Pavel Durov stated that 65 million Russians have joined the "digital resistance."
Durov wrote on his Telegram account:
"Telegram has been banned in Russia — yet still, 65 million Russians use it daily via VPN, with over 500 million messages sent every day.
For years, the Russian government has tried to ban Telegram and also attempted to block VPNs. Their blocking efforts triggered a massive banking crisis — yesterday, cash became the only payment method nationwide.
Iran previously banned Telegram as well, with similar outcomes. The Iranian government had hoped its own surveillance apps would gain widespread adoption, but instead, VPNs spread everywhere.
Now, beyond Iran's 50 million participants in the 'digital resistance,' another 50 million from Russia have joined.
Welcome back to the 'digital resistance,' my brothers and sisters in Russia.
The entire nation is mobilizing to bypass these absurd restrictions. Thousands are setting up VPNs and proxies.
And we will continue adapting and optimizing — making Telegram traffic harder to detect and block."
Original: toutiao.com/article/1861553935827968/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.