Support The Moscow Times!

Navalny Accuses Google, Apple of Becoming Putin's 'Accomplices'

Moskva News Agency

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny accused Google and Apple Thursday of acting as the Kremlin's "accomplices" after the companies removed his voting app during the country's parliamentary election last week.

"If something surprised me in the latest elections, it was not how (President Vladimir) Putin forged the results, but how obediently the almighty Big Tech turned into his accomplices," Navalny said on Twitter. 

Apple and Google removed the opposition-run "Smart Voting" app advising supporters on how to vote out Kremlin allies as polled opened across Russia last Friday. 

Navalny allies accused the tech giants of "censorship."

The jailed Kremlin critic said the tech giants were run by "cowardly and greedy" people. 

"They tell us about 'making the world a better place', but on the inside they are liars and hypocrites," he said. 

Navalny also said he was "terribly upset and disappointed" with Pavel Durov, the head of the Telegram messaging app. The Smart Voting bot also disappeared from the app during the election. 

Russia-born Durov had said he was following Apple and Google, which "dictate the rules of the game to developers like us."

Sources familiar with Google and Apple's decision said the move was taken under pressure from Russian authorities, including threats to arrest local staff of the tech giant.

The Kremlin welcomed the move, saying the tech giants had conformed with "the letter and spirit" of Russian law. 

The Russian opposition accused authorities of mass voter fraud after the three-day vote in which the ruling United Russia party won a sweeping majority. 

The election came after a sweeping crackdown on Putin's opponents. 

Navalny, who was detained in January and has seen his allies arrested or flee the country and his organizations banned, had nonetheless tried to dent the Kremlin's grip on parliament from behind bars.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more