On 15 February, State Duma IT Committee Chairman Sergei Boyarsky stated that the administration of Telegram is in contact with Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor. According to him, the platform partially complies with removal requests: some content is deleted, while other materials remain online.
Boyarsky’s remarks come amid reported disruptions affecting Telegram users in Russia. Authorities have intensified pressure on the platform, while promoting the state-backed messenger Max, launched in March 2025, which has struggled to gain widespread adoption.
The lawmaker accused Telegram of long-standing non-compliance with Russian legislation, including requirements to localise user data, remove prohibited content (extremism and terrorism), and cooperate with law enforcement. He emphasised that, unlike the domestic messenger Max, Telegram would not be included in official “whitelists” of applications accessible during mobile internet shutdowns, describing it as a foreign platform.
The public acknowledgement of ongoing contacts between Telegram and Roskomnadzor should be viewed within the broader framework of Russia’s “sovereign internet” policy. Over recent years, the authorities have built extensive technical and legal mechanisms — including state-controlled DNS infrastructure and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) systems — enabling selective throttling, blocking and traffic rerouting.
Rather than pursuing an immediate and complete disconnection from the global internet, the Russian government has increasingly relied on targeted, incremental restrictions. These measures degrade the functionality of foreign platforms while maintaining overall network operability. Temporary regional shutdowns and whitelist-based access models have already demonstrated how authorities can preserve domestic services while restricting foreign ones.
Telegram’s current situation reflects this calibrated approach: instead of an outright ban, regulators appear to be applying selective pressure to encourage greater compliance and to incentivise migration toward state-aligned alternatives.
Our Forecast:
In the short to medium term, a full-scale disconnection of Russia from the global internet remains unlikely due to economic, administrative and technical constraints. However, further fragmentation of internet access is probable.
Telegram is likely to face continued regulatory pressure, including throttling and exclusion from priority access regimes during shutdowns, unless it expands cooperation with Russian authorities. The broader trajectory points toward a model of controlled degradation: foreign platforms will remain technically accessible but increasingly unstable or inconvenient to use.
Over time, this environment is expected to shift user behaviour toward domestic services, reinforcing state oversight while avoiding the systemic disruption that a total internet shutdown would entail.
