Putin critic Navalny slams Google and Apple for accepting Kremlin censorship

Jailed Putin critic Alexey Navalny has slammed Apple and Google for bowing to Kremlin censorship demands during recent elections.

MOSCOW -- Russia's best-known opposition figure, Alexey Navalny, has criticized Google and Apple for bending to Kremlin demands for censorship during recent parliamentary elections, accusing the tech giants of "cowardice" and of becoming "accomplices" to president Vladimir Putin's efforts to suppress political opposition.

Both companies bowed to Russian government pressure to delete content relating to a tactical voting campaign promoted by Navalny during elections last weekend that saw Russia's ruling pro-Putin party retain its majority amid accusations of widespread ballot-rigging and a crackdown on anti-Kremlin opposition.

"If something surprised me in the latest elections, it was not how Putin forged the results, but how obediently the almighty Big Tech turned into his accomplices," Navalny said on Twitter on Thursday -- a message written from prison and published by colleagues.

Navalny's campaign, named Smart Voting, had called for people to vote for any candidate with the best chance of defeating the ruling party, United Russia. The online content had contained lists of registered candidates recommended by Navalny's team.