Cat feeders, chess apps, Excel spreadsheets, and pagers: Russians cope with nationwide internet outages in unusual ways

Avito

A St. Petersburg resident corresponded with friends through a classified ad on the online marketplace Avito, which is included on the Russian government’s “whitelists” and remains accessible even during internet restrictions. The ad in question was nominally posted by a user who was looking for a new home for a cat. However, the description clarified that the animal already had owners and that the page itself was being used as a chat.

“My friends have a link to this ad. When the internet works only through whitelists, we correspond there — like I’m doing with you now,” the author of the ad told the outlet Rotonda.

After news of the ad spread, Avito removed the cat listing and subjected the woman’s account to a review. The platform’s press service said the ad violated the site’s rules, as it did not contain an offer to sell a real good or service.