March 18, 2026
‘Wake up already’: Internet disruptions and Telegram outages fuel growing anger among Russian users
The Russian authorities appears to be blocking or throttling Telegram. According to the head of the Internet Protection Society, by the evening of March 16 the messenger’s availability had dropped to 75 percent, which means that one in four messages fails to reach its recipient. Kommersant reports that over the past week, the share of failed requests to Telegram domains has risen to nearly 80 percent on average.
TL;DR
- Russian authorities are reportedly blocking or throttling Telegram, with a significant drop in its availability.
- Users are expressing widespread anger and frustration on social media regarding internet disruptions and Telegram outages.
- Complaints highlight the negative impact on communication, business operations, and daily life.
- Roskomnadzor is suspected of being behind the restrictions, though it has not officially acknowledged the latest wave of disruptions.
- Users question the government's justification for the restrictions, especially as online scams continue to thrive.
- The disruptions have also affected other services, including Yandex, Kinopoisk, and VKontakte.
- Some users are considering leaving Russia due to the increasing internet restrictions.
- Critical comments on Roskomnadzor's official pages are reportedly being deleted.
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