Officials of the rf Fearing Their Own Messaging app and Buying Separate Phones for Max

In russia, the de facto blocking of the Telegram messaging app began earlier than expected. Although a complete restriction on access was expected to take effect on April 1, technical issues are already being reported even in cities with populations of over a million.

Against this background, russian authorities continue to impose on users the so-called national messenger Max. At the same time, officials and top managers of state-owned companies themselves are trying to avoid using it on their personal devices due to mistrust and fear of total surveillance.

For example, representatives of the russian elite are buying separate smartphones en masse and registering new SIM cards exclusively for use with Max, so as not to “expose” their main phones. In informal conversations, they openly admit that installing this app effectively means handing over control of the device to the fsb.

However, according to data from the government procurement portal, officials in chechnya plan to purchase special SIM cards with unlimited access to resources blocked in the rf.

So, while russians are effectively being cut off from communication channels, the authorities themselves and their affiliated entities either gain privileged access to banned services or devise workarounds to evade their own total surveillance. This once again shows the double standards of the russian system, where control and restrictions are applied selectively, first of all against the population.