After completely blocking WhatsApp in Russia, the Putin administration has pushed a state-backed ‘national messenger’. The decision comes after Russia blocked WhatsApp for failing to comply with local laws.
MAX was pre-installed on smartphones sold in the Russian Federation from September 2025. After that, messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram faced restrictions (REUTERS)In an official statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said WhatsApp was blocked “due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law.”
The move against WhatsApp comes as a result of six months of pressure on the US-based company. According to the report, Russia accused Meta of allowing WhatsApp to be used to “organize and conduct terrorist activities on the country’s territory, recruit their perpetrators, and commit fraud and other crimes.”
Also Read | Govt withdraws mandatory pre-installation order of Sanchar Saathi
The bloc also reflects a broader push by authorities to create and control a “sovereign” communications framework, particularly during the war in Ukraine.
More Read
What is MAX? WhatsApp Alternative RussiaMAX is a messenger application released in Russia in 2025. The state-sponsored app will function as a universal mobile application or ‘super app’. MAX is also seen as an upgraded version of VK Messenger, which was first released in 2022 but failed to gain traction in the country.
With MAX, users will be able to use the functions of social media, digital ID, electronic signature and electronic Gosuslugi, a digital platform for municipal services in Russia.
In 2024, at a meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, plans were made to develop MAX as the official Russian messenger, similar to the national messengers seen in China (WeChat), Japan (Line), South Korea (Kakao Talk) and Vietnam (Jalow).
More Read
As part of Moscow’s push for this application, MAX was pre-installed on smartphones sold in the Russian Federation from September 2025.
Additionally, Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor has begun restricting other messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
Also Read | Telegram faces further sanctions in Russia as authorities threaten fines
Kremlin says MAX more ‘accessible’With WhatsApp now completely blocked in Russia, the Kremlin said that MAX will serve as an accessible application for mobile users in Russia.
“Max is an accessible option, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it’s an option available in the market for citizens,” said Peskov.
MAX is seen by critics as a ‘surveillance tool’Despite the Kremlin’s recent statements, the Russian messenger is viewed by critics as a surveillance tool. The app contains details ranging from social media profiles to digital signatures, with many saying a mandatory shift to the app would allow the government to track all activities and monitor its citizens.
According to the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), MAX is a platform designed to insert surveillance into citizens’ lives.
“This is a platform designed to insert surveillance into the core of Russian civic life, but does so without compromising the inherent prosperity in a society that is based on China’s acceptance of similar tools,” wrote Enrique Dans, a senior fellow at CEPA.
“MAX is not just a digital service, but a test case of authoritarian rule through technology,” reads a platform designed to insert surveillance into the core of Russian civic life, but to do so in a society that bases its acceptance of similar tools in China without the underlying bargain of prosperity.
Danes also highlighted the lack of end-to-end encryption in MAX and said the app was designed to share metadata, location and other activities with authorities.