Durov noted the greater freedom of Russian Telegram users

On December 31, businessman Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messenger, pointed to the greater freedom of Russian users amid the fact that access to a number of Russian Telegram channels is blocked in the European Union as part of sanctions.

He pointed out that while a number of Russian media channels are blocked in Europe, Western Telegram media channels remain freely available in Russia.

"Who would have thought that in 2025 Russian Telegram users would enjoy more freedom than European users?" - he wondered in his Telegram post.

The blocking of the Telegram channel IZ.RU in a number of European countries became known on December 28. Its content was inaccessible in Spain, Germany and Sweden if a foreign SIM card was used. Commenting on this, Grigory Pashchenko, head of the CyberMoscow project, said that the move was related to Brussels' long-standing plans to isolate citizens from the most active Russian media outlets.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed to the lack of freedom of speech in Western countries back in late November. He noted that it used to be hard to believe that even respected publications in the West would publish a large number of fakes and customized materials.

Russian media in recent years have often been subjected to various bans in Western countries, including the EU. Thus, in late June, Brussels approved a ban on access to Izvestiya, as well as RIA Novosti and Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Voice of Europe.