去年夏天，总统 Vladimir Putin 要求俄罗斯政府起草对被视为「不友好」国家的通讯技术加以新限制，称此举是在保护「数位主权」，同时收紧对网际网路的控制。结果优先目标是 Meta 的 WhatsApp：在数月的视讯与语音通话受干扰之后，Meta 上周表示，俄罗斯正试图彻底封锁这个全球使用最广的即时通讯服务。这一动作符合更广泛的整治行动；该行动已打击其他主要西方平台，并且自 Putin 4 年前对乌克兰发动全面入侵以来不断升级。

尽管 WhatsApp 在俄罗斯拥有超过 100 million 用户，当地反应相对平淡，部分原因是仍可透过 VPN 存取。文中引用的民调称，约 1/3 的俄罗斯人每月至少使用一次 VPN，降低封锁的即时影响。与封锁 WhatsApp 大致同一时间，通讯监管机构表示将限速 Telegram；尽管 Telegram 设址于阿拉伯联合大公国（不在「不友好」名单上），监管方仍以其涉嫌违反要求用户资料必须存放在俄罗斯的法律为由。Telegram 变慢引发各方抱怨，从流亡异议人士、克里姆林宫阵营的宣传者，到在被占领的乌克兰作战的士兵；他们都形容它是前线通讯不可或缺的工具。

这波打压也搭配国家支持的替代方案，核心是「Max」：一款容易被监控的「超级应用」，仿照中国的 WeChat，并由 Putin 资深幕僚 Sergei Kiriyenko 支持、由 VK 开发，而 VK 的 CEO 正是 Kiriyenko 的儿子。俄罗斯同时运用强制与诱因：限制竞争对手、要求国家员工改用 Max，并把政府服务与福利打包进去，例如在音乐节享有更短的排队时间。关键但书是，俄罗斯先前在 2018 年试图封锁 Telegram 曾因技术性规避（如在 IP 位址间切换）而失败；但文章主张，在经历 4 年战争与持续能力建设之后，一个由国家掌控、曾被认为不切实际的网际网路，如今看来愈发可行。

Last summer, President Vladimir Putin told Russia’s government to draft new restrictions on communications technology from countries deemed “unfriendly,” framed as protecting “digital sovereignty” while tightening control over the internet. The priority target turned out to be Meta’s WhatsApp: after months of disrupted video and audio calls, Meta said last week that Russia was attempting to fully block the world’s most-used messaging service. The move fits a broader campaign that has already hit other major Western platforms and escalated since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4 years ago.

Local reaction has been relatively muted despite WhatsApp having more than 100 million users in Russia, partly because the service can still be accessed via VPNs. Polling cited in the article says about 1/3 of Russians use VPNs at least once per month, reducing the immediate impact of blocks. At roughly the same time as the WhatsApp block, the communications regulator said it would throttle Telegram, even though Telegram is based in the United Arab Emirates (not on the “unfriendly” list), citing alleged violations of laws requiring user data to be stored in Russia. The Telegram slowdown triggered complaints spanning exiled dissidents, Kremlin-aligned propagandists, and soldiers in occupied Ukraine who describe it as indispensable for frontline communications.

The crackdown is paired with a state-backed replacement strategy centered on “Max,” a surveillance-prone “super-app” modeled on China’s WeChat, backed by senior Putin aide Sergei Kiriyenko and developed by VK, whose CEO is Kiriyenko’s son. Russia is combining coercion and incentives: restricting rivals, ordering state workers onto Max, and bundling government services and perks such as shorter lines at music festivals. A key caveat is that Russia’s earlier attempt to block Telegram in 2018 failed due to technical evasions like shifting across IP addresses, but the article argues that after 4 years of war and sustained capability-building, a state-controlled internet that once seemed unrealistic now looks increasingly achievable.