Russian economy could lose $1 billion this year because of the Telegram ban

The collateral damage to the Russian economy caused by the Russian authorities’ efforts to block Telegram will reach $1 billion within a few months, according to software company Flexbby, cited by business daily Kommersant and online publication Meduza.

The damage is essentially due to the fact that, by blocking of millions of IP addresses, the crackdown on Telegram has affected cloud services offered by Google and Amazon, disrupting the activity of some 400 Russian companies, according to Flexbby.

Online storage, geolocation, e-payment and banking services have been affected, as well as AI systems, mobile apps, customer service, and more, as listed by Meduza.