March 20, 2026
The Kremlin appears to be blocking Telegram. Meduza asked its Russia-based readers how well the crackdown is working.
Late last week, many Telegram users in Russia began reporting serious disruptions, according to outage trackers Downdetector and Sboy.rf. Reports that Russian authorities planned to permanently block the popular messaging app in early April had been circulating for some time. But according to industry experts, the process may have begun two weeks ahead of schedule.
TL;DR
- 88% of Meduza's Russia-based readers report problems with Telegram functionality.
- 46% experience slow and unreliable service, while 17% have no access at all.
- 76% of users rely on VPNs to bypass restrictions, with 93% already using them for Telegram.
- Telegram is central to daily life for 43% of respondents, used primarily for messaging (28%) and news (16%).
- 60% of users prefer Telegram for news over traditional media.
- Readers reject the 'national messenger' app Max and have no clear alternative if Telegram is fully blocked.
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