The Russian government has moved to fully block access to WhatsApp, cutting off over 100 million users from the Meta-owned encrypted messaging platform.
The move follows a similar throttling campaign against Telegram earlier this week and reflects an intensifying push to drive citizens toward the Kremlin-backed MAX messenger app.
The block was first confirmed publicly by WhatsApp in a post on X, where the company stated that Russian authorities attempted to “fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app.” The messaging platform condemned the decision as a “backwards step” that undermines user safety and vowed to continue supporting Russian users through circumvention tools such as VPNs.
Technical signs of the blockade began surfacing earlier this week when Russia’s domain regulator, Roskomnadzor, removed whatsapp.com and web.whatsapp.com from the National Domain Name System (НСДИ). This system, implemented in 2021, governs domestic DNS routing within Russia. By excluding WhatsApp’s domains, Roskomnadzor effectively rendered the app inaccessible to Russian users unless they use DNS over HTTPS (DoH), external resolvers, or VPN-based workarounds.
According to Russian outlet RBC, the official justification for the measure was to combat criminal misuse of messaging platforms. Authorities have cited WhatsApp and Telegram as “primary voice services used in fraud and terrorism-related activities.” However, experts interviewed by RBC noted that technical constraints within Roskomnadzor’s infrastructure limit its ability to throttle multiple high-traffic services simultaneously, forcing the agency to “clear resources” by de-prioritizing some services over others.
WhatsApp, which is operated by Meta Platforms Inc., a company designated as “extremist” and banned in Russia, has repeatedly emphasized its use of end-to-end encryption and refusal to compromise on user privacy. In prior statements, the firm noted that government demands to weaken encryption are incompatible with its mission and with international norms on secure communication.
This latest restriction is part of a broader digital control strategy that has unfolded over the past year. In August 2025, Roskomnadzor began limiting voice and video calling on both WhatsApp and Telegram, citing anti-fraud measures. In October, the agency imposed regional restrictions on both platforms, and by December had also blocked services like FaceTime and Snapchat. Earlier this week, Telegram faced renewed throttling, with severe performance degradation reported across major Russian cities.
At the center of this digital restructuring is the MAX app, a Kremlin-backed messaging platform developed by VK. MAX has seen rapid user growth since its September 2025 mandate requiring it to be pre-installed on all smartphones sold in Russia.
John Scott-Railton of the Citizen Lab describes Russia’s push as the largest-scale attempt yet by a government to consolidate national communications under a single surveillance-friendly platform. Scott-Railton noted that Russia’s “digital iron curtain is slamming shut,” warning that this could centralize an unprecedented volume of personal communications into state-monitored infrastructure.
For now, millions of Russian users are expected to turn to circumvention tools like VPNs, DNS resolvers outside NSDI, and privacy-centric browsers to retain access to blocked platforms.
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