Russian authorities increase restrictions on Telegram
Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal agency responsible for monitoring mass media and telecommunications, has imposed new restrictions on the Telegram messaging app, Moscow 24 reported Jan. 16.
Russian users have reported widespread slowdowns on Telegram, the country's most popular messaging platform with an estimated 100 million users, according to the Moscow Times. Citing an unnamed source, Moscow 24 confirmed that the disruptions are the result of measures introduced by Roskomnadzor.
The move comes as the Kremlin continues to expand control over telecommunications and media following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In recent years, Russian authorities have partially or fully restricted access to several widely used platforms, including Signal, Viber, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
Authorities have also periodically cut mobile internet service in parts of the country since May 2025, citing security concerns and the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.
Despite the expanded restrictions, Russian officials have downplayed the likelihood of a complete ban on Telegram.
"I believe Telegram interacts quite effectively with the governments of most countries, including Russia. Therefore, I don't think there's any need to worry about Telegram's future," Andrey Svintsov, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, told Russian state media.
Restrictions on digital communication have become a central feature of governance in Russia and other authoritarian states, where control over online information is used to reinforce political power.
In addition to blocking Western social media platforms, the Kremlin has promoted a state-backed alternative—the Max messenger—which has been designated Russia's "national messenger." For more than a decade, authorities have also pursued the development of a "sovereign internet," a project aimed at further isolating the country from global information and media networks.
According to Freedom House's most recent Freedom on the Net report, Russia, when compared to other authoritarian countries, has recorded the sharpest decline in internet freedom over the past 15 years—a trend that has coincided with Moscow's nearly 12-year campaign of aggression against Ukraine.
