Russia is now moving to restrict access to Telegram for several weeks while the country’s crypto community is struggling to find a decent substitute. After an initial slowdown, attempts to block the messenger started ahead of a reported April 1 deadline for the messenger’s compliance with Moscow’s requirements.
Russian authorities have been ramping up pressure on Telegram for months under the pretext that the messaging app is not complying with local rules, most notably regarding the removal of content prohibited in the country. Voice calls through the platform were limited in August 2025, with regulators claiming it had become a favorite tool for fraudsters, extremists, and cybercriminals. Last month, Russia’s telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor (RKN), began slowing down traffic to the messenger, again citing non-compliance with Russian law.
Telegram users in Russia encounter issues
In mid-February, the Telegram channel Baza revealed that the agency, which also acts as a media censor, intends to commence the full blocking of the messaging service on the first day of April. The RKN neither confirmed nor denied reports quoting the post. However, user signals about difficulties from across the vast country started mounting well ahead of that deadline to meet government demands, as reported by Cryptopolitan.
Websites like Detector404.ru and Cбой.рф have been receiving a flow of reports of network failures and other issues with both the mobile app and the desktop version, affecting various features. Spikes were registered throughout the past several weeks, including on Wednesday. As of the time of writing, Detector404 has received at least 5,500 reports in the past 24 hours.
According to data compiled by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), a global platform tracking online censorship, anomalies increased in mid-March, and Russian internet service providers began actively blocking Telegram on March 20. Yet, the messenger’s estimated availability in Russia remained at around 40% by the end of the month, as noted by the leading Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media.
Telegram improves its user count as alternatives spring up
Telegram became Russia’s most popular messenger this year, with over 95 million active users in January, overtaking Meta’s WhatsApp, which has been blocked since the RKN removed its domain from its DNS servers. In February, founder Pavel Durov accused Moscow of trying “to force its citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship.”
He was referring to Russia’s so-called “national messenger” Max, which already has over 100 million users, according to stats quoted by official media, including a daily audience of 70 million. However, finding an independent and viable alternative to Telegram is not an easy task. Russia has already banned a number of other platforms, such as Viber, Signal, and Discord.
Instead, members of the crypto community have been looking for ways to maintain communication through their favorite messenger by employing tools to bypass restrictions, such as VPNs. Telegram has been widely used by ordinary Russian citizens and businesses. Its information channels have become valuable. A recent report revealed that Russian authorities have been thwarting protests in defense of Telegram. Officials have previously indicated the messenger may continue to operate in the country if it complies with all its requirements.
