Why Are Well-Known Resources Being Blocked?

Imagine: you want to watch a tutorial for your child, call relatives in another city or just find a recipe for dinner. You open YouTube - a black screen. WhatsApp - calls don't go through. Telegram is so slow that messages arrive minutes late.

This is not a glitch. As of April 2, 2026, YouTube and WhatsApp are effectively completely blocked, Telegram is slowed to a state of "barely working", and Roskomnadzor has been steadily tightening the screws for several months.

Why now? And most importantly - where will this lead ordinary people, businesses and the whole country in a year or two? Let's sort it out: from official explanations to real motives and possible scenarios.

1. How we got to full blocking

The story did not start yesterday. The first serious attempts to restrict Telegram date back to 2018. Back then it was blocked, but it quickly became clear: a full ban doesn't work - the messenger bypasses blocks via proxies.

From 2024–2025 everything accelerated:

Summer 2025: voice and video calls in WhatsApp and Telegram began to "degrade".
February 2026: Roskomnadzor excluded the YouTube and WhatsApp domains from the national domain name system (NSDI). Effectively - a full block for most users.
February 10, 2026: the throttling of Telegram started using artificial buffering.
March 2026: Telegram traffic fell tenfold, WhatsApp even more. Users report massive outages.
By April 1, 2026 the media were actively discussing a "final date" for the full blocking of Telegram. It did not happen in a single day, but the service operates with huge disruptions. Roskomnadzor uses the TSPU (technical means to counter threats) system - powerful filters at the operator level. Sometimes the equipment cannot handle it, and blocked services "come back to life" for a short time, but those are exceptions.

Officially: the platforms ignore tens of thousands of requests to remove "extremist" and "fake" content.

2. Official meaning: what the authorities say

Roskomnadzor, the State Duma and the Kremlin explain it simply and clearly:

The platforms violate Russian legislation.
They spread extremism, fakes about the SVO, information prohibited in the Russian Federation.
They refuse to move servers to Russia and to store user data under our laws.
They present a threat to national security.
Deputies say directly: until the services begin to comply with the requirements - there will be restrictions. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Oleg Matveychev hinted in March that access to Telegram could be completely cut off from April. The FAS has already warned: advertising on blocked platforms will also be prohibited.

The authorities emphasize the advantages: protection from foreign influence and development of their own services - VK Video, Rutube, domestic messengers. They argue that the "sovereign internet" (the 2019 law and the March 2026 updates) will allow Russia to function even if we are disconnected from the global Network.

3. Real meaning: what is actually happening

Experts (IT specialists, political scientists, economists) see several deeper reasons behind the official rhetoric.

First, control over information. YouTube and Telegram are the last large platforms where a relatively free flow of opinions remained. Bloggers, independent media, ordinary people published what does not pass moderation on Russian services. After 2022 this became especially sensitive.

Second, economics. Advertising budgets that previously went to YouTube can now flow to VK and Rutube. Plus pressure on foreign companies (Meta*, Google), labeled extremist or simply inconvenient.

Third, geopolitics. This is part of the larger "sovereign Runet" strategy. New rules for centralized network management came into force on March 1, 2026. Russia is preparing for possible external disconnections and wants the internet to work as a single state system.

People compare it to China: there the Great Firewall has worked for 20+ years. Here it is not yet as strict, but the vector is the same. The difference is that Russia does not fully block VPNs yet (although talks are ongoing), and full technical isolation is difficult: equipment is overloaded, and users find workarounds.

The result is already visible: millions of Russians download VPNs, traffic to foreign services falls, but frustration grows.

4. Consequences already being felt

For ordinary people.
Doctors cannot conduct video consultations. Parents cannot watch educational content with children. Grandparents lost contact with grandchildren abroad via WhatsApp. Businesspeople cannot quickly call partners. Many are simply angry: "I just wanted to watch a video about repairs!"

For business.
Small businesses that relied on YouTube advertising and Telegram channels are in shock. Advertisers are leaving or moving to "gray" schemes. Companies are massively testing domestic alternatives, but quality is still lower.

For the IT sector.
Specialists used to global tools are considering leaving or changing professions. Innovation slows down.

For society.
Digital inequality grows: those who can pay for a good VPN live almost as before. Those who cannot remain in the "cleaned" Runet. "Digital dissidents" appear - people who deliberately seek ways to bypass blocks.

5. Paid state email: a new "digital fee" for businesses and the self-employed

While millions of Russians try to bypass blocks on YouTube, WhatsApp and Telegram with VPNs, the authorities are preparing another innovation that hits wallets directly. At the end of March 2026, the Ministry of Digital Development sent a bill on postal industry reform to the government. Among other things it provides for the creation of a mandatory state platform for legally significant electronic correspondence.

The essence is simple: for legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and the self-employed a digital mailbox based on "Gosuslugi" is introduced. Official notifications, tax demands, court documents, fines and other "legally significant" correspondence will arrive through it. Ignoring such messages will be impossible - they will be considered delivered automatically.

What they propose to charge for:

A monthly subscription fee for the mere existence and use of the mailbox (including receiving and sending messages).
An additional fee for sending certain categories of "legally significant" letters.
Exact tariffs have not yet been announced, but the model is already being called "double": you pay for the mailbox + you pay for each important letter. The bill was prepared quickly - the document was sent to the government on March 25, 2026, and it is planned to be considered in an expedited manner.

Implementation timelines:

From September 1, 2026 - the possibility (and for many - the obligation) to create such mailboxes.
For newly registered self-employed people, having a state mailbox will be a mandatory condition for registration.
For already registered self-employed people - the deadline is March 1, 2027.
Ordinary citizens (individuals without the status of an individual entrepreneur or self-employed) are not yet subject to mandatory connection, but experts do not rule out that the system may be expanded to them over time - especially if the idea works as an additional source of income for "Russian Post" and the state.

Official meaning of the initiative
The authorities explain: it is necessary to create a single reliable channel for official correspondence between business, citizens and the state. Fragmented notifications by regular mail, e-mail and through various services are often lost or ignored. The new system should solve this problem and make document flow transparent and unavoidable.

Real meaning and consequences
In practice this looks like another step toward complete control of the digital space and additional collection of money from entrepreneurs. Small businesses and millions of self-employed people (tutors, freelancers, taxi drivers, craftsmen) will get a new mandatory expense item. For some it's tens or hundreds of rubles a month, for others - a noticeable sum with a large number of dispatches.

They block foreign services -> they force a switch to Russian ones.

They make Russian services mandatory and paid -> they create a controlled and monetizable contour.
If the bill is adopted in its current form, many entrepreneurs will be forced to pay twice: for their usual mail (Gmail, Yandex, Mail.ru) and for the state mailbox. In addition, accounting and document workflow burdens will increase.

This innovation is a vivid example of how digital sovereignty policy gradually affects not only entertainment and messengers, but the daily work of millions of people. First "just" blocks, then mandatory paid services. The next step may be extending the requirements to ordinary citizens or further squeezing out free foreign mail services.

As a result, the picture of the future Russian internet becomes even more coherent: everything important is under state control, and many of these services will have to be paid for directly.

Where this can lead: three scenarios for 2027–2030

Scenario 1. Complete digital curtain (harsh but possible)

By 2027–2028 even VPN traffic is blocked. The internet becomes like in China: all foreign content is cut off, only domestic platforms remain.
Pros for the authorities: total control.
Cons: brain drain of IT personnel, decline in service quality, economic damage (advertising, education, medicine). Young people will move to the "parallel" internet. The country risks ending up in digital isolation.

Scenario 2. Managed isolation (most likely)

Blocks continue gradually. Foreign services are pushed out, but "windows" remain (paid VPNs, corporate exceptions). They develop their own analogues: a powerful RuTube, a Russian messenger instead of Telegram.
By 2028, according to RAEC forecasts, Russia will achieve digital sovereignty. Life will become more inconvenient, but tolerable. Service quality will fall, communication and VPN prices will rise. Society will get used to it, as it has to many other restrictions.

Scenario 3. Rollback and compromise (unlikely)

Mass dissatisfaction + economic pressure force the authorities to negotiate. Platforms partially comply with the requirements, blocks are eased. This may happen after 2027–2028 if the economy suffers significantly. That would require either strong public pressure or external factors (for example, an improvement in relations with the West).

What is the bottom line?

Blocking YouTube, WhatsApp and Telegram is not a temporary measure and not just a "fight against extremism." It is a long-term strategy to create a fully controlled digital space. The authorities call it sovereignty. Critics call it a digital curtain.

What can an ordinary person do right now?

Master Russian alternatives (while they catch up).
Use proven VPNs (while possible).
Think about backup communication channels: mail, regular calls, domestic messengers.
In 3–5 years the Russian internet will be very different. It will become more "ours" - but also more closed. The only question is how ready we are for this new reality and whether we are willing to change it.

And what do you think - is this protection or isolation? Write in the comments (while they still work).