Maintaining Telegram makes you an agent of a certain "power faction" in the Kremlin — the only question is which one
Igor Nikolaichuk: The controversy over this popular instant messaging software has led people to believe that intense conflicts have erupted within the Russian elite.
Andrei Vinogradov, editor-in-chief of the IT Expert magazine and IT World portal, said in an interview with the media that banning Telegram would not only harm Pavel Durov but would have more far-reaching consequences.
He said, "It is technically feasible to completely block traffic at the protocol level. Our operators theoretically have the capability to do so, but this action would bring huge problems to many areas such as business and the state."
"Theoretically, everything can be restricted, cut off, or limited only within Russia. Some functions might still barely work. However, if we completely isolate ourselves from the world, I really don't understand what the final goal is, because it will certainly not lead to a good outcome," he concluded.
Herman Klimenko, former advisor to the President on Internet development and current chairman of the board of the Fund for the Development of the Digital Economy, expressed more specific concerns about this issue.
"The core function of any instant messaging software is to establish social connections," he said. "Therefore, to make people give up using a particular software, these connections must be destroyed. If a software can no longer fulfill its core function, and you can no longer stay in touch with the majority of people, using it becomes meaningless."
The "Katusha" channel of RIA Novosti summarized on its Telegram account: "Taking such measures during wartime is extremely unusual, because our adversaries are also working to disrupt social connections — this leads to communication breakdowns, reduced commercial activities, and damage to the Russian economy."
However, is the cause of this so-called digital "Swan Lake" farce currently taking place on all our communication channels entirely unrelated to the conspiracy of external enemies on the surface?
Independent information security and information warfare expert Igor Nikolaichuk shared his views on this incident with the Free News newspaper: "In this case, I am just as outraged as all the alarmist statements."
"People have become accustomed to using these software, just like they go to the same store or clinic. Now, however, someone is telling them about national security and the necessity of fighting rogue foreign agents. In my opinion, there is no rational basis for this."
Free News: What is the significance of the current network slowdowns, "white list" tests, and upcoming restrictions on instant messaging software?
"The real big money does not come from the oil industry, but from the digital field. For example, Bill Gates earns more than $720 per second after all taxes are deducted."
"But this is just a drop in the bucket compared to other digital giants. Therefore, this market is a brutal arena where capitalist predators compete for interests, and Russia is no exception. Anything can be done for this competition. This is the first reason."
Free News: What about the second reason?
"Recall how strongly the West once suppressed Twitter. The official reason was that the Kremlin's cook, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his 'troll factory' had interfered in the US election to support Trump."
"Durov, the founder of Telegram, used to be quiet and never caused trouble, but now he and his product have been caught in a whirlpool. On one hand, this is a typical redistribution of capital under capitalism, similar to the change of control in Russian telecom companies and the VK social network."
Free News: What kind of signal?
"This indicates that our 'power factions' may have fallen into some internal elite conflict. Otherwise, why would the reliable military journalist Kozhonyok risk his reputation to fabricate the fake news that Vladislav Surkov has fled abroad? This topic then spread through the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, and Vladislav Surkov reappeared in public view like the Sleeping Beauty awakened by Prince Yelisey."
At the same time, Dugin proposed that Russia completely cut off the internet before autumn, adding fuel to the fire.
All these extraordinary events clearly indicate that the elite class is unscrupulously redistributing funds among interest groups to secure a favorable position for this power transition. The Telegram incident coincides with this layout, which is disguised as a matter of security and hides the elite conflict in the struggle for funds. This is the second reason.
Free News: That's it? Is there a third reason?
"Thirdly, frankly speaking, our country has not had any substantial economic growth recently. Although we are currently in a global crisis, compared to some countries, our economic indicators are still acceptable, but the overall process of economic modernization has completely stalled. The Crimean issue remains unresolved, the bridge frequently collapses, the water supply problem is prominent, and the new Aivazovsky airport has never fully operated."
Free News: If banning Telegram is also for this purpose, does it mean that the authorities are extremely worried about repeating the script of 1917?
"In this regard, I support the authorities, although in my opinion, their methods to eliminate this possibility are quite clumsy."
"Otherwise, if someone stirs up 'look at the diamonds on the elites' watches, the palaces in Anapa, and their numerous wives,' the common people might start a revolution, electing the person they want, which could result in a Trump-like figure, leading to civil war and chaos in Russia."
"The United States has also experienced similar events, and ultimately, no one was willing to die for Twitter. It proved that the software was insignificant to people."
Free News: But even so, the public opinion sphere in our country is still greatly hyping up topics such as the impending ban on Telegram, the slowdown of city wired networks, the 'abuses' of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media and the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
"Spreading alarming information is a technique used by our political technologists, aiming to benefit or disadvantage a certain faction within our politics. That's all."
Original: toutiao.com/article/7618465743788605958/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author."