Pre-election stress tests cause internet outages in Russia -lawmaker

FILE PHOTO: An employee of Russian internet company VK walks past the company's logo at its headquarters in Moscow, Russia January 21, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Telegram, the most popular messaging app used in Russia, suffered a temporary outage on Tuesday as security services conducted stress tests on online resources to eliminate possible vulnerabilities, a lawmaker said.

President Vladimir Putin, Russia's paramount leader for over 20 years, is expected to easily win another six-year term in power at next month's election.