The Kremlin Says It Has Lost Its Tools For Propaganda Abroad

After the blocking of Telegram.

Russian authorities have been left without tools for propaganda abroad after blocking Telegram and other messengers as well as foreign social networks, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov declared.

"We are now rapidly losing tools for our propaganda work abroad. Especially in the near abroad. TV airtime is a relative thing nowadays, it is turned off with a button," Peskov said at the conference "Modern Media: Technologies, Meanings, Personnel" at the Higher School of Economics.

He said that "enemy social networks" are most popular around the world and in the CIS countries to which the Kremlin seeks to spread its propaganda. "We do not operate in these environments. <�...> We don't work with Telegram. Where do we make sense then? And we will have to come up with that," Peskov noted. He added that the state messenger Mah should overtake its competitors in the CIS and called for building up its audience so that the Kremlin could "familiarize its position" with the residents of neighboring countries.

In June 2025, Vladimir Putin signed a law on the creation of a national messenger. After that, Russian authorities began to use administrative resources to promote Mah, which was developed by VK. School and house chats, correspondence of officials and employees of state companies are being transferred to the state messenger, as well as integrating it with the service "Gosuservices". At the same time, Roskomnadzor blocked WhatsApp and began restricting the work of Telegram. Earlier, RBC sources close to the Kremlin said that Telegram will be completely blocked in Russia by April 1.

March 10, Mah's press service reported that 100 million people have registered in the messenger. Also, registration on the platform became available to residents of 40 countries, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The number of users in these countries was not announced by representatives of the messenger.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Russian authorities have blocked most popular social networks and resources, including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, Discord, LinkdIn and others. At the same time, most Russians continued to use them with the help of VPN services.

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