Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated that, despite the ban on the messenger in Russia, 65 million Russians continue to use it daily via VPN, and more than 50 million send messages every day. According to him, attempts to block VPNs led to a massive failure in the banking system — cash briefly became the only method of payment throughout the country.
Durov compared the situation to Iran, where Telegram was banned several years ago. There, according to him, the government was counting on citizens switching to domestic messengers with a surveillance function, but instead, it got the widespread use of VPNs.
Thousands of people are creating VPNs and proxy servers. For our part, we will continue to adapt, making Telegram traffic more difficult to detect and block.
Roskomnadzor began slowing down Telegram's operation from mid-February 2026 due to non-compliance with the law — the messenger, according to the agency, refused to remove prohibited content, including services for "breaking through" personal data and distributing drugs. By mid-March, Telegram was blocked by approximately 80%: messages are sent with a delay, and downloading media files is difficult. A complete block has not yet been introduced, but experts do not rule out further tightening. Earlier, in August 2025, voice calls in Telegram were already restricted in Russia.
