Russia Official Fired After Asking Putin To End Instagram and Facebook Bans

A Russian official has been fired after asking President Vladimir Putin to end bans that were placed on Instagram and Facebook shortly after the Ukraine war began.

Valeriya Rytvina, founder of the Council of Bloggers under Russia's Federation Council, was expelled after the group appealed to Putin to reconsider the decision to block Instagram and Facebook.

Facebook and Instagram were banned in Russia in March after a court labeled parent company Meta as "extremist" amid a wider crackdown by Putin on independent news outlets and Western social media companies.

Russian news outlet Vedomosti first reported news of the appeal, citing letters that the council sent to Putin.

The council said that after the social networks were blocked: "Russia has lost an effective channel for forming a positive image of the country, and Russian users have lost the opportunity to create content aimed at defending the interests of the country."

The authors of the appeal said Russia is losing ground every day in the information war during the so-called special military operation in Ukraine.

Russian alternatives to the social media platforms are unpopular and "they have not become an equivalent and effective replacement for banned networks," the council said.

"Limiting access to Meta social networks has negative consequences for Russian bloggers and risks for the whole country," the appeal states.

The council also said that a quarter of Russians continue to use blocked social networks through VPN services, many of which "pose a threat to users' personal data."

The Federation Council has since issued a statement on its Telegram channel denying the existence of the Council of Bloggers.

Rytvina's "initiatives are not the official position of the Federation Council, committees, or other bodies attached to the chamber," the statement said.

"Due to the fact that Valeriya Rytvina repeatedly violated the rules of the section and made statements on behalf of a non-existent organization under the Federation Council, it was decided to remove her from the panel of experts," the Federation Council said.

Russia cracked down on Meta in March after Instagram permitted posts urging violence against Putin and troops the Russian leader deployed to Ukraine on February 24. Facebook was banned for restricting access to Russian media.

Meta global affairs president Nick Clegg said at the time that the company was "now narrowing the focus to make it explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general."

Newsweek has contacted Rytvina for comment.