How Russia’s new Telegram restrictions threaten self-inflicted damage to the army’s frontline communications
Russia’s pro-war military bloggers are up in arms over the Kremlin’s latest move against Telegram. After users across the country reported service disruptions today, February 10, the federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, confirmed that it is rolling out further restrictions on the popular messaging app.
The slowdown provoked outrage among Russian Z-bloggers, who are themselves primarily active on Telegram. “Unfortunately, we can’t disable Starlink for the Ukrainians. But we can disable Telegram for the Russians. And if we can, then why not do it?” wrote a user called Fighterbomber in a sarcastic comment.
While Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine actively use Telegram on the front line, it’s not the Russian military’s only method of communication.
Until recently, Russian troops used Discord — a communications platform designed for gamers — to livestream drone footage and coordinate assault operations in Ukraine. However, because Russia officially blocked Discord in 2024, this required connecting to Starlink satellite Internet to circumvent official jamming.
Although Elon Musk’s SpaceX previously turned a blind eye to Russia’s unauthorized use of Starlink, the company is now working with Ukraine to disable all unregistered terminals on the country’s territory. This has disrupted the Russian military’s communications, forcing units that previously relied on Starlink to switch to Russian networks, including fiber-optic and radio bridge systems.
With Russian networks already blocking Discord, increasing restrictions on Telegram effectively deprive the Russian military of yet another online service, threatening self-inflicted damage to its communication and command system.
The Telegram slowdown also poses a threat to the Z-influencer economy, as pro-war military bloggers rely on the platform not only for distributing content but also for crowdfunding and earning money from advertising.
You can read Meduza’s detailed analysis of the Russian military’s reliance on Telegram here.
Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team