In the fall of 2025, the Russian segment of Telegram underwent the largest wave of purges in recent years, including searches, arrests, and the blocking of channels that were previously seen as influential and nearly untouchable.
Under attack were the administrators of popular publics such as VChK-OGPU, K1, LISA BASILIO, as well as developers of major «probiv bots» and personal data leak services.
The scale of the campaign and the synchronized actions of the FSB, MIA, and Roskomnadzor indicate that this is not merely a fight against «doxing» or «extortion,» as official sources attempt to portray it. Moscow has launched an open operation to subdue Telegram — the last major digital platform where relative freedom still existed.
Back in the summer, sources in the Presidential Administration spoke of two scenarios: the minimum goal — to force Telegram to comply with the authorities by removing undesirable channels; the maximum goal — full integration of the messenger into the Russian «Cheburnet.»
After several months of pressure, the «minimum» scenario was implemented. Telegram blocked mirrors of VChK-OGPU and K1 — the largest investigative channels that regularly published insider information from security structures. The formal pretext was «doxing» and «extortion.» However, the coincidence with the detentions of their administrators and subsequent publications by pro-government media makes the picture of a «crackdown» obvious and clear: Telegram is being brought under total control, and those who disagree or are undesirable are being imprisoned.
Chronology of the Purge
February 2025. In the Moscow region, the administrator of the channels «Payment Shield» and «FinDozor» was detained — according to the investigation, he allegedly extorted 16 million rubles from a businessman. The Investigative Committee reported: «The activities of Telegram groups spreading defamatory information have been stopped.»
April. The channel «VChK-OGPU» was deleted, which at that time had over a million subscribers. The authors blamed Telegram for this, while the messenger’s administration claimed that the channel was deleted by its owners, «possibly as a result of unauthorized access.»
May. The FSB reported the detention of «moderators of 57 channels» during raids in 81 regions of Russia, accusing them of extortion and «spreading false information about the SMO.» Most of them ran publics about corruption and war crimes.
July. Searches were conducted at the office of the media group Baza — formally on charges related to «obscene materials.» Employees reported pressure and the blocking of mirrors.
October. Detentions related to VChK-OGPU administrators, including Artem Shalyakin (channel «LISA BASILIO»), took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The FSB stated that «during investigative actions, equipment containing compromising materials on state officials was seized.» Telegram blocked the backup mirror of VChK-OGPU and the K1 channel (about 360,000 subscribers). The official reason — «violation of rules and publication of personal data.» In reality, this was the culmination of pressure.
November. In St. Petersburg, Igor Morozkin, the owner of the popular bot Usersbox, which allowed access to Russians’ data via phone numbers and IDs, was arrested. According to the FSB, the service «was used by criminals and extremists.» According to TVSPB, Morozkin was detained on the same day that Telegram received another demand from Roskomnadzor to «strengthen moderation.»
All episodes are accompanied by the same wording: «extortion,» «illegal handling of personal data,» «defamation,» «discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.» But the real motives — the elimination of anonymous investigators whose publications touched on corruption, shadow incomes of generals, scandals in the Ministry of Defense, and among security officials.
According to «Radio Liberty,» in the case of «57 channels,» administrators of publics covering mobilization, funeral reports, and internal conflicts within the FSB were under investigation. A source from security structures reported: «Some of the admins had access to leaks from MIA and tax databases, and their publications were used in the interests of foreign entities.»
This wording — a universal pretext for arresting anyone who writes about corruption or security services.
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«Durov Project» and the Myth of Independence
Pavel Durov, who until recently positioned himself as an advocate of digital freedom, has been acting extremely cautiously in recent months. In April, he publicly stated that «Telegram is forced to comply with the laws of the countries where its servers operate.» Following this, dozens of Russian channels were blocked under the pretext of «doxing» and «inciting hatred.»
At the same time, mobile operators suspended sending SMS with authorization codes for Telegram, causing some users in Russia to lose access to their accounts. This looked like a demonstrative signal — «we can shut you down at any moment.»
According to Business Magazine Online, the Presidential Administration considered a scenario of a complete Telegram ban in January 2026 if the messenger did not agree to «cooperate in the interests of the state.»
Against this backdrop, suspicions have resurfaced in expert circles that Telegram is not «outside the system» at all, but a project initially controlled by security services. Doubts are reinforced by history: back in 2013, after a conflict with the FSB, Durov left Russia, but his new project soon gained stable operation in the country despite a formal ban in 2018. At that time, Telegram was «blocked,» yet it continued to be used even by officials and security personnel.
A former Roskomnadzor employee, in a conversation with The Insider, noted: «The blocking of Telegram in 2018 was a fiction. Since then, there has been an unspoken agreement: Durov does not touch topics critical to the authorities, and in return, he gets carte blanche to operate in Russia.» Now, according to him, «the agreement is being updated on harsher terms.»
Formally, Telegram is not blocked, but its ecosystem in Russia is already under control. Probiv bots have been destroyed, independent publics are forced to migrate to foreign platforms. Each new detention is accompanied by leaks from pro-government Telegram channels — with «confessions,» «search videos,» and «investigations» from pseudo-media. Telegram, created as an «island of freedom,» is turning into a tool of managed censorship. Independent investigative channels are disappearing one by one, and those remaining are moving to closed chats or foreign platforms.
Meanwhile, in the «Cheburnet,» a «white list» of websites is being formed, including betting services, government services, and media projects controlled by «Gazprom-Media» structures. Telegram remains on this list for now — but no longer as a platform of freedom, but as a managed showcase.
«We are witnessing not just a purge, but the systematic construction of a digital vertical of power,» says a source close to the IT industry. According to him, the next step is «the integration of Telegram into the RuNet infrastructure, where all traffic nodes pass through state filters.»
According to sources from Expert.ru, representatives of Telegram’s Dubai office visited Russia in the summer for closed consultations with Roskomnadzor. The topic — the creation of a «Russian contour hub,» which would allow security services to request data directly.
Now let’s move to the most interesting part — the role of Pavel Durov. He is usually positioned as «the founder of a privacy-safe messenger.» However, accumulated data allows us to propose a version: Telegram is far from an independent structure, but rather a tool of Russian control, albeit with elements of a Western wrapper.
The investigation «Investigation Uncovers Telegram’s Potential Links to Russia’s FSB» indicates:
From these facts emerges a version: Telegram has become a «hybrid» mechanism — on one hand, it remains an «independent» messenger for millions of users, on the other, it contains built-in backdoor control contours that can be activated in the interests of Russian authorities. In other words, Durov and his project are not a traditional «enemy of the Kremlin,» but rather a partner-controller, ensuring the possibility of a flexible «agreement» with security services: we operate, but within the framework convenient for those in control.
What’s Next
The war for Telegram in Russia has reached a new level. Security forces are step by step creating an infrastructure of fear, and the messenger, promised as a tool against censorship, is turning into its weapon.
Behind the «purge» of investigative channels lies not a fight against cybercrime, but an attempt to completely erase the last autonomous media environment. The «minimum goal» scenario has already been implemented: Durov has submitted, and Telegram blocks channels at the Kremlin’s direction. Now on the agenda is the maximum goal: turning the internet into «Cheburnet» and completely displacing anonymous sources of information.
Telegram in Russia still operates. But with each new arrest and each new blocking, it becomes increasingly obvious: the messenger, positioned as a symbol of digital freedom, has become a mirror of digital unfreedom.
