Russia requires foreign owned services to host data about Russian users inside of Russia. That way the data can be retrieved by the government and used to de-anonymize users. [1]
Data localisation is an up and coming regulatory thing, and more countries are picking it up. [2] Having a handle doesn't make you anonymous.
Although this requirement has been in effect for 3 years, foreign services ingore it. For example, recently, Facebook was fined for an amount equivalent to about 50 dollars for not providing information about users' data localization and now has 9 more months to solve this problem [1]. In Facebook's case it is easier to pay the fine than transfer the data into Russia.
LinkedIn is blocked under the same law though.
Telegram is officially blocked in Russia (for not providing access to users' messages), but it works without any special setup.
> That way the data can be retrieved by the government and used to de-anonymize users.
That was probably the intention of lawmakers but there is no requirement to keep the data unencrypted.
Data localisation is an up and coming regulatory thing, and more countries are picking it up. [2] Having a handle doesn't make you anonymous.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/russia-tries-to-...
[2] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/india-...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_localization