Russia’s VPN crackdown triggers payment system disruption, Telegram’s CEO Durov says
Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, said on Saturday that Russia's attempt to block virtual private networks (VPNs) disrupted a domestic payment system, with tens of millions of Russians now pushing back against the restrictions.
"Their blocking attempts just triggered a massive banking failure," Durov said on Telegram, according to Reuters. "Welcome back to the Digital Resistance, my Russian brothers and sisters. The entire nation is now mobilised to bypass these absurd restrictions."
The move created chaos on Friday: the Moscow metro had to allow entry without payment through its turnstiles, and a regional zoo was forced to ask visitors to pay with cash.
Russia's largest and main commercial bank, Sberbank, said there was a technical issue on Friday, although it did not provide further details. The bank’s clients told local media that they were unable to make card purchases via terminals, QR codes, and Bluetooth. ATMs were also down.
Some Russian media reportedly deleted coverage that attributed the outage to the government’s attempts to block certain VPNs or sites.
Some Russians use VPNs to bypass the country’s strict content restrictions and bans. The Kremlin is actively pursuing a clampdown on VPNs and messaging apps, which the officials say is necessary for security amid alleged sabotage attempts by Western intelligence agencies and Ukraine.
As of February 20th, Russia began partially restricting Telegram and slowing it down. The country’s primary internet censor, Roskomnadzor, said that Telegram failed to protect personal data and had “no effective measures to combat fraud and the use of the messenger for criminal and terrorist purposes.”
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Additionally, Russian officials accused Telegram of being penetrated by Ukraine and NATO member intelligence agencies, which the app strongly denied.
Telegram said that Russia is trying to direct users to MAX, a state-backed Russian super-app launched in March 2025 by VK. The messaging platform, which VK says now has 100 million registered users, is being actively promoted by pro-Kremlin celebrities as a safer alternative to Telegram and WhatsApp. MAX must now also be preloaded in every new smartphone and tablet bought in Russia, sparking privacy concerns.
The government is also occasionally turning off mobile internet to test a “whitelist” of state-approved websites and apps that includes MAX, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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