February 26, 2026

RBC, The Bell: Telegram to be blocked in Russia in early April. According to media, the messenger will only work on the front.

Russian authorities have decided to completely block Telegram in Russia in early April. This is reported by RBC and The Bell, citing sources. An interlocutor of RBC, familiar with the discussions in the relevant departments, said that the Russian authorities are considering the possibility of a complete block of the messenger in early April. Sources of the publications in the Kremlin and in the telecom market call this the final decision. A source for The Bell in one of the "big four" operators claims that Telegram may be completely blocked as early as April 1. "Something may change in a month and a half, after all, there are different opinions in power on this issue. But for now, the information is like this - from April 1, there will be a complete block," said a representative of one of the mobile operators. Another source for The Bell confirmed that operators have received letters demanding that they do not interfere with the blocking. A similar letter was sent before the slowdown of YouTube began, journalists note. It is currently unclear which variant the messenger will be blocked by. According to RBC interlocutors, the decision was made on the basis that recently "cases of recruitment of people, including minors, for committing illegal acts have become more frequent." In addition, a source close to the Kremlin told RBC that by April, Telegram will only work on the front. The head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, previously said that the authorities do not plan to restrict Telegram's operation in the combat zone in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Roskomnadzor stated that it "has nothing to add to the previously published information on this issue." Roskomnadzor stated that it "has nothing to add to the previously published information on this issue." Earlier, the Telegram channel Baza wrote that Telegram would be blocked in Russia on April 1. On February 24, the publications "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" reported that the actions of Telegram founder Pavel Durov are being investigated under the article "assisting terrorist activities." The publications stated that with the help of Telegram, the terrorist attack in "Crocus" and the murders of Daria Dugina and General Igor Kirillov were prepared. The articles stated that during the full-scale war in Ukraine, the messenger "became the main tool of the special services of the NATO countries and the 'Kyiv regime'."