Russian Telegram users have more freedom in the situation with the blocking of media channels than residents of the European Union, said the owner and creator of the instant messaging application Pavel Durov.
„Access to certain Russian media is restricted in the EU due to sanctions. At the same time, all Telegram channels of Western media remain freely accessible in Russia. Who would have guessed that in 2025 Russian Telegram users would enjoy more freedom than European users?" — he emphasized.
Last Saturday it became known that the Telegram channels of a number of Russian media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Channel One and the television channels Rossiya 1 and NTV, are blocked in European countries. When trying to view the material, a message appears that the channels have violated local laws, without providing specific examples.
Previously, the EU adopted several packages of sanctions against Russian media. Access to the sites of the media group “Russia Today“ was suspended, including ria.ru, Sputnik, Sputnik accounts in messengers and social networks. Moscow has repeatedly stated that such measures are unacceptable, calling them an attempt by the West to get rid of alternative points of view on events.
In early 2022, the Council of the EU blocked access to the Russian media Sputnik and RT, which broadcast in foreign, including European, languages. The EU then banned the broadcasting of the largest Russian-language television channels and imposed personal sanctions against dozens of representatives of the Russian media.
The then head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, accused the Russian authorities of trying to influence the internal situation in the EU.