The only argument that could influence Vladimir Putin and force him to ease Internet restrictions in Russia would be the increase in the ratings of parties competing with the United Russia party on the eve of the parliamentary elections, Fridelli wrote, citing sources.
According to the newspaper’s interlocutors in power, no one “would dare” ask Putin to ease up and resist the FSB, which is promoting the restrictions. However, if the ratings of the competing parties (especially the Communist Party of the Russian Federation) rise, Kremlin officials responsible for the election results will be able to show these numbers to Putin and suggest slowing down the actions of the special services.
The parties going to the elections in September are opposed to the filibuster, and, as Fridelli points out, the deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, who supervises it, “clearly allows them to do so.” The publication’s interlocutors indicate that it is also dissatisfied with the restrictions. Kiriyenko’s position can also be indicated, Fridelli wrote, by the Central Election Commission’s permission to conduct an election campaign by telegram.
The Meduza source noted that regular parties were allowed to speak out against the blocking, but “ambiguously.” Another interviewee described the issue of blocking the Internet as “very painful,” and therefore, as he put it, “not everyone can talk about it in doses.” “if [критика] As for normal life, this is possible. “If there is something specific like a bank failure, it is certainly better to remain silent.”
According to a high-ranking source from Fridili, everyone is against shutting down the Internet, “except for one department” – the Federal Security Service. Another source close to the government says his teenage children complain about the restrictions, saying: “Remember what you are doing.”
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The previous day, Bloomberg, citing sources, wrote that Russian authorities were reconsidering their approach to Internet restrictions, fearing a decline in Vladimir Putin’s rating. Source: Forbes certainit was “decided to ease” the pressure by easing the blocking of telegrams.
Since mid-March, Telegram has not worked in Russia without a VPN. According to sources from several publications, the authorities planned to block the entire messenger by April 1. Meanwhile, the ban increased sharply by March 20, and by April 10 had reached almost 100%. At the same time, residents of Moscow and then St. Petersburg faced an almost complete shutdown of mobile Internet in a number of regions. According to users, only sites from the “white list” were working – a list of resources that, according to the authorities, should remain available during the block.
In addition, the authorities have intensified the fight against blocking bypass methods. The Ministry of Digital Development has demanded that large internet platforms restrict access to users with a virtual private network (VPN) by April 15, threatening exclusion from “whitelists”. Judging by user reports, the restriction has taken effect.