Putin declares war on Telegram and angers his soldiers

MoscowVladimir Putin had long since I had Telegram in my sightsBut it wasn't until this week that Russia formally declared war on it. Russian authorities have slowed the app down so much that it barely works for its more than 60 million users in the country. The Kremlin accuses its founder, Pavel Durov, of breaking the law, but he maintains that the Russian government's true objective is to push citizens toward a newly created national messaging service overseen by the secret services. The move has not only generated unrest on the streets but also within the military, where many soldiers have complained that the platform is vital for communications on the front lines and for drone defense.

The chaos began without warning between Monday and Tuesday, forcing Roskomnadzor, the agency with the power to block the internet, to issue a statement. In a press release, it lamented that Telegram "systematically" violates Russian law, fails to protect user data, does not combat fraud, and allows its use for "criminal and terrorist" purposes. In other words, he criticizes the company for not cooperating enough with law enforcement and for not limiting content critical of the regime. Meanwhile, the Russian judiciary joined the pressure campaign, announcing several fines against the company totaling hundreds of thousands of euros. Durov responded in a social media post, accusing the Kremlin of trying to "force citizens to migrate to a state-controlled application designed for surveillance and political censorship," referring to Max, the new messaging service launched by the Russian government. The Telegram owner reminded Putin that Iran had pursued the same strategy in 2018 and it hadn't succeeded because many Iranians had continued using the platform, circumventing the block. He warned: "Restricting citizens' freedom is never the right answer."

Also that year, Russian authorities tried to cripple Telegram, on the eve of presidential elections that seemed likely to see the candidacy of Alexei Navalny, Putin's main opponent. The application managed to circumvent the ban, and two years later, Roskomnadzor lifted the prohibition without offering much more explanation than the fact that Durov had agreed to collaborate in the "fight against terrorism and extremism." This sparked rumors that Telegram had chosen to share its users' data with the Russian secret services; fears that have never truly disappeared.

Be that as it may, everything indicates that the truce is over and that the Kremlin now has more and better tools to impose its digital iron fist. Currently, Russians can only connect to Telegram and WhatsApp, permanently blocked this weekThrough a VPN, a generally paid network that helps bypass the firewall. But the social impact of the Telegram block has been far greater than that of its competitor. For Russians, it's much more than a chat service; it also acts as a major information vehicle. All media outlets have their channels, including the Kremlin, public officials, and even Roskomnadzor.

Soldiers in the dark

Furthermore, Telegram has been the platform that has propelled pro-war bloggers to prominence during the last four years of the invasion. The Russian government's decision has also put them on a war footing due to the serious harm they believe it could cause to the troops. Many of them have shared videos of soldiers complaining. The military laments, for example, that this application allows real-time video transmission and the designation of targets to be engaged. "Did anyone from Roskomnadzor ask us if this would be useful?" one soldier wonders. Another states that all communication for ambulance systems is done via Telegram: "My commander said that anyone who blocks the application will burn in hell."

Even in the rear, in the units that combat drones, they are suffering because of the crusade against the platform. Analysts note that it is common for these squads to lack military communication equipment because it is reserved for the front lines. "We are fighting enemy drones to prevent them from reaching our homeland, and Telegram is our only communication channel. Please don't take it from us," pleads one of the members of these units. However, the Kremlin is turning a blind eye and denying the problem. Its spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, considers it "impossible to imagine Telegram communications on the front lines." On the Russian front, however, it's adding insult to injury. Last week, Elon Musk disconnected them from the Starlink satellite network, which the Kremlin had been hacking for years. The military community was outraged because many assault battalions were left without service. According to NATO, Ukraine has already taken advantage of this to advance in the Zaporizhia region. The panic has been such that Russia has even appealed to the UN to deactivate the entire SpaceX satellite network because it violates international law and is used by terrorists.