Russia fines Telegram 35 million rubles for refusing to delete content
The Tagansky Court in Moscow found Telegram Messenger Inc. guilty of five administrative offenses for refusing to remove information deemed prohibited by Russian authorities. The total fine amounted to 35 million rubles—over $400,000 at the current exchange rate, according to Russian media. The court ruling was prompted by posts containing calls for extremist activity, which the messenger’s administration did not remove within the legally required 24 hours.
The demand to clear the platform of certain messages was issued by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office at the end of 2025, but official notifications from the regulator were ignored. Russian authorities view this as a systematic violation of laws controlling the information space. Experts see the decision as a tightening of censorship pressure on digital platforms, as Telegram remains one of the few spaces where access to alternative information sources outside state monitoring is still possible.
While Russia uses court fines as a tool for financial pressure on foreign tech companies, Telegram continues to operate in the country through a complex system of bypassing blocks. Further Kremlin measures could include technical restrictions on the service, though previous attempts to block the messenger proved largely ineffective due to its distributed infrastructure. Pavel Durov’s company generally does not comment on such fines and rarely cooperates directly with Russian authorities on matters of political censorship.
Meanwhile, Telegram in Russia has reportedly stopped opening even via VPN.
It is recalled that discussions continue in Ukraine about whether blocking Telegram would be possible or effective. Telegram recently introduced a major update with a range of new features for both regular users and Premium subscribers.
