DIGITAL LIFE

Smartphone with Russian ''technology'' aimed at surveilling and controlling its citizens

Russian national devices are a failure – it's no secret. However, as it turns out, the purpose of these technologies may be something other than what you might think.

In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began more than a year ago, the largest companies began to leave the country ruled by Vladimir Putin in droves. Russia, though it thought itself untouchable, faced huge problems in terms of technology – and it's hard to get any sympathy here, and solutions to these problems so far can be viewed with pity.

In Russia, you already have a Russian national laptop and two smartphones – and, in general, all devices have in common the fact that they are technological dinosaurs in a relatively modern box. Although Russia has threatened to create replacements for Samsung's best flagships or iPhones, in fact it has created something like a Frankenstein monster. It turns out that this is not the end of the struggle in this matter.

One more smartphone with Russian ''technology'' is about to be manufactured...Another Russian smartphone is being created. The National Computer Corporation (NCC), one of the largest Russian IT companies, will be responsible for this. It's hard to say whether NCC is overly optimistic and confident or, for some reason, really believes in such a huge success for its next product - but we are talking about a really ambitious goal of selling 100,000 smartphones and tablets by the end of 2023. founder of NCC told local media a few days ago that he intends to invest 10 billion rubles, or almost PLN 600 million, in the project and hopes to capture 10% of the market by 2026.

The doubts are understandable, given the previous national smartphones. But even more important, the US Department of Commerce recently banned the export of phones and other electronic devices that cost more than $300 to Russia, and it is not certain that the NCC will be able to use Android (experts believe that the in principle they can offer Google's system, but in the long run the Mountain View giant will not agree to cooperate). Given that Russians have access to cheap bids from Chinese companies, success seems…simply impossible.

Russian digital sovereignty used by the regime to surveil and control its citizens?...Observing Russia's actions and approach to many issues, it's hard not to get the impression that the situation with sanctions is in its favor. Serving only its own technology to its citizens means state control over the Internet within its borders, including all content published on the web, as well as data and infrastructure, which allows the government to isolate the country's online sphere from the rest of the world. And, paradoxically, this is not a new tactic, as the Russian government began to adopt this idea after the sanctions that followed the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

As the WIRED editors sum up, it can be said that Russia has achieved success. After all, after blocking Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, many Russians have switched to domestic social media – most notably VKontakte, which is the Russian equivalent of Facebook. The same applies to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, because Russian companies have made sure Russians use services like Yappy, Rossgram and RuTube. You won't be surprised if I write that they were all pieces of a propaganda puzzle.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin admitted some time ago that Russia wants to replace 85% of foreign software with Russian substitutes. In addition, there is still the Russian app store theme, which will completely separate citizens of this country from foreign apps and social media. Therefore, the NCC does not want to provide Russian citizens with a smartphone that will replace the flagships of the largest companies – it is just another propaganda tool.

mundophone