After the blocking, Telegram remained the main source of information for 18% of citizens. Every tenth Russian began to receive news from Max

After Telegram was blocked at the end of March, the number of Russians who consider the messenger to be the main source of information decreased by about a third, according to an April survey by Levada Center. The main reason is blockages, but fatigue from the information flow also took its toll, a Russian sociologist who asked for anonymity told the Agency. At the same time, Max appeared for the first time in a social service survey as a significant source of information, from which every tenth Russian learns news.

Details . In April, 18% of respondents named telegram channels as the main source of information. This is 7 percentage points lower than in March (25%).

• ️ At the same time, the messenger’s audience declined unevenly. By 8 p.p. The audience aged 25-29 decreased to 28%, by 7 percentage points. up to 19% - at the age of 40−54 years, by 8 percentage points. up to 7% - aged 55 years and older. At the age of 18-24, Telegram continued to be used as the main source of information by the same number of readers - 34%
• ️ The audience of telegram channels fell more among those who do not approve of Vladimir Putin’s activities - from 34% to 23%. Among Putin's supporters, the share of those for whom Telegram was the main source of information decreased from 23% to 17%.
• ️ The number of respondents who name Telegram channels as the source they trust most in covering information decreased from 17% to 13%.
• ️ The regular Telegram audience reached its maximum size in May 2025 - 30%.
• ️ At the same time, Levada Center for the first time offered respondents the state messenger Max in the answer options. 10% of respondents use its channels as the main source of information, and 5% of respondents trust the state messenger.
• ️ The number of respondents who use YouTube as the main source of information decreased over the month from 7% to 5% (a decrease of 10 percentage points since June 2024). 3% trust the platform compared to 4% a month earlier. However, this did not lead to an increase in the indicators of “VK Video” and RuTube, which the social service combines into one answer option. Their usage fell from 8% to 5%, while trust remained at 3%.
• ️ In general, the indicators of many channels for obtaining information are declining, and this may be influenced by fatigue from the information flow, the sociologist told the Agency. However, for Telegram channels the most significant decrease occurred under the influence of blocking. Some people, he said, clearly go to the working Max. “This decline will probably continue,” the expert believes.
• ️ The Agency’s interlocutor noted that the audience of each channel is larger than the results of this survey show, since respondents were asked about the most used sources of information.

Context . Russian authorities began to restrict the operation of Telegram at the federal level in August 2025, first blocking calls. By the end of March, other functions of the messenger also stopped working without means of bypassing blocking for Russians. In this way, the authorities are trying to transfer Russians to the Max messenger controlled by the security forces.

• ️ YouTube has been effectively blocked in Russia since the end of 2024.