Is the end of telegram in Russia? Or not?

The authorities are “restricting” the messenger for the fourth time in six months. Everything seems to be heading towards a complete lockdown

You can read this story in English here .

On the morning of February 10, RBC sources reported that the Russian authorities “partially limited” the work of the Telegram messenger in the country. Three interlocutors told the publication that Roskomnadzor has already begun to “slow down” the service (although calls stopped working there in the summer).

Deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Alexander Yushchenko said that the deputies did not discuss the issue of “slowing down” Telegram. However, he allowed Roskomnadzor to block the service if the agency discovers cases of violation of Russian legislation. According to data from the Moscow court files, eight protocols have already been drawn up on Telegram: seven for refusal to remove prohibited content and one for failure to fulfill the duties of the owner of the social network.

The press service of Roskomnadzor said that Telegram does not comply with Russian legislation and does not fight fraudsters, so the agency “will continue to limit the work of the messenger,” writes Kommersant. At the same time, it is not clear from the commentary exactly what restrictions the RKN introduces and from what moment they are effective.

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Be that as it may, the messenger has been working intermittently in Russia for the second day now - this is confirmed by data from the Downdetector and Sboy.rf websites. The number of complaints about the service increased sharply on the morning of February 9. In the comments, users most often write that their media files are not loading. For some, messages are not sent or downloaded.

A Forbes source in the telecommunications market confirmed a decrease in Telegram traffic in Russia over the past two days. According to the publication’s interlocutor, initially the “slowdown” affected “only the regions,” but on February 10 it reached Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The results of a survey in the Meduza telegram channel show that at least 21% of readers in Russia experienced interruptions in the work of Telegram. 38% did not notice any changes. Another 23% use a VPN, so they were also not affected by the new restrictions. At the time of publication of the text, more than 35 thousand people took part in the survey.

Over the past six months, Roskomnadzor has introduced restrictions on Telegram and WhatsApp at least three more times. In August 2025, the department, under the pretext of combating telephone fraud, blocked audio and video calls in these instant messengers. At the end of October of the same year, first in the southern regions of the country, and then in other areas, both services began to work intermittently. Representatives of the RKN said that they “partially limited” Telegram and WhatsApp “to counter criminals.”

At the same time, it was unclear what these restrictions were, how exactly they affected the work of instant messengers, and whether they would be temporary or permanent. However, over time, the number of complaints about service failures in Russia has decreased.

In mid-January 2026, the Moscow 24 TV channel reported a “slowdown” of Telegram, citing its source on the television market. Deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Andrei Svintsov argued that the new restrictions are due to the fact that the management of the messenger does not cooperate enough with the Russian authorities.

A few days later, this information was confirmed by Senator Artem Sheikin. The RKN press service initially denied that the agency was “slowing down” Telegram. But on January 21, they actually recognized the new restrictions, calling the information provided by Sheikin “exhaustive.”

RBC’s sources did not specify whether the “slowdown” measures introduced on February 10 differ from the October or January restrictions. It is also unclear whether they will affect other foreign instant messengers, including WhatsApp. The Telegram press service did not respond to Meduza’s request at the time of publication of this text.

They are still trying to lure Russian users to Max. They were even allowed to create their own channels (but with restrictions)

Russian authorities deny that the country plans to completely block Telegram and WhatsApp. For example, deputy Svintsov spoke about this in October. However, the head of the Internet Defense Society, Mikhail Klimarev, assumed that the Russian authorities would gradually tighten restrictions to make the use of these messengers as difficult as possible. “I think that at this rate Telegram will actually be blocked in December-January. Literally a repetition of the script from YouTube,” he noted .

At the end of January, deputy Mikhail Delyagin suggested that a complete blocking of Telegram would occur in September 2026. “I expect Telegram to close according to the YouTube scheme around the elections,” Gazeta.ru quotes him as saying. Sources of the publication “Verstka”, close to the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, note that the decision on a complete blocking will be made after the State Duma elections, which will be held on September 20.

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In December, Meduza wrote that the AP political bloc wants to keep Telegram until the 2026 State Duma elections, because the messenger has formed an extensive network of Telegram channels to influence public opinion. At the same time, the Kremlin’s political technology contractors were advised by the Administration back in the fall to look for new communication tools instead of the usual Telegram and WhatsApp, but by the beginning of winter these conversations stopped.

Meduza’s interlocutor, close to the AP, who deals with elections, emphasizes that decisions on blocking are made by security forces, and for the Kremlin’s political and information bloc, “blocking is rather a negative”, as it “causes social tension” and also destroys “well-established communication networks (with readers) through channels.” He confirms that the political bloc would like to keep Telegram, but is sure that the head of the political bloc, Sergei Kiriyenko, “will not cut heads” with the security forces.

“Moreover, he has his own interest. Someone from the cart will move to Max, which means VKontakte will get a plus sign [will be given by the country’s leadership],” he laughs. Another Meduza interlocutor close to the AP believes that it is too early to talk about a targeted blocking of Telegram: “Rather, much larger blockings are being tested, which will cover anything.” “There is a feeling that the experience of blocking the Internet in Iran has inspired our security forces,” he shares.

In December 2025, the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Sergei Boyarsky, noted that Telegram is not only a messenger, but also a social network with information channels. According to him, it is wrong to deprive people of the opportunity to receive information from the sources to which they are accustomed.

At the same time, he recalled that the channels are already in the national messenger Max. “They are growing, growing confidently. But it is still premature to say that all channels from Telegram have already moved to Mach. Therefore, let’s wait for at least this moment,” RIA Novosti agency quotes Boyarsky as saying.

Perhaps the popularity of Telegram channels is really the only thing that is currently preventing the authorities from completely blocking the messenger in the country. At a minimum, because they continue to be used by deputies and officials themselves, as well as Russian propagandists.

In the Max messenger, channels were launched in mid-September 2025. But so far they are not very popular, and users are forced to return to Telegram for information. In January, Kommersant wrote that the total number of subscribers to channels in the national messenger is tens of times less than that of its direct competitor.

The latest disruptions to Telegram coincided with the launch of a new feature in Max. On February 10, Vedomosti reported that the messenger developers had once again expanded its functionality and allowed all users to create private channels and invite subscribers there through special links. Previously, only bloggers from the so-called A+ category could do this. But they still have an advantage over ordinary users - their channels are public and accessible through search.

Moreover, Forbes writes that against the backdrop of news about new restrictions, the Max messenger sent out a newsletter to the media. It recommends that channel administrators “remind the audience about your channel in Max with an appeal to subscribe to it (+ link).” The publication notes that the message also asks to share links to such publications with the service itself.

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