Russia Uses DNS Blocking and Throttling to Disrupt WhatsApp and Telegram and Push State-Backed MAX Messenger

Russian authorities escalated restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram, using network-level controls to disrupt access and steer users toward the Kremlin-promoted MAX messaging app. WhatsApp said Russia attempted to fully block the service, warning that isolating more than 100 million users from “private and secure communication” would reduce safety. Reporting indicated Roskomnadzor removed whatsapp.com and web.whatsapp.com from Russia’s National Domain Name System, effectively breaking domestic DNS resolution so the service becomes largely reachable only via VPNs or non-domestic resolvers; digital rights monitors also reported other major services being removed from the national domain registry.

Telegram also faced deliberate degradation: Roskomnadzor confirmed it “slowed down” the app, citing noncompliance with Russian law, amid widespread user-reported disruptions across multiple regions. State media reported Moscow courts opened multiple cases against Telegram in early 2026 for allegedly failing to remove content authorities label “extremist” or pornographic, with reported fines exceeding $820,000. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov publicly tied restoration of access to compliance with Russian legislation, while Telegram founder Pavel Durov characterized the measures as authoritarian and aimed at forcing adoption of MAX, which he described as built for surveillance and censorship; Russia has a history of attempting to block Telegram, including a 2018 ban later lifted in 2020.