Russia completely cut off Instagram access in the country as of night time. The future of this was already clear, because the Putin government had announced the decision in a few days. This was because Meta, the parent company of Instagram, allowed the sharing of violent content such as “Death to the Russian invaders” after the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine.
And the Instagram ban apparently hurt Russians much more than any other sanction.
A Russian Instagram phenomenon posted a video of him sobbing after Vladimir Putin banned Western social media in Russia. While we don’t know the exact reason for this video, it’s certainly a factor that many Russian Instagram influencers have had to give up their “impressive” income.
The same phenomenon, speaking to fans in a live telegram video, sobbed: ‘As an Instagram influencer, do you think this is a source of income for me? To me, Instagram is all life, a soul. It’s something I wake up with, fall asleep with.”‘
The young woman later told fans she was “in the initial stages of grief” over the news of the Instagram ban. However, she came under fierce criticism online and ‘was killed by thousands of dead people, including her citizens.
Russian Instagram Models “Victim”
Other Russia-based Instagram models like Liza Lukasheva and Anna Ivanova before the social media app was banned in the country
Liza Lukasheva, who has one million followers, said goodbye to her last Instagram post before the ban was implemented. He said: ‘My dear friends, Instagram will be closed in our country in the near future. moment and I will be happy to continue producing content for you. Subscribe to my Telegram channel and VKontakte community. I promise to keep telling the events in my life! Thanks for everything.’
Anna Ivanova, who has 4.4 million followers on Instagram, said in her last post: ‘Millions of stories shared with you, thousands of posts, thousands of happy moments, your support, your love, the music I can share with you, all of these make us feel great. united in the family. Almost 5 million people and 10 years… I’m sure things will get better and more, but for now I just wish all of us peace and strength to endure all hardships. I’m waiting for you on my Telegram channel and VK group.’
Telegram and its Founder Lives in Russia
Pavel Durov Telegram is a multiplatform platform that allows users to exchange text, photos and videos in groups of up to 200,000 people. It stands out as a messaging application. Russian-born billionaire Pavel Durov founded both Telegram and VKontakte (VK), but was fired from the company and forced to leave Russia by the national security agency FSB for refusing to provide private data of Ukrainian VK users.
In a post viewed more than 1.2 million times on Telegram, Durov emphasized that his mother’s maiden name is Ukrainian:
“This is why this tragic conflict is personal to both me and Telegram. Some People wondered if Telegram was less safe for Ukrainians because I once lived in Russia. Let me tell these people how my career in Russia ended. Nine years ago I was the CEO of VK, the largest social network in Russia and Ukraine. In 2013, the Russian security agency FSB asked me to give them the private data of Ukrainian VK users protesting a pro-Russian President.
I refused to comply because it would mean betraying our Ukrainian users. I was later fired from the company I founded and I had to leave Russia I lost my company and my home but I would do it again – without hesitation
I was still living in Russia and my team and my old company was in that country. Many years have passed since then. Many things have changed: I no longer live in Russia, I no longer have any company or employees there. But one thing remains the same – I support our users no matter what. Privacy rights are sacred. Now more than ever.’
A Closed Communication Channel for Russians
The Washington Post, in its article on the subject, refers to the sanctions imposed on Russia to date, and comments: “Perhaps no movement has ever created a social network that directly connects Russians to other users around the world. It’s no more isolating than removing it from media platforms.”
Instagram is a huge source of income for its users who earn cash with their posts. But the shutdown of Instagram does not only affect Russian influencers with millions of followers. Russians, who use Instagram to stay in touch with their friends, share photos or share pictures of their children, write farewell notes by sharing the account information of Telegram, the messaging service that continues to be used in Russia.
Not just Phenomena…
But it’s not just about phenomena and their income. Small and medium-sized businesses have long used Instagram as their main sales tool and are grieving the loss of this channel. There are also Russian charities that raise money on Instagram. “Instagram isn’t just pictures. It’s also a chance to do a lot of work and good deeds,” says the Russian dog shelter Husky Help.
The Instagram ban also affects the small number of Russians who speak out against the war, cutting off their connections with millions of Russian followers.
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