Russia’s state censorship organ restricts Telegram messaging app nationwide, user complaints surge

Russia’s media censorship and communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, will begin implementing plans to slow the Telegram messaging app in Russia as early as Feb. 10, according to a report by business publication RBC, citing one source in the IT industry and two sources in agencies overseeing the sector. One source said measures to slow Telegram are already underway.

Roskomnadzor later confirmed to the publication that it will continue to steadily restrict Telegram “in order to secure compliance with Russian law and ensure the protection of citizens.” The agency claimed Telegram does not adequately protect user data and that it has failed to take meaningful steps to curb fraud and prevent the platform’s use in criminal and terrorist activity.

“As was publicly reported back in August 2025, services that systematically ignore Russian legislation are subject to gradual restrictions, with the possibility of lifting them if the violations are remedied. Unfortunately, a number of messaging services, including Telegram, have not remedied these violations,” read the agency’s statement, which was published on the RBC Telegram channel.

Alexander Yushchenko, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on information policy, told TV channel TVC that the issue of restricting Telegram had not been discussed by the relevant legislative group. He added, however, that Roskomnadzor could nevertheless begin blocking the app “if there are claims under the legal framework.”

On Feb. 9, Russia saw a widespread outage affecting Telegram. According to Downdetector, more than 1,000 complaints were registered over the course of 24 hours. Users reported that photos and videos would not load, messages would not send, and that the smartphone app and web version of the service would not open. In mid-January, the Moskva 24 broadcaster, citing a source in the telecom market, reported that Roskomnadzor had begun partially blocking Telegram.

Last August, Roskomnadzor announced “partial restrictions” on voice calls made using the Telegram and WhatsApp messengers, justifying the move as being part of a campaign against phone scammers. The agency said at the time that the limits would not affect other functions of the apps, including text messages and channels.

However, in October, after widespread Telegram outages in southern regions of Russia, Roskomnadzor acknowledged it was taking measures “to partially restrict the operation” of both WhatsApp and Telegram. The agency said it was doing so “to counter criminals in accordance with materials from law enforcement agencies.”

Alongside Telegram, the Russian authorities also began using the National Domain Name System (known by its Russian acronym NSDI, or НСДИ) to block the YouTube video platform, according to a report by the independent outlet Agentstvo. The NSDI system was introduced in 2021 after a law on the so-called “sovereign Runet” took effect, the report said.

Leonid Yuldashev, a technical support specialist with the service “Na Svyazi” and the Russian-language project coordinator for eQualitie, told Agentstvo that DNS requests to YouTube have stopped passing through the NSDI. That is because, at least in several regions, NSDI removed the video platform’s domain from its address directory.

“Now, when you try to access YouTube, the router simply cannot match the site address to its IP, and you get an error. As a result, the service will be completely unavailable without a VPN,” explained the Telegram channel “Exploit.”

Telegram founder Pavel Durov responded to the news of the restrictions in an English-language post on his personal Telegram channel:

“Russia is restricting access to Telegram in an attempt to force its citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship. 8 years ago, Iran tried the same strategy — and failed. It banned Telegram on made-up pretexts, trying to force people onto a state-run alternative.

Despite the ban, most Iranians still use Telegram (bypassing censorship) and prefer it to surveilled apps. Restricting citizens’ freedom is never the right answer. Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privacy, no matter the pressure.”

Durov, alongside his brother Nikolai, launched Telegram in Aug. 2013, with Nikolai responsible for developing the technology behind the cloud-based messaging platform. Telegram, headquartered in Dubai, now boasts over 950 million active users worldwide, according to the company. Forbes last estimated Pavel Durov's net worth at $17.1 billion.

The platform remains among the few avenues available to Russian citizens looking to bypass government censorship amid an increasingly stringent crackdown on the country’s information space.