Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 4, 2026
1 min readLast updated: April 6, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleTelegram founder Pavel Durov blamed Russia’s crackdown on VPNs for causing a domestic payment system glitch—disrupting services like the Moscow metro and regional zoo—and hailed widespread citizen resistance.
MOSCOW, April 4 (Reuters) - Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on Saturday Russia's attempt to block Virtual Private Networks triggered a problem with a domestic payment system, adding that tens of millions of Russians were now resisting the digital controls.
The issue sowed chaos on Friday for some shoppers, forcing the Moscow metro to allow entry without payment through its turnstiles, while a regional zoo had to ask visitors to use cash.
"Their blocking attempts just triggered a massive banking failure," Durov said on Telegram. "Welcome back to the Digital Resistance, my Russian brothers and sisters. The entire nation is now mobilised to bypass these absurd restrictions."
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Russia’s attempt to block VPNs triggered a problem with the domestic payment system, leading to widespread banking disruptions.
Pavel Durov said that the blocking attempts caused a massive banking failure, and called on Russians to resist digital controls.
Some shoppers faced chaos at payment terminals, forcing organizations like Moscow metro to allow entry without payment and some locations to accept cash only.
The Moscow metro allowed passengers to enter without payment, and a regional zoo requested visitors to pay with cash.
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