India, Oct. 4 -- According to independent analyses, the Russian 'super app' allegedly possesses capabilities that go far beyond those required for an ordinary messaging platform.

Since becoming president of Russia twenty-six years ago, Vladimir Putin has understood a simple truth about political power in the twenty-first century: whoever controls information controls society. For years, he has tightened his grip on television, newspapers, radio stations, websites, and social media. Independent journalism has been branded "foreign influence", and opposition figures have been imprisoned or driven into exile. Internet censorship has expanded dramatically since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Now, Putin's control appe...