In a press release issued Thursday via state media outlet RIA-Novosti and translated by Google, rapey mustache guy/Kremlin spokesworm Dmitry Peskov “called the Max platform an accessible alternative to other messaging apps. ‘Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it (this alternative – ed) is available on the market for citizens,’ he told reporters. VK launched the beta version of the MAX digital platform in March 2025. The platform allows users to exchange messages, make calls, send voice messages, and send files up to four gigabytes in size. The app is available in the App Store, RuStore, and Google Play.”

Amazingly, the statement’s characterization of MAX as an “accessible alternative” is factually accurate because, per CNBC, far more popular platform is, as of Thursday, completely banned in Russia and thus MAX is the currently accessible alternative to the Facebook-owned chat app.

Still, Peskov’s pitch could’ve worked maybe just a little bit harder to sell Russians on Max by emphasizing the superior content moderation and “user safety” team responsiveness. Everyone’s got some annoying conspiracy theorist weirdo who constantly posts insane garbage like “Civilians are being targeted in Ukraine” and “President Putin is insanely paranoid about being assassinated by Kyiv so he never sleeps in the same bed two nights in a row.” With Max, you won’t have to see them posting that kind of disinfo again. And you won’t have to see them in real life again either.

Same story with Telegram – developed by a Russian – and Instagram, which was blocked in 2023.