Russia’s Telegram Ban Is Part of Long-Term “Sovereign Internet” Strategy: The 2026 restrictions on Telegram, WhatsApp, and other foreign platforms follow years of consolidation (VK, Yandex, Rambler) and laws aimed at controlling the internet, data, and information flows, accelerated by the Ukraine conflict and fears of repeats of the 2011–2012 protests.

MAX (VK) Benefits as the “National Messenger”: The ban favors domestic alternatives like MAX (owned by VK, linked to Vladimir Kiriyenko), enabling greater data collection, surveillance, and integration with state services, while strengthening the influence of powerful political-business clans (Kiriyenko-Kovalchuk).

Significant Domestic Backlash and Strategic Trade-offs: The move has caused widespread discontent among citizens, military volunteers, SMO participants, and commentators, who rely on Telegram for communication and information; it risks alienating the public and undermining Russia’s soft power, while mirroring global trends of internet regulation and digital fragmentation.

In January, 2026, Russian authorities started blocking Telegram messenger in the country, which triggered a wave of criticism from the general population, youth, journalists, volunteers, and even those involved in Special Military Operation (SMO). Russian “national” messenger MAX was proposed as an alternative. Yet, Russia’s restrictions on Telegram are not an isolated policy decision. They are the culmination of more than a decade of efforts to build a sovereign digital ecosystem. They represent a strategic shift in Russian information policy with an unexpected cost: by limiting independent communication platforms, the Kremlin may also be weakening its own soft power.

From VK to Telegram: Building a Sovereign Internet

Pavel Durov’s history of interaction with the Russian authorities is long and difficult. He is best known for being a “Russian Mark Zuckerberg.” He and his brother, alongside their initial business investors, created “ВКонтакте,” now known as VK. It was a copy of early Facebook but quickly gained popularity among Russians, and it quickly developed along its own path. It inevitably came under the state’s scrutiny. Previously, the authorities appeared to underestimate the potential and utility of social networks and messengers. The 2011 and 2012 protests made them recognize the power of the global web.

In the following years, VK underwent substantial ownership changes. In April 2013, Ilya Shcherbovich, often seen as an affiliate of state-owned Rosneft, purchased 48% stake in VK. In January 2014, Pavel Durov sold his 12% shares. By September 2014, Mail.ru Group, controlled by the Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov, had consolidated control over VK from other shareholders. In 2021, however, he sold VK to MF Technologies, the consortium of SOGAZ, Gazprombank and Rostec. Durov publicly expressed dissatisfaction of losing control over the company. For years he wrote posts and manifests about freedom of communication and expression on the Internet, implemented in Telegram, yet, some of his former associates have described this image as a façade, and that his departure from VK was subsequently “mythologized.”

Yet, the chain of events around VK transitions that peaked in 2013-2014 align with the other events. For example, Russian authorities passed several laws, which include the Russian Data Localization Law, Blogger Law, and so-called “Yarovaya Laws.” The legislation was intended to encourage foreign companies and online platforms to relocate servers to Russia and impose stricter control over Internet and explicitly over bloggers and independent influencers, such as Alexey Navalny who among others became increasingly popular in the 2000s on LiveJournal.

Market consolidation was not only limited to VK but covered other online projects. In 2013, Alexander Mamut unified all his holdings into Rambler & Co, which also included another Russian oligarch’s, Vladimir Potanin, Afisha-Rambler. In 2017, Mamut purchased Potanin’s share and became the sole owner of an already mentioned LiveJournal, popular among Russian opposition in the previous decade. Finally, in 2019, Russia’s largest state-owned bank, Sberbank, purchased 46.5% Rambler Group, and in 2020 purchased the remaining share. 

The next wave of consolidation started after the beginning of SMO with the major cases being Yandex corporation restructuring and relocation to Russia. Russian authorities took control of the majority of the assets and services belonging to Yandex. However, Arkady Volozh retained control over Nebius, unique AI cloud and infrastructure company, having ambitious plans of expanding into France and Finland. The second example is a merger........

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