Telegram blocking announcement surprises residents of Dagestan and Chechnya

Authorities have only now acknowledged the blocking of the Telegram in Dagestan and Chechnya, although there has been no access to the messenger in these republics and in Ingushetia for several months, local residents have noted.

On March 8, Yuri Gamzatov, Dagestani Minister of Digital Development, announced that the Telegram had been blocked and stopped working in Dagestan and Chechnya. According to his version, the decision was made on the recommendation of law enforcement bodies, since the Telegram "is often used by enemies, an example was in the riots organized at the Makhachkala Airport [in October 2023]."

In December 2024, residents of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya faced restricted access to the foreign segment of the Internet. The “Roskomnadzor” (Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media) explained the restrictions as exercises in case of disconnection from the global network.

Supyan, a resident of Chechnya, has reported that the Telegram had been blocked in the republic long before the news about it appeared in the media on March 8. "We’ve been unable to open Telegram channels without a VPN for several months now," he has explained.

Magomed Magomedov, a deputy editor-in-chief of the Dagestani outlet “Chernovik”, has reported that the Telegram was blocked in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia since October 2024.

"The blocking coincided with the shootout in the Moscow office of the “Wildberries” Company. Several Ingush nationals were killed then. There was outrage on social networks, in particular, on the Telegram. This threatened Ingush and Chechen youth clashes. That is probably why the Telegram was blocked," he has suggested.