Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 26, 2026
1 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleRBC reports Russia may block Telegram in early April, citing extremist content. Telegram says the move is meant to push users to the state-run MAX app and notes troops rely on it for communications.
MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Russian authorities have decided on a time frame for blocking the Telegram messaging app and this may happen in early April, the RBC news outlet reported on Thursday.
Telegram is a hugely popular tool in Russia for both public and private communications, but the authorities accuse it of allowing itself to be used as a platform for illegal and extremist content.
Telegram rejects this, saying Russia is trying to throttle it in order to force people to switch to a new state-run app called MAX.
RBC said that by April, Telegram would only be available on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Military sources, war correspondents and politicians have said Russian troops rely heavily on it, not only for communicating with their families back home but also for operational purposes.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Alison Williams)
RBC reports that Russian authorities are preparing to block Telegram in early April, citing extremist and illegal content. Telegram denies the claims and says the move aims to migrate users to the state-run MAX app.
Authorities accuse Telegram of hosting illegal and extremist content. Telegram disputes this, arguing the crackdown is political and meant to boost adoption of the government-backed MAX messenger.
According to RBC, access may remain on Ukraine front lines due to the military’s reliance on the app for communications, though nationwide restrictions could still be implemented elsewhere.
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