No, the state can’t just do that. They could do it to any one person, but not to everyone. Consider this hypothetical: the state wants to kill 100 people. If everyone is outside, this job becomes easy. If everyone is in their homes, this job becomes harder. Why? Because breaking down doors, moving equipment, etc. costs money. And government agencies don’t have all the money in the world! They can’t:

1. Go after every single person who uses cash
2. Go after everyone who uses a vpn
3. Go after everyone who uses encrypted messaging
4. Go after everyone who attends a protest and who wears a mask and puts their phone in a faraday bag.

Privacy works best in a larger group. Telling people privacy is dead actually hurts you more than telling people that there are indeed effective steps you can take to protect yourself.

Encryption requires no respect from the State

Socialists need to learn to stop being dogmatic. If a Marxist-Leninist revolution is our most viable solution, democratic socialists et al should back it. If democratic socialism is more likely to succeed, Marxist-Leninists should back it.

Your number one step is privacy. Privacy is the foundation of freedom; it “protects the right to be left alone”.

If you’re a beginner, Naomi Brockwell’s videos have very good tips. If you’re not a beginner, read Michael Bazzell’s book Extreme Privacy. Read it in full and decide the level of privacy you want (you likely will not need every single one of his tips).

No, don’t use Telegram. Chats aren’t end to end encrypted by default, you have to specifically request a secret conversation. It’s also not possible to encrypt group chats on telegram. Matrix, signal, session, simplex, and many others are much better.

This is to be expected as Russia needs true security guarantees to end the war.