Russia is driving society into the controlled messenger Max: how it is used in the occupied territories
Kyiv • UNN
Russia is aggressively forcing citizens to use the state messenger Max, which is becoming a tool of control. Schoolchildren and students face threats for refusing to install the application, and in the occupied territories, Max only works with Russian and Belarusian SIM cards, isolating Ukrainians.
In Russia, citizens are increasingly aggressively forced to switch to the state messenger Max, and this is already turning into an instrument of coercion and control, UNN reports with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service.
Details
According to intelligence, in Penza, students of local gymnasium No. 13 were not allowed to attend the New Year's disco because they refused to install the application.
A similar situation was recorded in Novorossiysk: students of the Ushakov State Maritime University are forced to install Max under the threat of not being admitted to sessions and practical training. Teachers warned that electronic grade books are now linked to the national messenger, and registration verification will be carried out by name. In addition, students are obliged to subscribe to "necessary" channels in the application, emphasizing that this issue is "under the control of the leadership."
Parents of schoolchildren from the Moscow region also report the forced transfer of school chats to Max. Teachers are ordered to transfer all official communication to the state messenger. Those who ask for alternative communication channels are simply ignored.
In Nizhny Novgorod, schoolchildren say that without Max, they effectively lose access to information about their studies, as schedules, announcements, and assignments are published only there.
In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, this messenger is generally used as an instrument of isolation: it only works with Russian and Belarusian SIM cards, making it difficult for people to connect with the free world. At the same time, Russia is blocking the operation of alternative services – Telegram and WhatsApp
In addition, a clear Kremlin strategy is being recorded: under the guise of "convenience" and "security," to impose an instrument of digital control on society, to deprive people of choice, and to maximize the restriction of privacy and freedom of communication.
Russian economy enters a phase of controlled chaos - intelligence27.12.25, 05:37 • 6045 views