Hello and welcome to Regions Calling, the weekly newsletter from The Moscow Times that focuses on events outside of the Russian capital.

Although Russia has toyed with the concept of a “sovereign internet,” when our editorial team decided to name this newsletter “Regions Calling,” we didn’t anticipate the developments that would follow. For over a week now, the ability to make calls has become a significant issue for people in regions across Russia, as authorities have placed restrictions on voice and video calls via WhatsApp and Telegram.

In this edition, we will explore how the limitations on these two widely-used messaging apps are affecting the daily lives of ordinary citizens and the extensive diaspora.

First, let’s take a look at other significant happenings in the regions:

The Kremlin’s unpopular local governance reform is back in the spotlight following court rulings in the Republic of Altai and the Krasnoyarsk region that dismissed a lawsuit against it. Supported by the Kremlin-appointed leaders of these regions, the reform is viewed negatively by many villagers, who will no longer have the right to elect their own representatives and will find it harder to voice their concerns within the government framework.

In the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a political controversy is unfolding as Alexei Nechayev, leader of the center-right New People party, has called for the expulsion of Sakha parliament member Alexander Ivanov from the party. This development stems from allegations from pro-government Telegram channels and news outlets, which accused Ivanov of promoting nationalist and separatist views. Ivanov has rejected these claims, asserting that the quoted material was taken out of context.

Meanwhile, in the Republic of Tyva, a local doctor has raised concerns over a sudden increase in coronavirus infections among children and the elderly. Anna Saryglar, head of a hospital in the regional capital Kyzyl, announced on VKontakte that they have reopened wards to care for COVID-19 patients and are operating at a heightened readiness.

In the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Russian human rights organization Memorial has labeled 46 individuals in the Baymak case as political prisoners. The organization referred to the backlash following last year’s protests in Baymak as “unprecedented, even in the context of Putin’s Russia.”

**’Losing a Lifeline’: Russians Adapt to Limitations on Global Messaging Apps**

In a rare sanctioned protest, around a dozen individuals gathered in central Novosibirsk, Siberia’s largest city, on Tuesday. Demonstrators carried a banner calling for “mobile service without restrictions,” alongside flags of the Soviet Union and Russia’s Communist Party, which organized the event. Most of the attendees were pensioners, with only a handful of young people present.

This rally occurred nearly two weeks after reports emerged of issues connecting voice and video calls through WhatsApp and Telegram. After days of speculation, the state communication watchdog Roskomnadzor confirmed last Wednesday that it is throttling calls through these apps to “counter criminal activity.”

The Moscow Times conducted interviews with numerous users from various regions in Russia, including some from the diaspora, who have depended on these apps for years to maintain contact with friends and family in Russia. Many requested anonymity for safety reasons.

Our informal survey indicated that the restrictions are not entirely effective—at least for now—and can differ based on mobile carriers and geographical areas within the country, even within the same regional boundaries.

One woman from St. Petersburg reported, “I use VPN to call my parents in Sakha, but for them, WhatsApp works perfectly without it.” She noted, “It seems like there are fewer restrictions in Sakha. I can’t even connect to a VPN on mobile internet here in St. Petersburg, but it’s completely doable in Sakha.”

Despite its parent company Meta being designated as “extremist” in 2022, WhatsApp remains the most popular messaging service in Russia, with over 97 million users aged 12 and above as of July, according to statistics from the independent media monitor Mediascope. Telegram closely follows with around 90 million users, while the local VK Messenger platform has just over 16 million users.

Some individuals stated they have no intention of abandoning their preferred messaging apps and will keep using VPN services to communicate, particularly on Telegram. However, the longevity of this workaround is uncertain.

“Popular VPNs could leave identifiable traces… Authorities could implement filtering mechanisms within the internet infrastructure to pinpoint and block traffic consistent with known VPN services,” explained Steve Sacks, a digital risk expert based in Washington, DC. “Although it may be more challenging to enforce against lesser-known VPNs, the Russian government is likely to continuously adjust filtering rules to stay ahead of illicit VPN usage,” he added, noting that Russian authorities may also expand their list of banned VPN services.

Many users in Russia seem to prioritize convenience. A man from Bashkortostan shared, “Not all my older relatives want to deal with VPNs, so everyone in my family chat is now downloading Google Meet.” Another woman, with her family in Russia, mentioned, “My parents asked me to join WeChat, the Chinese messaging app, to move our family chat there,” referring to Tencent’s service, which is required to hand over user data to Chinese authorities when deemed important for national security.

Following the onset of restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram calls, Google Meet surged to become the second most downloaded free communication app in the Russian App Store, with the top rank going to Max, a homegrown app aiming to be Russia’s national messaging platform akin to WeChat. Although still being tested, Max has raised concerns about its potential role as a government surveillance tool. The Kremlin has instructed government officials and lawmakers to transition from Telegram to Max, with similar orders given to civil servants nationwide.

A Russian woman recounted, “I know medical personnel, teachers, and even parents of schoolchildren who are now using Max because they’ve been instructed to.” However, she has no plans to download the app herself, stating, “I don’t work for the government, so I don’t see any need for it—as do others working in private sectors.”

Opinions on Max are split among Russians. While some consider downloading the app out of the question due to security concerns, others feel compelled to install it at the behest of their government jobs. Others still downloaded the app for convenience, reasoning, “The government already tracks me from everywhere, so what’s one more app?”

“I absolutely won’t switch to Max. It’s better to use regular calls than that,” said a political activist from St. Petersburg. “My parents know what I do, so we don’t discuss sensitive topics over the phone.”

Since Max is only available to domestic users, it doesn’t serve the millions of Russians wanting to keep in touch with loved ones abroad, even if those relatives are willing to risk their security for the sake of communication.

The effects of these new restrictions vary by generation. “My parents are in their 70s. My father is tech-savvy and my mother isn’t, but now she’ll have to learn how to use VPNs and new apps,” noted one political emigrant. “Staying in touch with my other less tech-savvy relatives will be nearly impossible.”

While Russia may still be several years away from implementing a digital firewall like China’s, these initial restrictions seem to have been effective for authorities in certain respects. “My uncle used WhatsApp to communicate with his cousin in Ukraine. Now, they’ve lost the only link between them. They’re both in their late 70s and it was a struggle for them to learn WhatsApp, so using a VPN or different messengers isn’t really feasible for them now,” a woman in exile shared with The Moscow Times.

“When we discuss these restrictions, we don’t emphasize enough that before they came into effect, Russian and Ukrainian families continued to communicate,” she added.

Last week, activists in Bashkortostan commemorated five years since protests defending Kushtau mountain, one of Russia’s few successful grassroots movements in recent history. In the years since, many key figures from the Kushtau protests have either been forced to flee the country or imprisoned due to the Baymak case. Nevertheless, a small group of protest veterans and their families gathered near the mountain on Saturday to reminisce about the final moments of their standoff.

The Moscow Times observed this anniversary with a two-part series that explores the political context that sparked the protests and the events that unfolded. You can find the first part of the series here.