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- The fifth wheel in the cart: how Russians' online behavior is changing against the background of blockages
The fifth wheel in the cart: how Russians' online behavior is changing against the background of blockages
In recent weeks, Russian users have begun to massively rebuild their digital habits amid restrictions on popular Internet services. Disruptions in Telegram, rising VPN prices and deteriorating communication quality have led to the formation of a new behavior model: users do not abandon their usual platforms, but master ways to circumvent restrictions. Business is partially returning to forgotten or less in demand messengers. For more information about system changes in Runet— see the Izvestia article.
Disruptions in the work of messengers
Pavel Durov's "digital resistance" in the Russian Federation is functioning less effectively than the author himself claims, Izvestia found out. Despite estimates of 65 million users accessing the messenger through blocking circumvention tools, a significant part of proxy servers are promptly blocked, and the failure rate continues to grow. In particular, on April 13, a massive failure of access to Telegram was again recorded on the Runet, as evidenced by the combined data from the services DownDetector, DownDetector404 and Glitch.RF.
Systemic problems with access to Telegram have been fixed since the end of March. The limitations are manifested in increased message delivery delays, connection errors, and interruptions when downloading media files; during peak periods, the situation worsens markedly.
— It is almost impossible to use Telegram without additional tools now. At the same time, it is important to understand that this is not about the complete unavailability of the service, but about a noticeable degradation in its quality: connectivity remains, but stable operation is not guaranteed, especially when transferring media files and in business communication," said Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily.
According to market participants, the coverage of Telegram channels decreased by 10-15% at the end of March, but the situation stabilized in early April.
— This is a typical story for services with a strong network effect. People don't leave because all their communication is already inside the platform. They are ready to put up with the deterioration of quality, but they do not intend to change the usual communication environment," explained Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.
Alternative connection methods
According to the results of the first quarter of 2026, the number of fixed Internet connections increased by an average of 12% year-on—year, and in some regions - by 50-60%, the expert noted.
At the same time, the demand for equipment is growing. In March, sales of Wi-Fi routers increased by about 60% compared to the same period in 2025, with users increasingly buying devices with circumvention capabilities.
A similar trend is being recorded in the corporate sector. Businesses are gradually moving away from wireless solutions in favor of more stable wired channels.
Against the background of access problems, demand for VPN services has increased dramatically, while the consumption model has changed: people are abandoning free solutions in favor of alternative connection methods that ensure more stable operation.
— If these were niche tools before, now they are becoming a basic infrastructure service. The user does not pay for a "bypass", but for guaranteed access to a familiar digital environment, — said a source of Izvestia in the telecom market.
One of the key effects has been the transformation of the digital consumption economy, in which the user actually pays not only for the service itself, but also for the ability to access it.
"This significantly changes the economics of using technologies and limits their accessibility to a part of the audience," said Elena Shtulman, a political scientist, social architect, and expert at the Heritage of the Nation NGO.
The basis of the restrictions were technical means of countering threats (TSP), which filter Internet traffic. Unlike direct blockages, this model focuses on suppressing VPN and proxy protocols.
— This is a more subtle model of regulation. It does not disable the service directly, but creates conditions under which its use becomes difficult and unpredictable," explained an expert in the field of network infrastructure.
At the same time, the effect of so-called carpet locks appeared, in which restrictions affect not only target services, but also a wide range of applications with similar technical characteristics.
Izvestia's editorial board has documented problems with a number of messengers, including WeChat, where it is difficult to send media files, and imo, where the quality of voice communication is systematically deteriorating. In May 2017, the latter was already blocked in Russia along with a number of other messengers, including BlackBerry, Line and Vchat, due to the refusal to transfer user data to Roskomnadzor and register as an organizer of information dissemination. On June 22 of the same year, access was restored after the company that owns the service, Pagebites Inc., provided the necessary information for inclusion in the relevant registry.
Currently, IMO does not comply with the requirements of the law on "landing", which obliges foreign IT companies with a daily audience in Russia of over 500 thousand users to open an official representative office in the country, create a personal account on the Roskomnadzor website and post a feedback form.
— When filtering is applied, not only the target platforms are affected. Any service using similar encryption or data transfer protocols may become unstable. This is the carpet effect," said a telecom industry specialist.
Messengers for different tasks
Despite the restrictions, there is no mass abandonment of Telegram. On the contrary, an adaptation model is being formed in which people continue to use the messenger, complementing it with alternative communication channels.
"Even with significant restrictions, the core of the audience remains, since users are already embedded in the ecosystem of the service and are not ready to quickly change existing communication links," said a source close to one of the mobile operators.
Instead of migration, there is a redistribution of roles between services. Telegram retains the status of the main platform for content and communities, while WhatsApp (owned by Meta, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) is increasingly being used as a more stable channel for business and client communication. According to Izvestia, part of the business has already started to return to this messenger.
— We are not seeing the departure of consumers, but the complication of their behavior. The same person can use several platforms at the same time, distributing different tasks between them depending on stability and convenience," the source added.
The services of operators with access to "limited" resources such as ChatGPT or Gemini neural networks inaccessible to Russians are unlikely to become widespread. According to Mikhail Pimenov, head of PR and media communications at Geltek Cyber Team, the demand for them will be limited and will mainly focus in the professional environment — among developers, marketers and other specialists working with foreign tools. At the same time, the mass consumer will not overpay for additional tariff options against the background of the rising cost of communications and lock-bypass services, the expert believes.
What is happening with the communications market
An additional burden also arises at the telecom infrastructure level, since traffic filtering, the operation of TSPU and the growth of encrypted data require operators to constantly invest in network modernization.
— Operators find themselves in a situation where they need to simultaneously maintain network stability and meet traffic filtering requirements. This increases costs," said Izvestia's source in the industry.
According to experts, this may lead to a gradual increase in the cost of both mobile communications and fixed Internet access, as well as the emergence of new paid services related to providing stable access to digital platforms.
— Users will be looking for legal and stable access channels. In this logic, platforms that allow you to work with foreign tools without additional technical difficulties win," said Vadim Popov, a political scientist, member of the RAPK, director of the communications agency Fabrika Smyslov.
According to him, at the same time, there is an increasing interest in domestic AI solutions such as YandexGPT, GigaChat and Kandinsky, which do not depend on restrictions and work in the legal field.
Together, these changes form a new model of the Runet, in which access to familiar services remains, but becomes less stable and more complex from the point of view of technical implementation.
— It's not about isolation, but about the transition to a managed Internet — with additional levels of access and costs for the user, — sums up Mikhail Pimenov.
Under these conditions, the key feature of Russians' behavior is not the abandonment of digital services, but adaptation: users continue to work with familiar platforms, but they do so through additional tools, in several environments simultaneously and with a willingness to incur additional costs in order to preserve the familiar digital experience.
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