Russia Has Started To Partially Block Telegram

Users complain about the long loading of video files in the service.

The Russian authorities have stepped up the slowdown of the Telegram messenger - since the beginning of 2026, users have been complaining about the long loading of video files in the service. About it writes "Moscow 24" with reference to an unnamed source in the telecom market. "Yes, these are new restrictions from the RKN," the interlocutor said.

Russians complained about the slowdown of Telegram, which remains the most popular messenger with an audience of about 100 million users after WhatsApp was effectively blocked in Russia, back in December 2025. Then people wrote about delays in the delivery of media files, "circles", emoji, etc. It was also reported that Telegram either does not open at all, or there is an endless "connection", and even with Wi-Fi. Androidinsider.ru reported that the speed of downloading media in the messenger in the Russian Federation without VPN fell to 128 Kbps. The RKN, however, then stated that no new restrictions were applied to the service.

The day before the deputy head of the Duma Committee on Information Policy Andrey Svintsov said that in Russia is not expected to completely block Telegram. "I believe that Telegram interacts quite effectively with the governments of most countries in the world, including Russia. So for the fate of Telegram, I think we can not worry," he told TASS.

Last summer, former Russian presidential adviser for Internet development German Klimenko called for slowing down or blocking the messenger in Russia. In his opinion, this should help the process of transferring Russians to the "national messenger" Max.

In August 2025, the RKN announced "partial restriction of calls" in the messengers Telegram and WhatsApp under the pretext of protecting citizens from scammers and terrorists.

WhatsApp has not actually worked in Russia since the end of 2025. More than 90% of attempts to connect to its servers from the country have failed, the director of the Society for the Protection of the Internet Mikhail Klimarev pointed out.

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