Opposition activists in Russia accused Google and Apple of caving in to Kremlin pressure after they removed an anti-government tactical voting app, devised by allies of Alexei Navalny, from their stores on the first day of a parliamentary election
representatives in the run-up to the election to tell them to remove the app or face serious consequences including fines and criminal prosecution.
Leonid Volkov, an ally of Navalny, accused Google and Apple of buckling under what he described as a Kremlin campaign of blackmail.Ivan Zhdanov, another Navalny ally, called the companies' action a mistake and "a shameful act of political censorship."Andrei Klimov, a senior senator from the ruling party, said he was pleased by the U.S. tech giants' behaviour.Reuters independently verified that the app was unavailable on Apple's AppStore and Google Play for Russian users.
State communications regulator Roskomnadzor has demanded that Apple and Google remove the app, threatening fines for non-compliance.DRY-RUN FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION The vote is seen as a dry-run for the presidential election due in 2024, a highly sensitive moment for the Kremlin should it choose to embark on a political transition to a new head of state.At stake is United Russia's super majority in the 450-seat State Duma, which last year helped Putin ease through constitutional reforms that allow him to run for office again and potentially stay in power until 2036.
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