Telegram’s billionaire founder, Pavel Durov, stated on Saturday that Russia’s aggressive attempts to block Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) triggered a massive technical failure in the country's domestic payment systems. The disruption, which occurred on Friday, caused widespread chaos for commuters and shoppers, forcing the Moscow Metro to open turnstiles for free and leaving retailers unable to process digital transactions. Durov characterised the incident as a byproduct of a "great crackdown" on digital freedoms, claiming that tens of millions of Russians are now actively resisting state controls.

The outage hit Russia’s largest financial institutions, including Sberbank, T-Bank, and VTB, with users reporting failures in mobile banking, ATM withdrawals, and QR code payments. While Sberbank acknowledged a "technical issue," it provided no specific details, and several Russian media outlets reportedly deleted initial coverage suggesting the failure was linked to state-led VPN interference.

Disruptions to Public Infrastructure and Retail

The technical failure on Friday had immediate real-world consequences across major Russian cities. In Moscow, the metro system was unable to process digital fares, leading officials to allow passengers to enter without payment to avoid overcrowding. In other regions, such as Belgorod, local establishments like the city zoo were forced to switch exclusively to cash payments as card processing systems went offline for over an hour.

The National Payment Card System (NSPK), overseen by Russia’s central bank, attributed the problem to a "technical failure at one of the banks" but maintained that the situation did not compromise the safety of funds. However, independent monitors and digital activists noted a spike in outages that coincided with intensified efforts by Roskomnadzor, the state communications watchdog, to jam encrypted messaging services and VPN protocols.

State Security Concerns vs. Digital Resistance

Russian officials have defended the tightening of internet controls as a matter of national security. Moscow claims that platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp are being used by Ukrainian and NATO intelligence agencies to coordinate sabotage and recruitment efforts deep inside Russia. In March 2026, authorities officially slowed down Telegram and initiated a criminal investigation into Durov involving allegations of terrorism, which the founder has dismissed as fabricated pretexts for censorship.

"Welcome back to the Digital Resistance, my Russian brothers and sisters," Durov wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday. He estimated that despite the ban, over 50 million Russians continue to use the app daily via VPNs. He argued that the government's attempt to force citizens onto state-backed platforms has instead "mobilised" the nation to bypass digital restrictions through sophisticated technical workarounds.

The Push for 'MAX' and Technical Sovereignty

Central to the Kremlin’s digital strategy is the promotion of MAX, a state-backed "super-app" developed by VK. Launched in 2025, MAX combines messaging, e-commerce, and government services like Gosuslugi. It has been made mandatory for use in schools and universities and comes pre-installed on all new mobile devices sold in Russia. Unlike Telegram, MAX does not use end-to-end encryption and stores all user data on domestic servers accessible to the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Critics view the push for MAX as a move toward "technological sovereignty" similar to systems in China and Iran. While the app has reached approximately 100 million registered users as of March 2026, many Russians remain distrustful of the platform due to surveillance concerns. The recent payment system failure is seen by experts as a sign of the growing complexity and potential fragility of a domestic internet isolated from global protocols

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2026 04:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).