Slowing Down, Heating Up

On February 10, Russian users began complaining about issues on Telegram, the social media site used widely by Russian citizens, authorities, and news outlets. The culprit: Russian civil agencies, which are deliberately "slowing down" the service, per a report in Russian state media.

The term "slowing down" spread in the summer of 2024, when Roskomnadzor (Russia's Federal Communications Control Service) began to impinge on YouTube's streaming. Such a massive platform is difficult to block outright, so initially Roskomnadzor throttled streaming quality in some regions. Yet, by the end of the year, YouTube had become practically inaccessible without a VPN, and "slowing down" became a Russian euphemism for the word "blocking."

Authorities are actively using the “boiling frog” analogy, based on the notion that, if you heat water slowly, the animal will not jump out of the pot but will gradually be boiled (in fact, the idea is mistaken, frogs don't stick around to get cooked). Russians are not cut off from contact with the outside world in a single day; that would cause too much outrage. But, over the past few years, the water has been getting hotter and hotter.

The fight against Telegram began well before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Roskomnadzor failed and the messenger continued to operate more or less normally until last year. In August 2025, however, calls stopped working, yet it was still possible to exchange texts and read channels.

The last international messenger still operating in the country, Telegram has become not only a refuge for anti-war Russians but also a popular media platform for pro-war authors. The latter, faced with service disruptions, have expressed furious indignation, as slowing down means not only difficulties in reaching their audience, but also critical problems on the front lines.

"A strike on Telegram is a much more serious problem for our army right now than even the disconnection of Starlink," said Alexey Chadayev, head of the drone center “Ushkuynik,” "because Starlink was treated with suspicion and… just in case, communication was duplicated; whereas Telegram is used universally and by everyone, including as the main tool for combat control."

A member of the State Duma Defense Committee, Viktor Sobolev, said that "the problem will be solved," but did not specify how. The head of the same committee, Andrey Kartapolov, said that it is difficult to comment now and that "we need to see."

The temperature of water in the Russian pot after the Telegram blockade is becoming dangerously close to boiling. However, it is unclear who will ultimately be boiled alive: the opposition, the military, or the Russian authorities – i.e. the ones who themselves put the lid on the pot.