Two phones and an app: How Russians skirt Putin’s digital iron curtain
MOSCOW: In a quiet cafe popular for its free Wi-Fi and good coffee, a Russian interior designer logs onto a virtual private network so she can chat with friends abroad using the U.S. messaging service WhatsApp, which is blocked inside Russia.
Later, she toggles off the VPN to buy a ticket on the Russian Railways website, which bars anyone using the tools to obscure their location. She then picks up a second phone to check for messages from clients on the state-controlled app MAX. Since the Kremlin ratcheted up control over the internet this year,
