Telegram restrictions have impacted the work of residents of the Southern Federal District.
Telegram was often used for work-related communications, and existing restrictions caused difficulties in their work, while circumvention methods don't always work, according to residents of the Rostov and Volgograd regions and Kalmykia. Some expressed a willingness to switch to domestic messaging apps.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in October 2025, Telegram channel authors in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts experienced a decline in readership, difficulties posting, and reader complaints about access issues with Telegram. Roskomnadzor confirmed that the disruptions were due to government actions. The agency explained that these messaging apps are being restricted "to combat criminals" who use them to extort money and to involve Russians "in sabotage and terrorist activities." Telegram's significant slowdown in recent days has caused significant inconvenience for users in the North Caucasus republics. People have lost an accessible way to communicate with relatives, while businesses have lost established connections with clients and are suffering losses.
Caucasian Knot surveyed nine residents of the Southern Federal District (Rostov and Volgograd Oblasts, Kalmykia) to determine whether they had experienced Telegram slowdowns. The survey is not representative and reflects only the personal opinions of those surveyed.
Difficulties with work chats arose amid Telegram slowdowns
Rostov-on-Don resident Anna Pirova told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she has been experiencing difficulties using the Telegram messenger for several days.
"I'm a marketer, and all our work chats are on Telegram. They couldn't function properly, so to speak. I started having problems around Saturday. First, photos and videos started loading slowly; they used to open instantly, but now they take 10-15 seconds to load, and sometimes they don't load at all. Voice messages are also slow. I send them, and they get stuck in the "sending" status, which can last for a minute or two. Text messages are still working fine, but sometimes there's a delay of a few seconds. "It's gotten even worse today and yesterday—yesterday, the news channel wouldn't load for half an hour, just a blank screen," she said.
So far, the blocking only affects Telegram, but I'm afraid it will get worse.
I'm having problems on both my phone and my computer.
"I thought it was my phone, but no, it's the same on my laptop. A free VPN helps partially, so I had to buy a paid one. I turn it on, and messages start to go faster, photos load, but it's still not as fast as before without the VPN. There are no problems with other messengers yet. WhatsApp* works reliably, I can access email without any problems, and YouTube loads fine. "The blocking only affects Telegram so far, but I'm afraid it'll get worse," she noted.
According to another Rostov-on-Don resident, the messenger hasn't worked without a VPN for several days.
"The problems started about four days ago. At first, I thought my internet was glitching. I started noticing that messages in Telegram were being delayed—I'd write them, and they'd hang there with one tick for a minute or two, then suddenly they'd get two ticks and it'd be 'read.' Photos and videos were a total disaster—I'd send a 5-10 MB file, and it might take five minutes to load, whereas before, it'd be gone in 10-15 seconds." "Voice messages are also slow—I recorded a minute-long audio file, and it took about 30 seconds to send. It's been really bad the last few days—last night I couldn't even access several channels; it kept saying 'loading,' and that was it," Dmitry told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Family chats have smoothly migrated to WhatsApp*, he notes.
"We had to set everything up on WhatsApp*. Although we really liked Telegram; it was a very convenient messenger. Now all family chats have to be duplicated on WhatsApp*. Work chats are the same; not all teachers want to use a VPN," he noted.
His colleague confirms he doesn't use a VPN.
"I'm not very tech-savvy; I only need work chats. It doesn't matter which messenger it's in. WhatsApp* is quite suitable. It's better than installing additional services. "The only thing I liked was Telegram bots for editing and structuring texts. My kids taught me how to use them, and I spent a long time proofreading my texts. I'll have to look for something similar on WhatsApp*," Elena, a middle school teacher, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.
The last two days have been really bad - last night I couldn't even open the channel with orders, I thought I'd been banned.
35-year-old taxi driver Sergey has also been having trouble using Telegram for a week.
"My Telegram started glitching about a week ago, maybe a little less. I'm communicating with the dispatchers. And then I noticed messages are arriving with a delay. Photos and videos aren't loading at all. Voice messages are also slow. I send them to the dispatcher, and they're stuck "sending" for half a minute. It's been really bad the last two days—last night I couldn't even open the order channel; I thought I'd been banned," he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.
A VPN partially solves the problem, he says.
"I installed a VPN, but the messenger isn't as fast as it used to be. We're used to videos, photos, and voice messages being lost instantly. But now we have to wait for it to load, like 10 years ago, when the internet was just starting to appear. "The other services are working, I haven't noticed any problems," he said.
Telegram has become an important source of news for many
Elista resident Sandzhi Bergyasov, a mechanic, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he rarely uses Telegram. He is interested in local republic news and fishing-related videos.
"If they block Telegram, I'll switch to MAX. Moreover, they say that soon you won't be able to make a doctor's appointment at the clinic or log into Gosuslugi without it. I have nothing to fear from MAX. I'm not involved in politics, and I don't say anything bad about the government," said Sanzhi.
An Elista resident who introduced herself as Svetlana, on the contrary, believes that blocking Telegram "is repressive." "act." According to the woman, such blocking "limits freedom of speech in the country" and "is unconstitutional."
I don't have a VPN. I'm afraid to install it.
"I first noticed Telegram blocks at the end of last year. Here and in the neighboring Volgograd region, they became more frequent in early March. I don't have a VPN. I'm afraid to install it, because they say there will soon be severe penalties for doing so. I don't know how I'll get out of this situation if Telegram is completely blocked. I have an active correspondence there. I follow the news there - both political and municipal," said Svetlana.
Methods for bypassing restrictions have become popular.
Volgograd lawyer Roman Melnichenko noted that videos have stopped loading on Telegram, but "images are loading "for hours."
"Communicating in chats has become problematic, as some people have lost access to Telegram altogether. I'm creating alternative chats on VK and considering installing MAX. As a result, I'm losing my international contacts. Working on VK and MAX is completely safe for me, as I know the authorities don't need anything other than their own desire to hold me accountable. You can't kill a man twice," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Sergey Shamratov, a student at a Volgograd university, reported that since early March, "Telegram and other messengers have been disappearing" in Volgograd and the surrounding region. Sergey solved the problem by downloading "KVN" (as he called a VPN). The student noted that all his classmates had done the same.
"For now, KVN can be mentioned in conversation. But we're trying to rename it in conversations and correspondence. And it's still possible to use it—no one will criticize you, but advertising it is prohibited—since last summer, it has been punishable (clause 1 "m" of Article 15.1 of the Federal Law "On Information")," Shamratov noted.
The authorities are shooting themselves in the foot. After all, every level of administration has its own pages (on Telegram). It's really convenient and efficient.
Volgograd historian Andrei Kudinov also intends to use a VPN.
"I don't see any reason for its (Telegram) restrictions. The authorities are shooting themselves in the foot. After all, every level of administration has its own pages (on Telegram). It's really convenient and efficient. I find city news more often on Telegram than on media websites. Since the end of February, videos haven't loaded at all, and photos are also difficult to process. That's not the only problem, by the way. WhatsApp* is almost completely blocked—I don't even use it anymore. Messenger works intermittently. Problems with them started in early March," Kudinov said.