Russian bloggers are being urged to join the “competitive” social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.
At midnight on Monday, March 14 (Moscow time), the Russian Federation closed user access to the social network Instagram.
This is reported by Russian news agencies with reference to the official distribution of Roskomnadzor messages through the public services portal.
According to Roskomnadzor, access to the social network is limited due to the spread of calls to commit violent acts against Russians, including military personnel.
As you know, Meta Platforms has temporarily allowed Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to publish messages containing calls for violence against Russian soldiers in the context of their invasion of Ukraine, as well as calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
In the message, representatives of Roskomnadzor noted that one of the goals of blocking is to ensure the psychological health of citizens.
The Russians were informed about the blocking of Instagram, in particular, through the mailing list of the public services portal. In it, Roskomnadzor recalled that Russia has its own “competitive” Internet platforms, in particular the social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.
“We hope that your transition to these Internet environments will happen quickly, and in the future you will discover new opportunities for communication and doing business,” said the messages received by the Russians.
Meanwhile, Instagram bloggers from Russia themselves are actively recording tearful videos in which they say that they simply cannot imagine their life without the social network.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri called the decision to block the social network in Russia “wrong”.
“This decision will cut off 80 million in Russia from each other and the rest of the world, since about 80% of people in Russia have signed up for an Instagram account outside their country,” he wrote.
Recall that in Russia they decided to officially block the social network Facebook.
