Russia's state-backed messaging app Max blocks regional chats where users tracked gas availability and shared information about lines at filling stations

Russia's state-backed messaging app Max has blocked chats in at least four Russian regions where users were tracking gas availability and sharing information about lines at filling stations, according to the outlet 7×7.

Journalists found reports of the deletions on community pages from Ivanovo, Vladimir, Tver, Krasnokamsk, and Chita. The Vladimir region's "Benzin 33" chat had amassed 15,000 subscribers in three days; "Benzin Ivanovo" had around eight thousand, and the Tver chat had nine thousand.

The Vladimir chat was blocked for a technical violation — any resource exceeding 10,000 subscribers is required to register with Russia's federal media regulator Roskomnadzor, according to the Vladimir-based news outlet Zebra TV. The reasons for the other blockings are unknown.

Russia's fuel crisis, which began after Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, is spreading to more and more regions — with authorities in more than 20 already imposing restrictions on gasoline sales, while shortages are reported at gas stations across most of the rest. At the same time, the Federal Antimonopoly Service has banned the sale of gasoline on digital platforms — such listings are being blocked at the moderation stage on Ozon and Wildberries, and hidden on Avito.