Thread by @Mylovanov

Russia plans to shut down Telegram in early April — even as its own military relies on app for all battlefield communication.

"That would be like shooting entire Russian army in the head" — Russian soldier to Politico. 1/

In February SpaceX cut off Starlink terminals used by Russian forces. Traffic inside Ukraine dropped 75%.

Days later Russian authorities began slowing down Telegram nationwide. Roskomnadzor plans full shutdown in April — though not on front line. 2/

Kremlin already blocked WhatsApp, Meta's Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, FaceTime, Snapchat and X.

Apps Signal and Discord inaccessible since 2024. In March 3 Putin signed law requiring telecom operators to block internet at Federal Security Service request. 3/

Russia pushing citizens toward MAX — government-controlled messaging app launched March 2025, compared to China's WeChat.

Authorities steering Russians through employers, neighborhood chats, government services portal Gosuslugi, banks and retailers. 4/

Unlike China's centralized "Great Firewall," Russia's system operates internally. Internet providers required to route traffic through state-installed deep packet inspection equipment.

Klimarev, Internet Protection Society: "It's not one wall. It's thousands of fences." 5/

Pro-war Telegram channels view restrictions as sabotage of war effort.

Telegram used not only for battlefield coordination but for volunteer fundraising networks providing basic logistics — transport, fuel, body armor, trench materials, evacuation equipment. 6/

Roughly half of Russian internet users now know what VPN is, millions pay for one.

Levada Center polling: about one-quarter of Russians said they have used VPN services. I September Russia banned advertising for VPN services. 7/

Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center director Alexander Gabuev: Deepening digital isolation could turn Russia into "large, nuclear-armed North Korea and junior partner to China." 8X

Source: politico.com/news/2026/03/1…