I am using both Proton Mail and VPN and am quite happy with it.
In your case deeper problem is that so much of you digital life depends on a single point of failure - your Gmail account and it can go in a blink of an eye.
Trick for a switch is to do one a time. Next time you visit a site, go to setting and set email to your new provider, like [email protected] or whatever.
Also can advise you password manager, like 1Password, that will make switch and maintenance much easier.
The point of law is not to force backdoors but to counter monopolies.
Google devices come with Google maps, search and so on. When people get new devices, often they will stick to whatever is pre-installed.
Russia is probably on of the few countries that has perfectly capable alternatives, like Yabdex.
So now people will have an option to choose what to use - Google, Apple or yandex apps.
Obviously owners of the platforms (apple and Google monopolies) are not to happy to lose control.
That of course does not mean that Russian government won't try to force some fishy stuff on devices.
Ukraine is completely separate and orthogonal issue.
I think we as engineers owe our users bug fixes, because we messed up at some point.
However new functionality or email/phone support? Well, this is what people are not entitled for.
Most of it but not most useful, unfortunately.
Middle piece is missing - the one you actually need to connect entire city.
Until that is in place - you still need transfers in city center.
The app has nothing to do with freedom of speech.
It is used to coordinate a thousand or so semi drunk teens who clash with police, burn trash containers, block airport and highways for fun.
Those who wanted to express their dis-/agreement with gothernment position had several half a million people peaceful protests.
I am genuinely impressed how capitalism can solve a problem that never existed before they started solving it and then forcing that particular and often quite expensive solution on you.
Never needed calculator until advanced statistics where calculations became monotonous and no longer instructive. Before that, actually, use of calculators was explicitly banned both in school and uni.
I have elderly mom and grandma in my home country who have never traveled and now cannot even if I help them.
So I make photos and send them to my parent via whatsapp right there, on the spot.
And this is the closest I can bring my parents to experience what I do and see.
I can navigate without a phone and I search places to it judging by the smell and how many people are eating inside, but can't get rid of the phone because, ironically this will be selfish.
In my opinion, free software stops being free when you need people behind it do something you need.
Once "as is" is not enough for you, you either fork or fix it, or pay creates to help you.
And it's not that people want to make money of this, rather than cover their costs while solving your problem.