Officials of chechnya Are Allowed to Use All Blocked Services that Are Closed to Ordinary russians

In russia, the Telegram messenger may be completely blocked from April 1. The restrictions are expected to apply throughout the rf.

At the same time, special conditions for using the Internet are being prepared for officials of chechnya. According to the government procurement portal, the administration of the head of the republic plans to purchase 144 special SIM cards with unlimited access to services and social networks blocked in russia. (There is a high probability that other officials of the rf may also be granted similar privileges). These include Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, X, and the Gmail email service. It is noteworthy that Telegram is not mentioned in this list yet.

Officials will be able to use these SIM cards without changing their numbers and without using a VPN. The contract provides for unlimited calls, 50 GB of internet per month, a thousand free SMS messages, and full access to banned resources. Annual maintenance will cost the budget more than 2.3 million rubles.

Against the background of yet another tightening of censorship for ordinary citizens, russian authorities are effectively creating a separate digital space for themselves without restrictions and financing it at the expense of the state. While russians are being systematically denied access to global platforms, officials are receiving a guaranteed channel of communication with the outside world, paid for by taxpayers.