The Kremlin is actively promoting MAX, a state-backed messaging application, even as significant numbers of Russians remain wary or refuse to download it. Authorities have repeatedly cut mobile internet, authorised expansive powers to sever mass communications, and jammed messaging services and virtual private networks - creating a communications environment in which Moscow is pushing a domestic alternative.
MAX describes itself as a "national messenger" and is owned by a company whose chief executive is the son of one of President Vladimir Putin's top aides. That close connection has added to scepticism among users who worry about the app's links to the state.
Some people have adopted MAX out of necessity rather than preference. Irina Matveeva, a saxophonist in Moscow who performs with the "Good Gollys" band, said she installed the app because she needed it to communicate with students. "But I am not happy with this situation," Matveeva told Reuters at the Rhythm & Blues Cafe in Moscow. "I try to use it as little as possible." She described the blocking of Telegram as confusing and annoying, and outlined frustrations switching among messaging platforms while relying on VPNs and coping with internet jamming.
Matveeva's attitude is not isolated. Ten other Russians who spoke on the matter expressed comparable scepticism about MAX, signalling a broader unease among users who had grown accustomed to the relative freedom of other messaging services. By contrast, two individuals said they enjoyed using MAX and had largely moved on from Telegram and WhatsApp, which remain partially jammed in Moscow.
Russian officials defend the drive toward a national messenger on security grounds. They argue that foreign messaging applications, including Telegram, have been penetrated by hostile intelligence services and that Moscow must secure communications by building a "sovereign" internet environment. In that framing, a domestic app authorised and promoted by the state is presented as a tool to protect national communications.
VK, the owner of MAX, did not reply to a request for comment. The company stated on March 26 that MAX had added 107 million users since its launch a year ago, and that the application is used across the world - in Russia and former Soviet states, as well as in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Opposition activists, however, warn that Russian security services have access to data from MAX and that artificial intelligence systems scan that data to monitor potential threats to the state and to gauge domestic opinion and dissent. Those claims underscore privacy and surveillance fears that feed user reluctance to adopt the app wholesale.
Views among users vary. One person, who gave his name only as Danil, said he was content to support a domestic messenger and used MAX without concern. Others, after years of preferring the relative latitude of alternative messaging platforms, said they purposely avoid the app. "I intentionally ask my inner circle not to download it because Telegram is closer to me," said Olga Kravets.
Resistance to enforced choices is reflected in the way some Russians have reacted to being required to use MAX for state-related processes. One woman, who declined to give her second name and identified herself as Anna because of sensitivity, said she had been compelled to download the app when Gosuslugi - the state portal that handles passports, driving licences, university admissions and hunting permits - demanded a confirmation number be sent to MAX. "I kept it on my phone to use it in case everything else is shut down. But I do not plan to use it," she said.
Technologists and industry observers have also criticised the manner of the rollout. Denis Kuskov, head of the TelecomDaily information portal, said it is wrong to require the whole population to install MAX before the app is functioning flawlessly. He said he had not installed it yet, not out of fear but because "installing an app or ordering a service should be a personal choice." Kuskov added: "Not because I am afraid to do so."
The push for MAX sits within a broader set of measures described by diplomats as a "great crackdown" on communications: suppression of mobile internet at times, legal authorisations to sever mass communications and technical interference with foreign messaging services and VPNs. Those moves have in turn driven some users to adopt the government-backed alternative, while prompting others to resist on grounds of privacy, convenience and principle.
The debate over MAX reflects a tension between state arguments about securing communications and citizens' concerns about surveillance, voluntariness and service reliability. For some, the app is a pragmatic tool they will use when required; for others, it is an unwanted imposition that they will avoid when possible.
Summary
The Kremlin is encouraging adoption of MAX, a state-backed messaging app, amid internet disruptions and restrictions on foreign messaging services. Some users install MAX out of necessity or preference, while many are reluctant because of privacy concerns and the app's ties to state authorities. Officials argue that a "national messenger" is necessary for security, but critics say the service gives security services access to user data and is scanned by artificial intelligence.