Overview
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov said attempts to block VPNs caused a massive banking failure that knocked out digital payments across Russia.
- Reports described metro gates left open and retailers asking for cash after card systems and phone payments stopped working.
- Authorities have tightened controls by blocking hundreds of VPNs, banning VPN ads, urging app stores to pull such tools, and ordering major Russian sites to start blocking VPN traffic from April 15.
- Apple has removed several VPN and proxy apps from the Russian App Store, narrowing common workarounds for accessing blocked services.
- Durov said more than 50 million Russians use Telegram daily and cast rising VPN use as a “Digital Resistance,” while experts warn a full ban would be hard to enforce and could damage the economy.