Russian dogwear entrepreneur Natalia Kukovinets has switched messaging apps multiple times just to stay in touch with customers. She’s one of millions of business owners struggling with the Kremlin’s expanding internet crackdown.
Restrictions on popular messaging apps like Telegram, limits on VPNs, and security-related mobile internet shutdowns have affected much of Russia this year. The unpredictable outages create particular headaches for small companies, putting billions of dollars in digital sales at risk, according to Reuters.
This isn’t just a minor inconvenience. Around 2.9 million small-to-medium businesses and 14.1 million self-employed individuals rely on messaging apps for their operations. The crackdown represents a major shift in how Russia controls information flow, echoing Soviet-era restrictions while devastating the digital economy that many entrepreneurs depend on.
Despite government efforts to limit its use, Telegram remains one of the top messaging platforms. It’s been Kukovinets’s only sales channel for her Wag’n Tails brand since Russian authorities restricted Instagram in 2022 and WhatsApp in February.
“Telegram is basically everything when it comes to client communication,” said Kukovinets from her Moscow workshop where she makes embroidered hats and clothes for dog lovers. But “it has become harder to track incoming requests. It does not work without a VPN turned on, and notifications often do not come through.”
The economic impact is substantial. Goods and services sold through digital platforms totaled 11.5 trillion rubles ($153.74 billion) in 2025, according to the Association of Internet Trade Companies. Yet this week, the Kremlin said it would not compensate businesses for losses from its days-long mobile internet shutdown in Moscow. The government jammed coverage in the capital for nearly three weeks in March and regularly blocks it elsewhere.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims such internet restrictions are essential for security. But the policy faces rare pushback from business elites, and over two-thirds of Russians believe it has made life more difficult, according to a March survey by independent pollster Levada.
The real-world consequences hit businesses hard. Moscow restaurant Skrepka couldn’t process online orders for traditional iced Easter cakes when a restrictions-linked glitch hit in April. “Telegram was down, so the customers started shouting,” said manager Daria Teterina. “It was a reputational loss.”
Property firm DNA Realty’s Anton Belykh faces similar problems. “When I’m in the city center, I don’t see messages until much later,” he said. “Overall, it creates a lot of inconvenience. Clients lose revenue, communication becomes more difficult, and both we and our clients end up losing money.”
The Kremlin rejects criticism that these measures represent a return to Soviet-era information control, calling them temporary. But normal access to messaging apps seems unlikely to return soon. Authorities are pursuing a criminal case against Telegram’s founder while promoting a state-backed messenger called MAX.
The government’s preferred alternative isn’t catching on. Belykh said only 2-3% of his clients communicate via MAX, while both Kukovinets and the restaurant manager plan to keep using Telegram when possible. Many Russians remain wary of the state-backed platform and refuse to download it.
“There is a risk that not all our customers would be ready to move to platforms that are currently allowed,” said Kukovinets. “So we made the decision to stay with Telegram.”
This standoff between government control and business necessity highlights the broader tension in Russia’s digital economy. As authorities tighten their grip on internet freedom, small businesses – the backbone of any modern economy – find themselves caught in the middle, forced to choose between compliance and survival.