🔒Second attempt to block Telegram?

Recently, millions of Russians experienced issues with Telegram. Chats would load intermittently, and mini-apps outright couldn't open. Officially, everything was apparently “stable,” but users in various regions reported widespread outages.

People scrambled for workarounds: some used VPNs, while developers rushed to rework their service architectures just to keep their apps functioning. Déjà vu? That’s because this already happened in 2018, when Roskomnadzor tried to block Telegram and ended up breaking half the Russian internet. Now it feels all too familiar, especially as the government introduced its own “Telegram killer.”

Coincidence? We think not. Insiders and IT experts suspect these current issues are intentional. Roskomnadzor appears to be testing its old-school method of “slowing down” traffic. The goal: throttle Telegram, and even WhatsApp, to clear the runway for a new state-backed messenger.

In plain language: foreign messengers will either leave voluntarily, or be forced out. Many see the recent glitches as a test run before a full-scale takedown.

Meet MAX - the new national messenger that the government is betting on. It’s being developed by the VK holding company with full state approval (and generous billions in government funding).

In essence, MAX is a pixel-perfect Telegram clone: interface, animations, chats, groups - everything looks painfully familiar to Tg users.

Noт surprisingly, there's nothing innovative about it. But it does offer something Telegram doesn’t: full integration with the state. Developers boast about “deep integration with public services” as the app’s key feature, making it more like China’s WeChat.

In beta, MAX can already send messages, make voice/video calls, run mini-apps and bots, and includes integrated payments - just like its competitors. Officials have announced upcoming features like digital ID cards, school group chats, and other government-linked services. It’s basically Big Brother in Telegram skin.

But here’s the question: how will anyone make money inside MAX?
Telegram spent years building an ecosystem where bot and channel developers found ways to monetize, from ads to subscriptions.

What does MAX offer its developers? There’s a bot and mini-app platform, but no guarantee that independent developers can earn. In fact, rumors suggest that all commerce in MAX will be tightly controlled by the state, meaning no free advertising nor crypto donations.

The potential audience size isn't great either. Telegram has a global user base, while MAX is effectively restricted to Russia.

Outside Russia, the app has no future: no one in the West is going to embrace a government-run messenger supervised by Roskomnadzor. Without a living, breathing community, every “national platform” is dead on arrival.

Тhe most absurd part, as revealed by some media outlets, is a spicy detail: MAX allegedly includes a feature that allows spouses to read each other’s messages, if officially married.

It’s supposedly being sold as a “convenient way to solve family matters” - letting partners stay informed about children or medical issues. This madness would be automatically activated via integration with government marriage records - no additional consent required.

The state is clearly pushing a dead-on-arrival messenger from a dead company (VK), using underhanded blocks on competitors and administrative pressure. But popularity can’t be assigned by decree - people stick with Telegram not because there are no alternatives, but because it represents freedom and privacy.

The key takeaway: it's not about the apps, it’s about who’s behind them.
Choosing between Telegram and MAX is a choice between free communication and top-down control.

Your Big Brother-aware @TonPost