Durov stated that Telegram has been improved to counter censorship
11 April 22:12
Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated that the Telegram protocol has been improved to counter censorship, and advised Russians to update the app to “stay connected despite the ban.”
Durov wrote about this on his Telegram channel, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
He also advised Russians to stock up on several VPNs in advance and help friends and family do the same, and to avoid using Russian apps while connected to a VPN, as they could report this to the authorities for blocking.
“I’m glad to see that most people are already doing this. Thanks to this digital resistance, Telegram usage in Russia has remained stable over the past week, despite the complete ban. Keep up the good work. For our part, we will continue to improve Telegram’s decentralized anti-censorship technology,” Durov also stated.
The Blocking of Telegram in Russia and the Reaction to It
A report by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) dated April 4 stated that, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Forum, the approval rating for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had fallen by five percentage points (from 76% to 71%) since March 22.
Weekly VTsIOM polls show that Putin’s approval rating has been steadily declining since February 8, 2026. This is attributed to restrictions on Telegram. On April 3, the Russian publication Vazhnye Istorii reported that several Russian propagandists and Z-bloggers complained that Moscow is wasting money on censorship despite rising prices and leaving Russian troops without communication on the battlefield.
On April 3, Telegram founder Pavel Durov responded to the Kremlin’s attempts to ban the messaging app and virtual private networks (VPNs), noting that 65 million Russians still use VPNs daily to access social media. According to Durov, the Kremlin’s actions caused a massive disruption in the payment and money transfer services of several Russian banks on April 3.
According to data from Downdetector, the Telegram messenger service nearly ceased to function entirely in Russia on March 16. Specifically, the mobile app and web version were not working.
Roskomnadzor stated that the messenger “does not comply with Russian legislation,” so its operation would be progressively restricted. In February, connectivity on Telegram did indeed deteriorate, and a real panic broke out on propaganda channels, as Russian occupiers on the front lines could no longer communicate via Telegram.
