The operations of Russia’s most popular messenger Telegram of internet guru Pavel Durov have been disrupted for several hours on August 21, according to Tass and other media.

The disruption was particular to Russian mobile networks and IP addresses only, while along with Telegram other messengers such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, Discord, and Steam experienced connectivity problems on August 21.

Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor blamed the disruption on a massive DDoS attack on local mobile operators, but this does not explain the targeted nature of the disruption that mostly affected messenger services. Digital rights activist claim the disruption was a dry run to test the state’s ability to shutdown the messaging services.

The encrypted messaging services have been a thorn in the side of the various authoritarian regimes in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), allowing leaderless mass demonstrations to coordinate protests and effective organise themselves independently of the state’s attempts to control the media. In particular, during the mass demonstrations in Minsk in the summer of 2020 to protest against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko mass falsification of the presidential election results, the Nexta Telegram channel played a central role in coordinating the months of protest.

Durov also successfully defied the FSB in 2018, which ordered him to hand over the electronic keys that allow access to read the uncrackable encoded messages. When Roskomnadzor attempted to block Telegram, the technologically superior Durov simply started hopping servers making it impossible to stop the service. Roskomnadzor did, however, manage to block its own site by mistake as part of the effort.

After two years, the Kremlin was forced to give up and introduced a bill to end the efforts to block Telegram. Part of the motivation was that so many Duma deputies rely on the service and value its privacy and the inability of the FSB to read their messages.

Since then, the Kremlin has invested into new technology that more effectively can block multiple social media messaging services. In July, in a similar story, YouTube speeds slowed to a crawl following unrequited requests by the Kremlin to remove certain opposition channels.

Market participants and analysts surveyed by The Bell and Forbes suggest that the disruption could have been caused by a massive failure of traffic monitoring systems deployed by mobile operators to comply with the “sovereign internet” law.

Some observers note that the outage that affected Telegram is similar to that previously deployed during antisemitic riots in Dagestan and protests in the Bashkiria republic. Roskomnadzor NGO cited by The Bell suggested that this time a test of blocking Telegram on a federal level might have been attempted. This could have included blocking all unidentified encrypted traffic following the “Iranian model”.

Following the 2018 dust up, Durov has been cautious to improve relations with the Kremlin, but The Bell warns that Telegram could be falling out of favour with the Kremlin now. The publication reminds that Durov himself was rumoured to have sought a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Baku, while a recent law on bloggers with over ten thousand followers requires social networks and messengers to registered with Roskomnadzor and block those who don't make a deal with the agency.

As followed by bne IntelliNews, in 2020 Telegram of exiled tech celebrity Durov made a surprise comeback on the Russian business scene, after the messenger app unblocked in Russia.

Notably, the state sovereign Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) previously bought part of the bonds issued by the messenger, which indicated the improved realtions between Durov and his willingness to cooperate with the Kremlin.

Telegram quickly gained new subscribers in Russia after the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine and amid the blocking of foreign social networks and it remains the preferred messenger app in much of the FSU, although in Russia WhatsApp remains the app of choice.