Federal authorities continue publishing their news and reports on Telegram despite its blocking. Views on their posts in TG channels have fallen, but they have many times fewer subscribers on the Max messenger

Forwarded From We Can Explain

Federal authorities continue publishing their news and reports on Telegram despite its blocking. Views on their posts in TG channels have fallen, but they have many times fewer subscribers on the Max messenger

Despite statements that Telegram refuses to comply with Russian law and is therefore being “restricted,” officials and security agencies use it as if nothing had happened to inform citizens, MO noticed. And it remains their main platform for news and reports.

▪️The channels of the Kremlin, Government, State Duma, Federation Council, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Health, Federal Tax Service, Investigative Committee, Prosecutor General’s Office, other ministries and agencies, and even Roskomnadzor itself, which blocks Telegram, are regularly updated. Only the Ministry of Digital Development has shown principle and abandoned its channel: there have been no new posts there since late March.

▪️After the blocking of Telegram began in February, publication reach fell for almost all government channels. For example, posts on the State Duma channel now average 3,000-15,000 views, whereas in early February they had 13,000-20,000. Ministry of Defense posts are now read by 20,000-50,000 people, while in early February it was 50,000-70,000. Most channels have also lost subscribers, although that process began long before the blocking and may not be connected to it.

▪️Most channels publish news and reports related to their agency’s profile. The State Duma channel sometimes reposts photos of Volodin, and the Ministry of Economic Development draws pictures of Reshetnikov in the style of old computer games. Roskomnadzor on its resource in the very Telegram it has blocked offers users a chance to guess the author from the text of his poem. Many agencies urge users in every post to subscribe to their channels on the Max messenger.

▪️The Federal Tax Service congratulated Russians on Telegram on the May holidays, highlighting the word “peace” in an improvised crossword. The Investigative Committee reported on its employees’ participation in the “Immortal Regiment” march, which took place before Victory Day.

▪️Most of the same agencies’ channels on Max have so far failed to gain as many subscribers as on Telegram. The State Duma channel on the national messenger has 40,000 subscribers, while on TG it has 120,000. The Ministry of Defense has gained 176,000 on Max, versus almost 600,000 on Telegram. Against that background, the Kremlin channel stands out, having gained 1.3 million subscribers on Max, although on Durov’s messenger it has fewer than 300,000.

▪️Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev explained in early February that the blocking of Telegram was the authorities’ reaction to the “systematic and constant violation by the messenger of the requirements of federal law.” Since then, there have been no reports that Telegram has “corrected itself,” and Durov has called for “digital resistance.” Nevertheless, the authorities see no problem with covering their activities on a law-violating messenger.

⚠️ Subscribe, we’ll explain everything