The Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor (RKN) announced plans for further “sequential restrictions” on the Telegram messenger on February 10. The agency claims that the social network allegedly does not comply with the requirements of Russian legislation.
This was reported by the Russian publication “RBK Novosti” with reference to the statement of the RKN.
“As before (in Telegram — ed.), personal data is not protected, there are no real measures to combat fraud and the use of the messenger for criminal and terrorist purposes,” the regulator explains the reasons for the gradual blocking of the messenger.
Therefore, the department believes that, by decision of the Russian authorities, such “restrictions” on the work of the social network will encourage its leadership to “fulfill the demands.”
“In this regard, by decision of the authorized bodies, Roskomnadzor will continue to introduce consistent restrictions in order to achieve compliance with Russian legislation and ensure the protection of citizens,” the message says.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov commented on the “restrictions”
Telegram founder Pavel Durov commented on these “restrictions”, stating that in this way the Russian authorities are forcing Russians to switch to the state-owned messenger Max, created for surveillance and political censorship.
“8 years ago, Iran tried to use the same strategy and failed, banning Telegram under false pretenses, trying to force people to switch to a state-run alternative. Despite the ban, most Iranians still use Telegram (bypassing censorship) and prefer its applications, which are subject to surveillance,” the businessman said.
In addition, he emphasized that “restricting citizens' freedom is never the right decision,” and Telegram, he said, “stands for freedom of speech and privacy, despite any pressure.”
According to data from the Russian service “Sboy.RF”, since February 9, Russian Telegram users have reported problems with the messenger several thousand times. In particular, 36% of complaints came from Moscow, 11% from St. Petersburg, and another 6-7% from the Novosibirsk and Sverdlovsk regions.
From user comments on the Downdetector website, it appears that some people in the Russian Federation are unable to send or receive messages, while others are unable to download maps or media/
Earlier, Anton Gorelkin, First Deputy Chairman of the IT Committee of the Russian State Duma, stated that in connection with the launch of the “national messenger” Max, the Russian authorities will not block Telegram in the country, provided that its leadership “obeys the laws.”
Blocking messengers in the Russian Federation
In 2021, Russian authorities restricted access to X (formerly Twitter). In March 2022, after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia completely banned Facebook and Instagram.
In August 2024, Roskomnadzor blocked the Signal messenger in Russia. The reason was “violation of the requirements of Russian legislation, the implementation of which is necessary to prevent the use of the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes.”
As reported by Russian media, in August 2025, Roskomnadzor officially announced restrictions on calls to WhatsApp and Telegram.