August 18, 2025

WhatsApp and Telegram Blocked


WhatsApp and Telegram Blocked
iPhone screen with messaging apps, including Telegram and WhatsApp.
microsiervos, Wikimedia Commons.

On Tuesday, August 12, complaints of video and call failures on WhatsApp and Telegram, the two most used messaging apps in Russia, skyrocketed. On August 13, Roskomnadzor confirmed it had implemented a "partial restriction" of calls through these apps, which many Russians use to communicate with friends and family abroad.

The service Downdetector began receiving mass reports of WhatsApp and Telegram calls not working. Most complaints attributed the failed calls to the users' internet connection. However, on August 12, journalist Ksenia Sobchak said on her Telegram channel, Krovaya Barnya (Bloody Lady), that Roskomnadzor had decided to block calls on the two messengers. According to Sobchak, the ban was going to be promoted "under the auspices of fighting terrorists." President Putin's alleged goddaughter said regular correspondence would be available on both apps.

Roskomnadzor confirmed Sobchak's post after it announced a ban on phone and video calls on WhatsApp and Telegram. The government agency said the "partial restriction" was implemented due to "foreign messengers" being used to "deceive and extort money, to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities."

The Ministry of Digital Development said it would restore calls on both apps if they "comply with the requirements of Russian legislation." According to Forbes and Sobchak, Russia asked its telecommunications companies to block calls on "foreign messengers."

According to Novaya Gazeta Evropa, the ban on phone calls on WhatsApp and Telegram was adopted to lure Russians to use messengers in a "white list." Russia has been working to launch a national messaging app. The measure has been criticized for the potential access it could give to the FSB to surveil chats and leak data.

To bypass the latest restrictions, lawyer Sarkis Darbinian recommended installing a VPN with obfuscation and a Kill Switch to increase privacy. Obfuscation hides the fact that a user is using a VPN, making the internet traffic appear normal. The Kill Switch function stops the internet connection as soon as it detects that the VPN is interrupted, preventing data leaks.

Another cybersecurity expert, who decided to remain anonymous, told Novaya Gazeta Evropa that Russians should have 4 to 5 VPNs installed and regularly supply them with fresh keys. The publication also recommended using Signal. The app is end-to-end encrypted, so nobody except the participants of a conversation can read the messages, including the developer. Signal is blocked in Russia, but it works when using a VPN.

WhatsApp's complete ban in Russia appears imminent. On July 18, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma IT Committee Anton Gorelkin said, "It's time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian Market." Therefore, Novaya Gazeta Evropa advised installing alternative end-to-end encrypted messaging apps to maintain secure communication with loved ones, including DeltaChat, Jami, Briar, and Bridgefy.

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955