Maksim Shingarkin: Russian Developers and Bloggers Should Work Here, Not on Other Countries’ Platforms
Maksim Shingarkin compares Russia’s reliance on foreign social media and blogging platforms to economic dependence and sees genuine digital sovereignty in creating conditions that allow Russian professionals to work in their own country.
Digital sovereignty will be among the topics discussed at the II Global Digital Forum, which will take place in Moscow from Oct. 8 to 10 at the Mechta venue in Gorky Park. Public figure Maksim Shingarkin told IT Russia why he believes the country needs its own digital infrastructure.
– Today, our dependence on foreign platforms is the same as our dependence in the economy. We hand over control of the agenda, data and money to those who could cut us off from their servers tomorrow.
Social media and blogging are not toys. They are a new economy where public opinion is shaped and real money is made. And here we have the same problem as in industry: we consume rather than produce. We need our own platforms, our own algorithms and our own rules. Not to isolate ourselves, but so that we are not guests at someone else’s party.
Who decides today what millions of people will see? Whose interests do these algorithms promote? These questions matter more than they may seem. Without our own digital infrastructure, we will always be playing catch-up rather than being in control.
I do not believe in bans for the sake of bans. I believe in creating conditions that allow Russian developers, bloggers and entrepreneurs to work here rather than look for better opportunities on other platforms. That is what genuine digital sovereignty means.
