Russian Instagram influencers sent farewell messages to their followers over the weekend, advising people to follow them on other platforms or use VPN software to bypass government restrictions.
“This decision will lock out 80 million in Russia from each other, and from the rest of the world,” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri He warned in a tweet last Friday. “It is untrue that 80% of Russians follow an Instagram account from outside their country.”
Kareena Nigam, a Russian fashion influencer, criticized the ban in a live stream. “It’s my job,” said Nigge. “Imagine you recently lost your job and you’re not getting paid at all, but you still have expenses for your family, and if you have subordinates, for your team, and you suddenly end up with them. Have no money to pay.”
Instagram has given a platform to Russians, especially affluent billionaires and their families, to raise their voices against the war. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s daughter Sofia Abramovich sent an anti-Putin message on Instagram before deleting it, while wealthy Russian banker Oleg Tinkov said the conflict was “unthinkable and irresponsible”.