Despite accusations of espionage

Russian government buys more iPhones

(Bild: AFP)

The Russian government is buying more iPhones despite accusations of espionage. From January to September, four times as many of the coveted Apple devices were purchased as in the same period last year, the newspaper "Vedomosti" reported on Monday. 

In June 2023, the Russian secret service FSB accused the arch-rival USA of installing sophisticated surveillance software on the iPhones to spy on their owners.

Following this alleged scandal, the Russian Ministry of Digital Affairs banned its employees from using iPhones and iPads for work emails and applications last year. On Monday, the ministry initially did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

The newspaper based its article on an unnamed representative of the Tenderplan trading platform. According to the report, government officials spent 6.9 million roubles (around 71,500 US dollars) on Apple products in the first three quarters of the year. In the same period last year, the figure was only 1.6 million roubles. Reuters was unable to verify the figures.

Mutual accusations
Just as the USA is accusing Russia of using hybrid warfare to try and manipulate the presidential election at the end of November, the government in Moscow is also accusing the Americans of manipulating their own elections. Last year, the newspaper Kommersant wrote that officials involved in the preparations for the Russian presidential election in March 2024 were not allowed to use iPhones.

According to the report, there were fears that the devices were a gateway for Western intelligence services. If the iPhones posed a threat to the vote, this was apparently averted. In any case, President Vladimir Putin was confirmed in office with over 88 percent of the vote.

Popular gray imports
Despite all the warnings, the latest iPhone 16 is also in high demand in Russia among citizens who do not work for the government. Apple has stopped exports to Russia because of the war in Ukraine. The Russians are making do with gray imports. These are legal in Russia, allowing goods to be imported without the brand owner's permission.