Russian lawmakers say Telegram ban makes it harder to communicate with constituents

Russian lawmakers have complained that the Telegram ban is making it harder to communicate with constituents and fellow party members, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported after polling legislators from several parties.

“Finding a way to communicate has become more problematic after the ban — it’s hard for people. Some can set up an alternative communication channel, some can’t. Some have internet problems, some don’t have Wi-Fi, some can’t get VPN to work without Wi-Fi,” Vladimir Isakov, deputy chairman of the Duma’s committee on youth policy and a member of the Communist Party (KPRF), told the paper.

Setting up group chats after constituent meetings has also become harder, he said, and discussing problems or sharing files now takes longer.

Andrei Kuznetsov, first deputy head of the A Just Russia faction, also acknowledged that the ban was creating difficulties. The messenger “had and still has good informational reach,” but without “using certain services” little works, he added. Kuznetsov said he uses other platforms, including Russia’s state-backed messaging app Max, but they cannot provide the same broad information infrastructure as Telegram.

Yevgeny Popov, deputy chairman of the committee on information policy and a United Russia member, said the ban had changed lawmakers’ lives “in exactly the same way as it has for everyone else.” His fellow party member Vitaly Milonov noted that many constituents still write to him on Telegram. He complained to Vedomosti that his channel on Max has “very few people” and that the state-backed app lacks a Stories feature.

Nikolai Novichkov, a member of A Just Russia, told the paper that Telegram is an effective communication tool and that giving it up is a shame. “To say that blocking Telegram was strictly necessary — that’s probably going too far. Though maybe, perhaps, some people think differently,” he added.

Russian authorities began restricting access to Telegram in the summer of 2025, citing efforts to combat phone fraud. New waves of restrictions followed in October 2025 and in January and February 2026. Members of the State Duma said the moves were a signal that Pavel Durov’s messenger should cooperate more actively with Russian authorities.

Roskomnadzor had been expected to block Telegram outright on April 1. By the end of March, however, Telegram’s availability in Russia had already fallen to 30 percent, and the app had effectively stopped working in the country without a VPN. The situation had not changed by early April, and authorities moved to crack down on VPN and other circumvention services as well.