February 10, 2026

Telegram is being blocked in Russia again. Pavel Durov criticized the actions of the Russian authorities. Even propagandists are speaking out against it. What is known at this moment?

Roskomnadzor has announced restrictions on Telegram's operation for at least the fourth time in the last six months, again citing violations of Russian laws. Users from the Russian Federation are complaining en masse about disruptions, and media sources suggest that a complete blockage may occur by the upcoming State Duma elections in the fall of 2026. Even some propagandists and "war correspondents" who use the messenger on the front lines have spoken out against the measures. The main points as of now are in the material by "Novaya-Europe." Photo: Matt Slocum / AP Photo / Scanpix / LETA. Update 19:45 Telegram founder Pavel Durov commented on the blocking of the service in Russia. In his Telegram channel, he emphasized that "restricting citizens' freedom is never the right solution," and that the messenger's management "advocates for freedom of speech and confidentiality, despite any pressure." "Russia is restricting access to Telegram in an attempt to force its citizens to switch to a state-controlled application (referring to the messenger Max. — editorial note), created for surveillance and political censorship. Eight years ago, Iran tried to use the same strategy and failed. It banned Telegram under flimsy pretexts, trying to shift people to a state-controlled alternative. Despite the ban, most Iranians continue to use Telegram (bypassing censorship) and prefer it to surveillance-friendly applications," Durov stated. Slowdown in operation In the last few days, over ten thousand users of the Downdetector service from Russia have complained about problems with Telegram's operation. A decrease in traffic on February 9 and 10 is indeed being recorded, a source in the telecommunications market told Forbes. RBC reported on February 10, citing sources, that the Russian authorities had decided to start "slowing down" the messenger. Roskomnadzor later confirmed the information: — As was publicly reported 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. Roskomnadzor once again accused Telegram of not complying with Russian legislation, not protecting users' personal data, and also of lacking "real measures to counter fraud and the use of the messenger for criminal and terrorist purposes." After confirming that Roskomnadzor is restricting Telegram's operation, TASS, citing law enforcement agencies, reminded that, "according to court decisions, Pavel Durov's company must pay the Russian state over 29.6 million rubles for violating laws. A total of 21 enforcement proceedings have been opened against the messenger. Roskomnadzor began restricting Telegram's operation back in August 2025. Since then, the agency has intensified the blocking at least twice. When Telegram might be completely blocked for Russian users is not yet clear. However, a complete blockage this year is not ruled out, writes the publication "Verstka" citing sources in the presidential administration. In particular, according to a source close to the Kremlin, a complete blockage is possible in September, after the State Duma elections. Before the end of the voting, the messenger is not planned to be blocked, as it is "politicized and convenient for both assessing moods and campaigning," claims another source in "Verstka" from the AP. According to the publication, the authorities fear a negative reaction to "70% for "United Russia"". "Meduza" previously wrote about a similar scenario: sources in the publication reported that the AP intends to preserve the "network of Telegram channels" already formed in Telegram until the elections to influence public opinion. New attempts to block Telegram are happening against the backdrop of the promotion of the national messenger Max. Recently, a private channel feature appeared in it. Its authors "can publish photos, videos, and notes, record video circles and voice messages." As Forbes writes, Max has also started sending recommendations to channel administrators to "remind your audience about your channel in Max with a call to subscribe to it." At the same time, State Duma deputy Alexander Yushchenko stated that the issue of slowing down Telegram has not been discussed by members of the relevant parliamentary committee. State Duma deputy Andrey Svintsov noted that he fully supports restricting the messenger's operation. In his opinion, "we need to gently force them to comply with Russian legislation." "Let them experience all the consequences of their decisions firsthand" The restrictions on Telegram's operation also found opponents among government representatives. For example, Ekaterina Mizulina, head of the League of Safe Internet, which fights against "forbidden" content and is known for reporting public figures, emphasized that her position on blocking remains unchanged: " — In any case, I do not support proposals to introduce restrictions on Telegram. Losing such a necessary tool for promoting ideas and a pro-Russian stance would simply be a mistake." According to her, dangerous content exists on any platform, but "it is important to look at the actions taken by platforms to combat such content and individual criminals." Mizulina believes that "Telegram is not doing so badly in this regard." The new restrictions also did not please the administrators of pro-war Telegram channels. For instance, the Z-channel "Russian Volunteer with the call sign "Thirteenth"" calls Roskomnadzor an "accomplice of the enemy." "Go ahead, ban everything in the world... ban Telegram, and then we'll probably use "carrier pigeons" for military purposes. Humanitarian aid will dry up, and these are the lives of soldiers... Simply finished freaks, they haven't come up with anything good themselves, but they run around with their bans like a fool with a bast shoe," the post says. Photo: Dmitry Lovetsky / AP Photo / Scanpix / LETA. The author of the channel himself stated that he would never switch to MAX and would work in Telegram "until the last." He also proposed to gather all the "ban-makers" into one assault battalion, including deputies who supported the restrictions, and "give them the opportunity to experience all the consequences of their insane decisions firsthand." The Vault 8 channel stated that "the particular vileness of slowing down Telegram is that communication on the front lines goes through Telegram." The Fighterbomber Z-channel also expressed dissatisfaction with Roskomnadzor's decision. Meanwhile, RT political commentator Egor Kholmogorov limited himself to a short comment: "Assholes" regarding the RKN decision. The "Two Majors" Z-channel noted that now "the prospects of a cozy Telegram are clear," and for the channel authors: "Very sorry." Propagandist Evgeny Norin published a post referencing a monologue from the film "The Green Elephant": — Your stories have already worn me out, I can't listen to them anymore. One story is more amazing than the other, simply. About scammers on Telegram. About some kind of enemy propaganda, about terrorism. What are you even talking about? Can you shut up? Telegram will break, we'll go back to "VKontakte." What are you talking about? Just amazing. The DShRG "Rusich" called the RKN decision another stupidity "just to ban everything," which will bring "nothing but irritation among the people."