With Telegram blocked, Russians turn to cat feeders, classifieds, and robot vacuum cleaners to stay connected
As Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, continues to block Telegram, users across the country have begun looking for workarounds. Not, as one might expect, by jumping to another messaging app still flying under the agency’s radar, but by turning to far less obvious corners of the Internet — and even everyday devices. Online games, office tools, household appliances: almost anything, it seems, can double as a communication channel if it helps avoid installing the state-backed messaging app Max. Here are some of the more unusual ways Russians have found to stay in touch.
In late March, the outlet Rotonda reported on a St. Petersburg resident who posted an unusual listing on the Russian classified ads website Avito titled “Strict cat for friends.” She wasn’t actually trying to sell a pet. The description made clear the cat already had owners; the listing existed solely as a backchannel for chatting with friends. Anticipating a possible mobile Internet shutdown, she simply shared the link with her contacts so they could message each other through the platform.
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Avito is one of the services included in Russia’s so-called “whitelist” — a registry of websites that remain accessible during mobile Internet blackouts. That status makes it a reliable way to stay in touch when Telegram or other messaging apps go down. The listing, however, didn’t last long: moderators removed it for violating platform rules, since, technically, nothing was being sold.
Still, Russians have been eyeing classifieds as messaging stand-ins for some time. Back in September 2025, when Roskomnadzor blocked calls on Telegram and WhatsApp, some users suggested using Avito instead, which includes a built-in calling feature. How widely that workaround caught on remains unclear.
More recently, a video featuring Alina, a Muscovite now living in Bali, went viral on Instagram — and, once again, a cat made an appearance. She explained that she’d managed to call her parents in Russia using an automatic pet feeder equipped with a camera after other forms of communication failed. The feeder’s rightful owner, a cat named Snezhok, appeared less than impressed.
In the comments, viewers began swapping their own improvised solutions. Some suggested robot vacuum cleaners with cameras, microphones, and speakers as makeshift communication devices. Others mentioned baby monitors or video doorbells. “Modern problems require modern solutions,” one user joked. Another quipped: “When they block the feeder, switch to a litter box with a camera.”
For those who don’t need video and can make do with text, there are simpler options. According to the business daily Kommersant, Russians have been messaging each other inside online games, including chess apps, and even on the language-learning platform Duolingo.
There’s also the Sberbank Online app: by sending even a minimal transfer, users can open a built-in chat window known as SberChat. The app, however, has not yet been added to the whitelist because its data storage system doesn’t meet the Federal Security Service’s requirements.
Online documents that allow for collaborative editing offer yet another workaround. Shared files on platforms like Google Docs or Yandex Docs can function as improvised chat rooms. One blogger even launched a music channel inside a standard spreadsheet — complete with comments and reactions to “posts.”
None of these methods, of course, come close to replacing a full-fledged messaging platform. They’re less a widespread solution than a mix of improvisation and dark humor — small ways for people to stay connected, and perhaps keep their spirits up under tightening restrictions. In practice, the most reliable tool remains a VPN.
Cover photo: Alamy / Vida Press