Telegram will be completely blocked in April

He will work only at the front, RBC sources say

The Russian authorities decided to completely block the work of the Telegram messenger in Russia in early April, RBC writes , citing two interlocutors close to the Kremlin.

This is the final decision, the publication's sources say. The authorities motivate this with the fight against the recruitment of Russians through the messenger to commit sabotage.

The imminent blocking of Telegram was also confirmed by The Bell's sources in the telecom market. “Something can change in a month and a half; after all, the authorities have different opinions on this issue. But for now the information is this: from April 1 there will be a complete blocking,” says the publication’s interlocutor at one of the Big Four operators.

Also, letters were sent to operators demanding not to oppose blocking - the same thing was sent before YouTube slowed down.

Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, said that in Russia itself the work of the messenger is only limited in terms of transferring files and media content. He promised to organize the work of Telegram at the front, since it is necessary for the coordination of military units, and there are no worthy domestic alternatives.

The military has repeatedly criticized the government for its decision to limit the functionality of the messenger.

An RBC source close to the Kremlin states that Telegram will be left for front-line units. How this will be implemented technically is not specified.

Roskomnadzor did not comment on the substance of RBC's reports.

RKN has seriously slowed down the work of Telegram in Russia since the beginning of February, linking this with the fact that the messenger refuses to comply with Russian legislation. Thus, one of the reasons for blocking was the presence of “breakthrough” bots in the messenger, which allow them to collect data about security forces. At the same time, the authorities did not ensure complete blocking of the messenger. Calls and delivery of media content work poorly in Telegram, but text correspondence is still possible.

On February 24, articles about Telegram, written “based on FSB materials,” appeared in Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda . They claim that the actions of the founder of the messenger, Pavel Durov, are being investigated in Russia as part of a criminal case for promoting terrorist activities (Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code). There was no official confirmation of this information.

The authors of the articles blame Durov for comparing Russia with Iran. “Does he want to hint that his platform is ready to become a battering ram for a new “color revolution” here? These words are not just an insult to a businessman, they are a direct threat to socio-political stability,” the Rossiyskaya Gazeta article says.

The articles also accuse the messenger of failing to prevent terrorist attacks in Russia.

The publication “We Can Explain” suggests that these notes could have been written by the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov himself. He receives fees from Rossiyskaya Gazeta, as follows from data leaks.