[News updated at 10:01 AM on 07/18/2025]
Telegram has begun the process of coordinating the opening of a representative office in Russia under the law "On Landing" for foreign IT companies. Currently, the messenger has fulfilled two of the three mandatory requirements: registering a personal account on the Roskomnadzor website and posting a feedback form.
The law, which came into force on January 1, 2022, requires foreign companies with a daily audience of over 500,000 users to open branches in Russia. Failure to comply with the rules may lead to restrictions. Unlike Apple and Viber, which have fully complied with the requirements, Telegram has not yet completed the process.
Experts attribute the messenger's actions to the emergence of a national analogue — a platform from "Communication Platform" (a subsidiary of VK). German Klimenko, Chairman of the Board of the Digital Economy Development Fund, believes that Telegram founder Pavel Durov "is closely following the news in Russia."
After the appearance of a national messenger, officials may be required to use only it. While WhatsApp is clearly a foreign messenger owned by an extremist company banned in Russia, the status of Telegram is unclear; it is in a gray area. Obviously, Pavel Durov will now meet the Russian authorities halfway. But even if he complies with the law, there will always be complaints about dubious Telegram channels, particularly Ukrainian ones.
Karen Kazaryan, CEO of the Internet Research Institute, adds that registration could be a "goodwill gesture" to legalize the service.
Creating a representative office may reduce the risk of restrictions for Telegram, but it will also present the messenger with new challenges in terms of content regulation.
Updated. A source from the messenger team stated that Telegram is not going to open its representative office in Russia.
