“Vkontakte” is a social networking site that can be used for free, almost similar to “Facebook”, and it is one of the most popular sites in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
A statistic conducted by the international consumer statistics website “Statista” revealed that “VKontakte” topped the list of the most used social media platforms last year.
Russia is currently facing the war of communication platforms with its “Vkontakte” platform, which achieved the highest rate of use in Russia in 2021, according to “Statista” statistics, as it acquired 73 percent of users of social media platforms in the country.
Russian alternative
On the importance of the alternative to Facebook and Twitter, the researcher in Russian affairs, Nagham Kabas, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that, “After blocking Facebook and Twitter from the Russian government because of their position on the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Russians have an alternative. Local, a Facebook-like social networking application called VKontakte, which is popular among Russian citizens as well as foreigners residing in Russia, and there are also a number of people abroad who use this application.
“Russia’s decision to block communication sites came in response to the restrictions imposed on the access of the Russian media, and even before the Russian military campaign, major Russian media outlets were blocked, including Zvezda newspaper, Sputnik agencies, Novosti and other newspapers,” Kabas added.
And she continued, “Moscow’s decision to restrict Facebook came in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as it only shows the Western point of view,” according to the Russian version.
And the Interfax news agency reported, on Friday, that Russia blocked Twitter, in response to Western measures imposed on Russian media, after the start of military operations against Ukraine on February 24.
The Twitter ban comes as Russia’s communications regulator announced the blocking of Facebook in response to what it said were restrictions on access to Russian media on the platform.
The authority noted that there have been 26 cases of Facebook discrimination against Russian media since October 2020, with access to state-supported channels restricted.
Russia accuses social media platforms such as “Facebook” and “Twitter” of imposing tight censorship on content that promotes the Russian point of view or anti-Western ideas.
On the other hand, Twitter said that it had learned of restrictions on the entry of some people in Russia to its social networking platform, stressing that it seeks to keep the site safe and available.