February 10, 2026

Roskomnadzor Moves to Fully Block Telegram in Russia

Roskomnadzor begins to restrict Telegram's operation in Russia. This was reported by RBC, citing sources in the IT sector and government agencies. Roskomnadzor later confirmed the information. According to two RBC interlocutors, measures to partially restrict Telegram's operation will begin today, February 10. A third source claims measures are already underway. Consequences of blocking: According to Downdetector, around 15,000 complaints were filed by Telegram users in Russia regarding messenger operation. Russians reported that messages and media files were not loading or loading slowly. Kommersant, citing Merilo by Vigo, reports that on February 10, the request processing time for Telegram domains doubled, and the timeout rate in the Central and Northwestern Federal Districts increased from 11% to 22%. In St. Petersburg, Telegram is being slowed down using special software installed at the providers themselves, which they cannot influence. Rotonda reported this, citing a source in the telecom market, who stated that restrictions only affected voice messages, pictures, and videos, all of which are now loading slowly. Reasons for blocking: Roskomnadzor stated that Telegram's management does not comply with Russian legislation and allegedly does not protect user personal data. Roskomnadzor also accused Telegram of not fighting fraud and the use of the messenger for criminal and terrorist purposes. "As publicly announced back in August 2025, gradual restrictions are provided for services that systematically ignore Russian legislation, with the possibility of their removal if violations are rectified. Unfortunately, these violations have not been rectified by several messengers, including Telegram," stated the supervisory body. According to State Duma deputy Andrey Svintsov, "Telegram does not fully comply with the requirements of Russian legislation, interacts with Roskomnadzor, but does so grudgingly." "This won't do. If Telegram wants to be present and earn billions of dollars in Russia, we are not against it. All opportunities for this exist. But it is necessary to comply with Russian legislation. If Roskomnadzor has decided to send them another signal, then that's how it is, I fully support it," Svintsov stated. When Telegram will be completely blocked: Versta, citing sources close to the Russian Presidential Administration, writes that today's restrictions on Telegram are a test. They claim that a complete blocking of the messenger in Russia is not yet planned. "This is a test, the real thing is a little later," said a source close to the Kremlin, quoted by Versta. He also claims that Telegram could be blocked after the State Duma elections in September, stating that the authorities allegedly "fear a negative reaction from 70% for United Russia." Another source in a major pro-government media outlet also said that a complete blocking of Telegram is possible by the end of the year. Yet another source close to the Presidential Administration claims that for now, Russian authorities will "annoy" messenger creator Pavel Durov, but a decision on a final ban has not yet been made. Protocols against Telegram: Roskomnadzor has filed eight protocols against Telegram, according to data published on the Moscow City Court website. Seven protocols were filed for failing to delete prohibited content, and one for repeated non-fulfillment of the social network owner's duties. Telegram faces a fine of up to eight million rubles for each administrative case. All cases will be heard by the Tagansky District Court of Moscow, with two of them scheduled for tomorrow, February 11. Judge Alexandra Anokhina has been assigned to all cases; she previously considered protocols regarding non-fulfillment of duties as a "foreign agent," "LGBT propaganda," etc. Screenshot: Moscow City Court website. TASS reports that Telegram's debt for unpaid fines has exceeded 29.6 million rubles. In total, 21 enforcement proceedings have been opened against the messenger. Compulsory collection of over 9.1 million rubles is being carried out under eight enforcement proceedings, while the rest have been terminated. Reactions to blocking: How Telegram was blocked before: Blocking of Telegram in Russia began almost a year ago in separate regions. In August 2025, Roskomnadzor announced measures to "partially restrict" calls on Telegram under the guise of combating scammers. In October, the agency stated that it was "taking measures to partially block" the messenger. What is happening with YouTube and Max: Business FM, citing sources, reports that today the video hosting service YouTube has also completely ceased to function in Russia. According to the publication, its domain has disappeared from DNS servers controlled by Roskomnadzor, causing devices to be unable to determine the service's IP address, and the website and application to display errors. However, YouTube remains accessible in Russia through VPN services, as before, and continues to operate in European countries. Users of the state messenger Max also reported disruptions. According to Downdetector, problems with Max began around 15:00 Moscow time, around the same time the slowdown of Telegram in Russia became known. In the last 24 hours, about 1350 complaints were filed regarding the messenger's operation. Despite this, precisely today, on the day of Telegram's blocking, the Max messenger launched a private channels feature amid Telegram's blocking. According to Forbes, Max has also begun sending recommendations to channel administrators to "remind the audience about your channel in Max, urging them to subscribe to it (+link)." "Please share links to these publications with us," the message states. Become a co-participant of "Novaya Gazeta." Become a co-participant of "Novaya Gazeta," subscribe to the newsletter and receive letters from the editorial office. Subscribe.