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Meet the ideal Russian, according to the Interior Ministry. He doesn’t argue online, visit foreign websites, or label anyone as ‘FSB’ in his contacts.

Source: Meduza

Russia’s Interior Ministry regularly publishes guidance for Russians on how to protect themselves from threats around them. But alongside reasonable and important warnings (like not sending money to strangers), these guides regularly include dubious, and sometimes downright absurd, advice. Here is a portrait of the law-abiding Russian the Interior Ministry would find satisfactory.

According to the Interior Ministry, the ideal Russian:

Avoids sharing personal views in chats or on forums, and steers clear of online arguments about “provocative” topics that could attract recruiters looking for people “with strong opinions.” Doesn’t answer personal questions from strangers or add them as friends.
Avoids posting a full name or date of birth on social media, keeps pages private from outsiders, and never shares geotags that could reveal a location. Keeps information about relatives secret, avoids adding strangers as friends, and checks when and where a potential friend’s profile was registered.
Has scrubbed home addresses, phone numbers, and relatives’ information from public profiles, since that data could end up on Myrotvorets. Doesn’t forward messages about terrorist threats in messaging apps, since doing so spreads disinformation.
Avoids clicking links outside the .ru domain to prevent virus infections, and has disabled voice purchases on smart speakers so a child can’t accidentally place an order or activate dangerous devices. Turns on NFC only when necessary, and switches off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use.
Avoids using surveillance cameras or dashcams unless necessary, since the Ukrainian military could intercept the data. Steers clear of online dating services, since the enemy could use them for “cover-story intelligence gathering.” Never labels acquaintances by their security-service job in a phone’s contact list: no “Lyosha FSB,” “Pasha Rosgvardiya,” “Misha 123rd Regiment.” If someone has saved the Russian’s own number that way, they change their number.
Trusts no one without verification, since threats can lurk almost anywhere.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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Cover photo: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

Meet the ideal Russian, according to the Interior Ministry. He doesn’t argue online, visit foreign websites, or label anyone as ‘FSB’ in his contacts.

According to the Interior Ministry, the ideal Russian:

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Meet the ideal Russian, according to the Interior Ministry. He doesn’t argue online, visit foreign websites, or label anyone as ‘FSB’ in his contacts.

According to the Interior Ministry, the ideal Russian:

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