The very popular messaging service Telegram was slowed down by Russian authorities on Tuesday. A decision which symbolizes the Kremlin's desire to completely take back control of the digital space and to promote Max, a sort of Russian-style WeChat... even at the risk of affecting the war effort in Ukraine.

Published on: 02/13/2026 - 07:55

In Russia, Telegram is struggling. The authorities have decided to restrict access to the very popular online messaging service from Tuesday February 10.

Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecommunications watchdog, has reportedly implemented measures to make using Telegram much more uncomfortable. Restrictions first applied in peripheral Russian regions, then in large cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg, explains the independent Russian news site Meduza.

Telegram ever slower

"We cannot say that the service is unavailable, but it is running slowly. The measures adopted result in a slower transfer of data by Telegram than usual. For users, this means that everything takes longer, which is especially felt when they send videos, photos, or listen to music on the platform", explains Kseniia Ermoshina, researcher specializing in the Russian Internet at the CNRS Internet and Society Center.

Roskomnadzor admitted "restricting Telegram's activity" because the platform did not "comply with Russian laws" and "did too little" to combat fraud, Kommersant, the main economic daily in Russia, has learned. But the telecommunications policeman did not specify the nature of the violations of the laws accused of Telegram, nor what fraud was involved. The authorities also did not explain whether these measures were temporary or permanent.

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“They proceeded in the same way with Twitter in 2021. They preferred to considerably slow down the service, which could be better received by public opinion, rather than blocking it completely,” underlines Kseniia Ermoshina.

In addition, Telegram has more robust defenses than other platforms against censorship, which “makes complete blocking more complicated,” notes the CNRS expert. Pavel Durov, the controversial founder of Telegram, admitted that his service was operating slowly in Russia, but recalled that Iran had tried to do the same "eight years ago without succeeding".

The new restrictions imposed on Telegram "are part of a more general context of state effort to reduce dependence in Russia on foreign services or those which cannot be controlled by the authorities", underlines Will Kingston-Cox, Russia specialist at the International Team for the Study of Security (ITSS) Verona.

Telegram and WhatsApp had already suffered the wrath of censorship in the summer of 2025, when calls made from these platforms were blocked. By the fall, access to these services had also been considerably degraded in several Russian regions, and especially in the south of the country. Measures “necessary to fight crime” in these parts of Russia, the authorities argued.

Censorship that irritates even the army

In parallel with the slowdown of Telegram over the past two days, access to WhatsApp and YouTube was more difficult from Russia. The Kremlin has, moreover, officially recognized limiting access to WhatsApp messaging. For Will Kingston-Cox, there is clearly a desire to accelerate the transition to “a sovereign Russian Internet”.

The authorities' assault on Telegram is particularly sensitive in a country where it represents – by far – the most popular messaging service. More than 60 million Russians use it daily, points out The Guardian. And not just anyone: politicians use it, state services too, as do pro-war and pro-Putin bloggers and even influencers who earn most of their income from it.

“For a long time, Telegram occupied a fairly unique space, since it was independent of power, but massively used by the regime's ecosystem to convey pro-Putin stories,” underlines Will Kingston-Cox. Furthermore, this service represented a useful window for power over opposition voices.

Also read: Censorship in Russia: move around, is there nothing to read?

Telegram has “become a sort of national information infrastructure”, summarizes the expert. This is why the restrictions imposed by Roskomnadzor have sparked strong criticism... sometimes from circles that are not necessarily used to questioning the Kremlin's decisions, such as the army and "milbloggers", these very influential Russian pro-war bloggers on Telegram.

“No one asked us for our opinion? No one thought to come and see on the spot what the impact of such a measure would be to find out if it is really a good idea,” says a Russian soldier indignant in a video… posted on Telegram. “Several videos of the same type were circulating on Tuesday,” noted The Guardian.

Same discourse among "milbloggers", who maintain that Telegram has become "an essential means of communication between soldiers and units on the front", underlines Dva Majora, a pro-war account followed by more than a million Internet users.

Telegram, useful weapon for the military

Telegram “represented the safest communications service for Russian units,” says Huseyn Aliyev, a specialist in the war in Ukraine at the University of Glasgow.

Since then, “Internet access on the front has been severely disrupted by Starlink’s decision to deactivate its satellite Internet terminals for the Russians,” underlines Huseyn Aliyev.

The use of Telegram has become less frequent, but “it is still essential behind the front,” he continues. Mercenary groups dependent on the Ministry of Defense, such as Convoy or Patriot, “massively use Telegram for their recruitment campaign or calls for donations”, specifies Huseyn Aliyev.

Telegram also remains the main tool for “recruiting foreign fighters, particularly on the African continent,” he adds.

Censorship of this messaging service "will probably slow down decision-making and organization" of recruitment operations, supposes Will Kingston-Cox.

For him, "it is a real political risk that the power is taking", even if Kseniia Ermoshina doubts that the slowdown of Telegram will be the trigger which will push the Russians to demonstrate en masse against the power.

However, these measures add a new source of discontent to Russian opinion. “The authorities must think that the benefits of Telegram no longer outweigh the risks, whether it is the presence of pro-Ukrainian narratives on the platform or the fact that the longer the war continues, the more problematic it is that part of the war effort passes through a platform over which Russia has no direct control,” summarizes Will Kingston-Cox.

Max, the threat

The authorities may also believe that Max's time has finally come. This is the Russian “sovereign” messaging platform launched in September 2025, which has struggled to find its audience.

But the Kremlin is increasingly pushing this alternative to Telegram. “In schools, colleges and high schools, teachers are obliged to use it and the public authorities make Max the platform of choice for accessing official documents, such as passport application forms,” notes Kseniia Emoshina.

This tool is easy, free, increasingly mandatory and, above all, can bring big returns to the censor. “Unlike Telegram, communications are not at all end-to-end encrypted on Max, which means that they are stored in the clear on servers where the FSB for example (the intelligence service, Editor's note) can have access to them,” summarizes Kseniia Ermoshina.

By making Telegram ever slower, the authorities hope to encourage Russians to naturally migrate to the easy solution: Max. As for what remains of freedom of expression in Russia, "it would be very serious, because Max is a bit like the Russian equivalent of WeChat, the Chinese all-purpose service (messaging, e-commerce, payment, etc., Editor's note). And WeChat allows censorship by keyword, which is not yet possible in Russia. Today, for example, it is still possible to discuss Navalny on Telegram without it being blocked, a priori", underlines Kseniia Ermoshina. But tomorrow, with Max?

This Russian-style WeChat also risks cutting Russia off a little more from the outside: “members of the diaspora will not download this application,” believes Kseniia Ermoshina.

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