Telegram Faces Widespread Outages in Russia
Reports from users across Russia indicate that Telegram, the nation’s leading messaging app, is experiencing significant disruptions. Outage-tracking platforms such as Downdetector and Sboi.rf have seen a surge in complaints, particularly over the weekend. Users have expressed frustration, stating that the app is non-functional, with issues ranging from the inability to open the application to failures in sending messages and loading media content.
The geographical spread of these reports is extensive, with the highest concentrations of complaints emerging from major urban centers including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the surrounding Moscow region. According to data cited by the newspaper Kommersant, approximately 6,000 complaints were logged on Saturday, escalating to around 12,000 by Sunday.
Experts suggest that these outages may be the result of government actions aimed at blocking the service. Vladislav Voytenko, a contributor to the tech publication Kod Durova, noted that Telegram has effectively ceased functioning over home Internet connections in recent days. He further emphasized that access via mobile Internet is also severely compromised, stating, “You can forget about using Telegram over mobile Internet.”
Voytenko pointed out that in cities where access is restricted to a government-sanctioned “whitelist” of websites, most VPN services may not provide a viable workaround to access Telegram. This situation raises concerns about the implications for communication and information sharing among users in the region.
Additionally, Alexey Amelkin, president of the Makatel Cable Television Operators’ Association, remarked that while the slowdown in service had been noticeable for some time, it is only recently that users have begun to report issues with the desktop version of the app as well. This development signals a troubling trend for one of Russia’s most relied-upon digital communication tools.
