Letter From the Editors
“The reason the Internet can work across any device, network, and medium – the reason a smartphone in Sao Paulo can stream a song from a server in Singapore – is because it needed to be as ubiquitous as the American security apparatus that financed its construction.” This quote does not come from a jingoistic American leader, or from a paranoid Kremlin propagandist. It’s from Ben Tarnoff’s article in The Guardian published in 2016 to mark the 40th anniversary of the first successful “internetwork” connection in Silicon Valley.
That same year also marked Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s first run-in with the Russian authorities. As NGE tells it, Durov refused to comply with the “Yarovaya package” of laws that required messaging services to register in a national database, authenticate the identity of their users, and provide the FSB with encryption keys. Since then, media watchdog Roskomnadzor has repeatedly tried to block Telegram, but never managed to shut it down completely, due to technological limitations and public outcry. For instance, a 2018 rally in Moscow reportedly gathered 10,000 marchers in the streets, while people in apartments flew paper airplanes out their windows (inspired by Telegram’s trademark). Fast-forward to February 2026: Roskomnadzor has adopted DPI (deep packet inspection) technology to block Telegram more effectively, slowing down communication speeds to a noticeable degree. Not only that, but according to Telegram news channel Baza, the service will be completely blocked on Russian networks as of April 1.
But what about public outcry? According to Meduza, Russian officials themselves rely on Telegram, including those in the Defense Ministry. So there’s been some pushback, but Roskomnadzor’s response is that everybody should switch to home-grown messaging service Max – although the latter’s popularity and capabilities are significantly more limited.
Notably, the Duma opposition is living up to its name by questioning the government’s restrictions. According to NG, the RFCP, A Just Russia and Yabloko have all made public statements in support of a “free Internet.” Pundit Vladimir Mukhin sees this issue growing into a talking point for the 2026 Duma election campaign, at least for some parties. “Mironov’s party [A Just Russia] needs a boost not just from the administration, but also from voters, which is why it’s trying to stake out yet another hot-button issue.”
As for Pavel Durov, he has good reason not to raise a fuss, says cyberlaw expert Sarkis Darbinyan. Telegram has expanded so much that Russian users today account for only 10% of its business.
The Russian military may be feeling quite boxed in lately, as high-ranking intelligence man Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev recovers from an assassination attempt in his own apartment building. The accused shooter is Yaroslav Korba, a Ukrainian national (surprise, surprise).
This detail is yet another irritant in the Kremlin’s ongoing struggle to “solve the Ukraine problem.” Vedomosti quotes a frustrated Sergei Lavrov, who says that “the problem should have been solved” after Presidents Putin and Trump met in Anchorage. “So far, in practice, everything looks the other way around: New sanctions are being imposed, a ‘war’ is being waged against tankers on the high seas. . . . The Americans want to take over all the routes that supply all the leading countries, every continent, with energy resources.”
Luckily, the Russian leadership can still count on its own loyal people. Or can they? Two of the alleged accomplices in the Alekseyev shooting are Russians – father and son – with ties to the military, no less. The son, Pavel Vasin, follows several Internet channels associated with the far-right group Russkaya Obshchina (Russian Community). And yes, he’s a Telegram user too.
What are Russian officials to do? How can they revive the “Anchorage spirit” that inspired optimism last summer? If only they and their US counterparts subscribed to the same Telegram channel. After all, it doesn’t seem like the Americans will be downloading Max any time soon.