Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin’s Handpicked Super App
A coordinated effort is underway to crack down on foreign tech services and build up domestic options controlled by the government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is closer than ever to getting the internet he wants. In July the Kremlin announced it had chosen VK Co., a government-controlled social networking company, to be Russia’s national messaging service. The result is Max, a sprawling app billed as a way for users to communicate, manage their finances, access government services and even skip the lines at music festivals. On July 16, Putin also ordered the government to develop new restrictions on software and communication services from countries it considers unfriendly. Two days later, Anton Gorelkin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s IT committee, said Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp, the most popular online destination in Russia, is “very likely” to be among the targets.
In recent years, Russia, along with other countries, has become increasingly interested in so-called digital sovereignty, the idea of a country breaking its reliance on foreign-owned technology companies and infrastructure. For Putin the endgame looks like the internet in China, where all online experience is mediated through what are known as everything apps—and the government has wide leverage to surveil and control online activity. Spokespeople for the Kremlin and VK didn’t respond to requests for comment.