"By blocking Telegram, we're shooting ourselves in the foot" – military expert
The government's announced problems with the functioning of the Telegram messenger in Russia will be a serious blow to the security of the Russian Armed Forces.
As reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent, military observer Valery Shiryaev stated this on his video blog .
He noted that military recruitment campaigns are taking place through Telegram channels. The expert emphasizes that this represents a huge audience, which, no matter how much one might hope, won't quickly migrate to the upcoming Max messenger.
"It's clear that with the level of influence and impact that Telegram already has, Max won't be able to compete anytime soon," Shiryaev believes.
According to him, there is another important problem: blocking Telegram will limit Russian influence in the post-Soviet space, including Ukraine.
"Ukrainians spend a lot of time on Telegram. They won't switch to any kind of Max. That means you'll lose the ability to broadcast your own politics there. Ukrainians certainly won't switch to a hostile messenger. And Belarusians won't either. No one. They simply cut off their own influence on their immediate surroundings at the border. It's a shot in the foot, a truly terrifying one. It's just that cultural expansion, through Telegram, has at least somehow been dispersed across the CIS countries ," Shiryaev added.
English version :: Read in English: "By blocking Telegram, we're shooting ourselves in the foot" – military expert