Russia Is Killing Telegram to Force 90 Million Onto a Surveillance App

The Kremlin-backed MAX app has no encryption, FSB backdoors, and is now mandatory on every phone sold in Russia. Telegram is being throttled into oblivion.

TL;DR: Since February 9, Russia has been throttling Telegram (used by 90 million Russians) using deep packet inspection hardware deployed under its "sovereign internet" law. The goal: push citizens onto MAX, a state-backed messaging app built by VK (controlled by Putin's deputy chief of staff's son). MAX has no end-to-end encryption, shares data with the FSB, and has been mandatory on all phones sold in Russia since September 2025. Pavel Durov called it "a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship." Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian front are calling the throttling a threat to battlefield communications. Citizens are flooding VPN services. One Russian MP called the officials behind it "idiots."

What's Happening Right Now

On February 9, 2026, Telegram stopped working properly across Russia. Messages failed to send. Media files wouldn't load. Chats disappeared. By February 10, Roskomnadzor (Russia's telecom regulator) confirmed it was deliberately throttling the service [1].

Over 15,000 complaints hit Downdetector. Some estimates put the number of affected users at 615,000 in a single day. The disruptions hit major cities including Moscow and St. Petersburg [2].

This isn't an outage. It's a squeeze. Russia learned from its failed 2018 attempt to ban Telegram outright (that effort collapsed within two years). This time, they're using sophisticated deep packet inspection technology to degrade the service slowly enough that users give up and switch, specifically to an app the government controls [3].

Roskomnadzor's official reason: Telegram doesn't protect personal data and fails to combat "fraud, criminal, and terrorist purposes" [4]. The actual reason is sitting in every app store in Russia.

Meet MAX: Russia's WeChat With FSB Integration

MAX launched in March 2025. It's built by VK, Russia's biggest tech company, formerly known as Mail.ru Group. VK is controlled by Gazprom and state-aligned shareholders. Its CEO, Vladimir Kiriyenko, is the son of Sergey Kiriyenko, President Putin's deputy chief of staff [5].

So much for independent tech.

MAX is modeled explicitly on China's WeChat: messaging, video calls, money transfers, government services, banking, and document storage, all in one app. The pitch is convenience. The reality is a surveillance architecture the FSB doesn't even have to hack [6].

What MAX collects:

  • IP addresses and location data
  • Behavioral metrics and contact lists
  • Biometric information
  • All message content (no end-to-end encryption)

MAX's own privacy policy states data may be shared with "third parties and state agencies." Security researchers describe "excessive tracking" and "insecure design." The app is integrated with SORM, Russia's FSB domestic surveillance system that gives intelligence services direct access to all communications [7].

The U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) published a briefing titled: "The MAX App: Russia's Pocket-Sized Approach to Mass Surveillance" [8].

They're not even trying to hide what it is.

Mandatory Installation. Mandatory Surveillance.

In June 2025, Russia's parliament passed a law requiring MAX to be pre-installed on every smartphone and tablet sold in the country. The mandate took effect September 1, 2025 [9].

Every phone sold in Russia now ships with a government surveillance app already installed. You can delete it. But the government is making sure the alternative (Telegram) barely works.

MAX user numbers tell the story of coerced adoption:

  • March 2025: 1 million sign-ups at launch
  • November 2025: 55 million users
  • December 2025: 75 million users

Compare that to Telegram's 90+ million Russian users. MAX is closing the gap, not because people want it, but because the government is strangling the competition [5].

Integration with Gosuslugi (Russia's government services portal) is expected in 2026. Once that happens, MAX becomes the only way to access government services digitally. Need a document? Use the surveillance app. Need to pay a fine? Use the surveillance app. Need healthcare access? Surveillance app.

Durov Fights Back

Telegram founder Pavel Durov didn't mince words on February 10:

"Russia is restricting access to Telegram in an attempt to force its citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship." [1]

He added: "Restricting citizens' freedom is never the right answer. Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privacy, no matter the pressure."

Durov drew a direct comparison to Iran, which tried the same strategy eight years ago: blocking Telegram on fabricated pretexts and pushing a state-run alternative. It failed. Iranian users kept finding ways to access Telegram [1].

Whether Russia's technically more sophisticated approach produces a different result remains to be seen. Russia's deep packet inspection infrastructure is significantly more advanced than what Iran had in 2018.

Even Russia's Own Military Is Furious

Here's the part the Kremlin didn't think through: Russian soldiers in Ukraine depend on Telegram. An estimated 70% of servicemen use it for frontline coordination. Pro-war military bloggers ("Z-bloggers") use it to communicate with troops and publish battlefield updates [10].

When the throttling started, Russian soldiers accused Roskomnadzor of undermining battlefield communications. One Russian MP called the officials responsible "idiots" and "scoundrels" [2].

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to downplay the military impact. Nobody bought it [11].

Russia is so committed to building its domestic surveillance infrastructure that it's willing to degrade its own military communications in an active war zone to do it.

Citizens Are Turning to VPNs

Russians aren't going quietly. VPN downloads surged immediately after the throttling began [12].

Mazai Banzaev, founder of Amnezia VPN, told TechRadar his team had been "preparing for possible Telegram blocks for about six months" and was "surprised it happened this late" [12].

A Levada Center poll from spring 2025 found a third of Russians already use a VPN. That number is likely higher now [12].

A Meduza poll during the disruption found: 21% reported problems, 38% experienced no changes, and 23% used VPNs and were unaffected. The poll couldn't capture people who were completely locked out [3].

But VPNs aren't a permanent solution. Roskomnadzor announced in January 2026 that it's developing an AI-based system for filtering internet traffic using machine learning, at a cost of 2.27 billion rubles. A new decree expands Roskomnadzor's authority to isolate or reroute internet traffic starting March 1, 2026 [4].

The walls are closing in.

The Technical Infrastructure Behind It

This isn't improvised. Russia has been building this capability for years.

Under Russia's "sovereign internet" law, every ISP is required to install TSPU hardware: deep packet inspection boxes that can identify, throttle, or block specific types of internet traffic. Unlike the blunt IP-blocking of 2018, this technology can target Telegram specifically without taking down the rest of the internet [4].

The throttling playbook is well-tested. Russia used the same gradual degradation approach against YouTube throughout 2025. First slow it down. Then add more restrictions. Then make the state alternative the path of least resistance [3].

Timeline of escalation:

  • August 2025: Restrictions on voice calls via Telegram and WhatsApp
  • October 2025: Intermittent functionality issues across regions
  • January 2026: New slowdown measures introduced
  • February 9, 2026: Full-scale throttling begins

Moscow has also opened seven court cases against Telegram since the start of 2026, imposing over $820,000 in fines for allegedly refusing to remove "extremist" content [4].

The Playbook: From Iran to China to Russia

Russia's strategy follows a pattern seen in authoritarian states worldwide:

  1. Build the replacement. Create a state-controlled messaging platform
  2. Force distribution. Mandate pre-installation on all devices
  3. Degrade the competition. Throttle independent platforms
  4. Make it essential. Tie government services to the state app
  5. Harvest everything. Monitor all communications through built-in surveillance

China perfected this with WeChat. Iran tried it with domestic messengers and partially failed. Russia is attempting the most ambitious version yet, converting 90 million Telegram users to a surveilled platform in a country where soldiers fighting a war depend on the app being replaced [6].

The Committee to Protect Journalists called the Telegram throttling "another step toward total information control" [13].

What You Can Do

If You're in Russia

  • Use a no-log VPN service (Mullvad, IVPN) to access Telegram
  • Consider Tor with obfuscated bridges as a backup
  • Download VPN apps now before access is further restricted
  • Avoid MAX for sensitive communications; it has no encryption and FSB access
  • Use Signal alongside Telegram for your most sensitive conversations

If You Have Contacts in Russia

  • They may lose Telegram access; establish backup communication channels now
  • Share VPN setup guides while they still have access
  • Use encrypted email as a fallback (ProtonMail, Tutanota)
  • Be aware that MAX communications are fully monitored

References

  1. CNN - Russia is restricting access to Telegram (February 10, 2026)
  2. Kyiv Independent - Russia restricts Telegram in latest push to tighten internet control (February 10, 2026)
  3. Meduza - Telegram is one of the last messaging apps in Russia that the state doesn't control (February 10, 2026)
  4. CyberInsider - Russia throttles Telegram to boost government-backed MAX app (February 2026)
  5. The Record - Moscow moves to throttle Telegram as Kremlin pushes its own messaging app (February 2026)
  6. Zona Media - No country for Telegram (February 10, 2026)
  7. TechRadar - Experts have serious concerns about Russia's new WhatsApp rival (2025)
  8. Helsinki Commission - The MAX App: Russia's Pocket-Sized Approach to Mass Surveillance (2025)
  9. CNN - Kremlin-backed Max messenger app to be pre-installed on all smartphones sold in Russia (August 2025)
  10. Meduza - How Russia's new Telegram restrictions threaten frontline communications (February 10, 2026)
  11. The Moscow Times - Kremlin downplays impact of Telegram restrictions on frontline communications (February 11, 2026)
  12. TechRadar - Telegram CEO condemns new restrictions in Russia as citizens turn to VPNs (February 2026)
  13. Committee to Protect Journalists - Russia's Telegram throttling another step toward total information control (February 2026)