After fully blocking Meta’s WhatsApp in Russia, the Putin administration has moved to push a state-backed ‘national messenger’. This decision comes after Russia blocked WhatsApp for failing to comply with local laws.
In an official statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that WhatsApp was blocked due to “Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law.”
The move against WhatsApp is a result of six months of pressure on the US-based company. Based on reports, Russia has accused Meta of allowing WhatsApp to be used to “organise and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, to recruit their perpetrators and to commit fraud and other crimes.”
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The block also reflects a wider push by the authorities to create and control a “sovereign” communications framework, especially as the war in Ukraine rages on.
What is MAX? Russia’s alternative to WhatsApp
MAX is a messenger application released in 2025 in Russia. The state-backed app will operate as a universal mobile application or ‘super app’. MAX is also seen as the 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 signatures and electronic Gosuslugi, which is a digital platform for municipal services in Russia.
In 2024, in a meeting headed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, it was planned to develop MAX as the official Russian messenger, similar to national messengers seen in China (WeChat), Japan (Line), South Korea (Kakao Talk) and Vietnam (Zalo).
As part of Moscow’s push for this application, MAX was pre-installed on smartphones sold in the Russian Federation from September 2025 onwards.
Furthermore, Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor began restricting other messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
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Kremlin says MAX more ‘accessible’
With WhatsApp now fully blocked in Russia, the Kremlin has stated that MAX will serv e as a accessible application for mobile users in Russia.
“Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it is an alternative available on the market for citizens,” said Peskov.
MAX seen as a ‘surveillance tool’ by critics
Despite the Kremlin’s recent statement, the Russian messenger is seen as a surveillance tool by critics. With the application containing details ranging from social media profiles to digital signatures, many have stated that a mandatory shift to this application will allow the government to keep track on all activity and monitor its citizens.
As per the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), MAX is a platform designed to insert surveillance in civic life.
“It is a platform designed to insert surveillance into the core of Russian civic life, but it does so in a society without the implicit bargain of prosperity that underpins China’s acceptance of similar tools,” wrote Enrique Dans, a senior fellow at CEPA.
“MAX is not simply a digital service, but a test case in authoritarian governance through technology,” reads the It is a platform designed to insert surveillance into the core of Russian civic life, but it does so in a society without the implicit bargain of prosperity that underpins China’s acceptance of similar tools.
Danes has also highlighted the lack of end-to-end encryption in MAX and says the application has been designed to share metadata, location and other activities with authorities.
