disruption on Friday, which authorities have yet to fully explain, caused widespread problems for consumers. The Moscow metro allowed passengers to pass through turnstiles without payment, while a regional zoo asked visitors to pay in cash.
‘Welcome back to the digital resistance, my Russian brothers and sisters,’ Telegram founder Pavel Durov wrote. ‘The whole nation is now mobilised to bypass these absurd restrictions,’ he added.
Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, said on Friday there had been a technical problem but provided no further details. Some Russian media outlets deleted reports suggesting the outage was linked to state efforts to block certain sites or VPNs.
Russian officials say restrictions on VPNs and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram are necessary for security, as Moscow faces attacks inside Russia from Ukraine and what it describes as sabotage attempts by Western intelligence agencies.
Russia has slowed Telegram, which has more than one billion active users and is widely used in Ukraine, and has investigated its founder Pavel Durov in a criminal case involving terrorism allegations.
Officials have also claimed that Telegram was compromised by the intelligence services of Ukraine and NATO member states, allegedly contributing to the deaths of Russian soldiers.
Telegram denied any such breach and said Moscow was attempting to push users towards MAX, a state-backed messaging app intended for use in schools and universities. The Kremlin’s push to introduce such an app has angered many Russians.
(Reuters)