Russia Prepares to Slow Down Telegram

Russian authorities have begun preparations to slow down the operation of the messenger Telegram within the country. One source from the information technology sector and two sources from government agencies said the decision has already been made.

According to two of the sources, Roskomnadzor plans to start implementing measures to partially restrict the service on Tuesday, February 10. Another source said that steps to reduce Telegram's performance are already underway.

Roskomnadzor later confirmed the decision to slowdown Telegram in Russia.

Previous Restrictions and Official Explanations

In August 2025, Roskomnadzor restricted voice calls in Telegram and WhatsApp, which belongs to Meta, an organization banned in Russia as extremist. The regulator said the messengers had become key tools for fraud, extortion, and recruitment into sabotage and terrorist activities.

In October, Roskomnadzor announced partial restrictions on Telegram and WhatsApp to counter criminal activity. In December, State Duma Information Policy Committee chairman Sergey Boyarsky said that a full ban on Telegram was not being considered at that time.

"Telegram remains not only a messenger but also a social network. Large resources have been invested in its channels. I would avoid talking about a full ban for now,” Boyarsky said.

User Complaints and Past Blocking Attempts

In mid-January, committee member Andrey Svintsov said Telegram was being slowed down due to delays in blocking anonymous channels. Roskomnadzor responded at the time that no new restrictive measures were being applied.

Shortly afterward, Artem Sheikin, deputy chairman of the Federation Council's Council for the Development of the Digital Economy, said Telegram was being gradually restricted because of its refusal to meet requirements aimed at preventing crimes.

On February 9 and 10, Russian users reported widespread problems accessing Telegram, according to data from monitoring services Downdetector and Sboy.rf. Similar complaints were recorded in mid-January and late December.

Telegram has previously faced restrictions in Russia. In April 2018, the service was blocked after refusing to provide encryption keys to the Federal Security Service. In June 2020, Roskomnadzor lifted the ban, citing statements by Telegram founder Pavel Durov about readiness to counter terrorism and extremism. Since then, the messenger has paid fines in several cases for refusing to remove content banned in Russia.