Pavel Durov was included in the list of "terrorists" in Russia. What will happen to Telegram users now?

The Russian authorities have officially launched an offensive against the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov. The FSB put him on the international wanted list in the case of "assistance to terrorism", and Rosfinmonitoring included the businessman in the list of persons involved in extremist activities or terrorism.

Let's figure out what this threatens users, whether it is now possible to pay for Premium, and whether it is worth uninstalling the application.

What exactly happened?

The FSB accuses the management of Telegram of ignoring demands to remove channels and bots that are allegedly used by the Ukrainian special services to coordinate terrorist attacks, sabotage and recruitment of Russians. As an example, a popular dating chat is given "Dyvinchik" "Through him, according to the special services, dozens of teenagers were involved in illegal activities. At the same time, similar services in the state-controlled VK network or the Max messenger do not raise questions from the security forces.

Is it dangerous to open the app now?

Not yet. The inclusion of Durov himself in the list of Rosfinmonitoring at the moment applies only to his personal assets and documents in Russia. These restrictions do not currently apply to the messenger as a legal entity. Lawyers emphasize that the use of the service for correspondence, maintaining channels or registering new accounts now does not entail legal consequences for citizens.

However, the State Duma is already discussing the possibility of recognizing Telegram extremist or terrorist organization. If this happens, the situation will change dramatically.

What will change if Telegram is recognized as extremist?

In this case, the messenger will fall under the same rules as Meta products (Instagram and Facebook):

• Marking: With any mention of Telegram on the Internet (even in private posts), it will be necessary to indicate that the organization is banned in the Russian Federation. For the absence of a mark, a fine is threatened.
• Symbolism: The demonstration of the Telegram logo can be recognized as propaganda of extremism. For a repeated violation, criminal liability of up to 4 years in prison may be imposed.
• Funding: Subscription Payment Telegram Premium or buying ads through Telegram Ads can be qualified as "financing extremist activities". This is a serious article, which provides for 3 to 8 years in prison.

What about advertising in channels?

Channel owners may also have problems with advertising "directly". From September 2025, the law comes into force, prohibiting advertising on any resources of extremist organizations and blocked sites. Both advertisers and those who distribute advertising will be responsible for this.

Will Telegram be completely blocked?

Roskomnadzor has already begun to restrict the work of calls in the messenger and, according to some reports, has begun to slow it down. At the beginning of 2026, there were rumors about a possible complete blocking of the application in April, which the department did not directly refut.

Durov himself considers what is happening to be an attempt by the authorities to force Russians to switch to "A state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship". The Kremlin, in turn, says that it continues contacts with the administration of the messenger, but does not see "much activity" on the part of Telegram in matters of cooperation.

Can my correspondence be read?

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation claims that foreign special services allegedly have access to correspondence in Telegram, which they use for military purposes. The Telegram administration categorically denies these accusations.

If Telegram is completely blocked in the Russian Federation (such plans were discussed for April 2026), users will have to massively switch to VPN or alternative means of communication.