Telegram founder Pavel Durov thanked the participants of the rally against the isolation of the Runet, which took place on March 10 in Moscow and some other Russian cities. “More than 15,000 people came to today’s rally for free Internet in Moscow. Despite the opposition, the rally became one of the largest in Russia over the past 7 years. Thanks to all participants - for the Telegram team this is a sign that we should continue digital resistance,” Durov wrote on Telegram.

In the capital, the rally took place on Academician Sakharov Avenue, and the organizer of the action was the Libertarian Party. Participants in the event spoke out against the bill on a sovereign Internet, which was adopted by the State Duma in the first reading in February. According to the White Counter project, 15,200 people took part in the action, the police counted 6,500 participants.

Earlier this week, Telegram sent a message to its Russian users calling on them to take part in the rally. It said that the messenger opposes the bill on isolating the Runet, the purpose of which, in his opinion, is “the introduction of total censorship in Russia.” Telegram believes that with the help of this law, the authorities “plan to cut off Russia from the rest of the world, after which they will be able to block foreign social networks and instant messengers,” spending billions of rubles.

Roskomnadzor has been trying to block Telegram in Russia for almost a year because the messenger refused to provide the FSB with the keys to decrypt messages. Despite this, Telegram is still available to Russian users. Last spring, a rally was held on Sakharov Avenue against the blocking of Telegram, against Roskomnadzor and censorship. It was also organized by the Libertarian Party. The “White Counter” then counted 12,300 participants, the Ministry of Internal Affairs - 7,500.

Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti A rally against isolation was held on Academician Sakharov Avenue in Moscow on March 10... Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti A few days before the rally, the Telegram messenger sent out to his Russian... Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti Participants in the rally opposed the bill on a sovereign Internet, which ... Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti According to the White Counter project, by 15.30 Moscow time through the metal detectors... Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti The police counted 6,500 rally participants, according to the website of the capital city... Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti Those wishing to take part in the rally was passed very slowly, average time... Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti No violations were recorded at the rally Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti The organizer of the action is the Libertarian Party
Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Despite the fact that the rally was agreed upon with the authorities, even before it began on the... Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti