Russia has been blocking Telegram for months. Meduza asked five popular channel admins if it’s working.

Pezdуza

From the anonymous author of a Telegram channel featuring memes and satirical news, with more than 370,000 subscribers

Unlike many of my colleagues, I wasn’t very rattled by the ban. We have the example of the YouTube block: the Russian-language political segment there is doing great (or they’re doing fine, at least). Views and revenue didn’t go anywhere. I expected the same would happen with the opposition political segment on Telegram. And I was right.

I didn’t do anything to prepare my subscribers for the Telegram block: the channel’s audience is smart and educated, and they figured out on their own how to get around these idiotic bans without any help from me. When I look at the collapse in reach among propagandists and politically neutral channels, I feel proud of my subscribers. Guys, you’re the best.

Meduza and other opposition media outlets covered the bans extensively. VPN providers also helped prepare audiences by aggressively buying up ad space. A big thank-you to all of you for that.

Since spring, reach has dipped slightly, but it hasn’t hit any record lows: the channel saw a similar drop before the bans, in the spring of 2024. Spring and summer are weaker for reach anyway — it’s warm out, people look at their phones less when there’s no major breaking news. Right now, there really isn’t any.

So the decline is within the normal range. I’m not seeing any effect from the bans in my numbers yet. I’m specifically talking about post reach in the 24 and 48 hours after publication — the main metric advertisers track.

The one problem I’ve had to adapt to is a shift in the type of advertisers. That trend started last year, and the bans have only accelerated that trend.

Telegram’s political segment is known for its low ad prices: external advertisers — meaning major Russian brands, banks, and online marketplaces — are absent here for obvious reasons, so anyone can buy ad space on the cheap. The advertisers are private channels, VPN developers, and businesses serving people who are emigrating or have already left: residency permit services, real estate brokers, therapists, and that sort of thing.

How did it use to work? You’d launch some kind of humor channel, something about economics, or anything politically neutral; buy ads in Pezdуza at a reach of 110,000–120,000 for 400–500 [rubles] CPM; and then turn around and sell your own ads for 1,000–10,000 [rubles] CPM and sit back and enjoy the ride. For years, the main clients were people running their own channels.

But when they started squeezing Telegram, that business model collapsed: why build a channel aimed at landing external advertisers [meaning, major brands] if legitimate advertising is about to be banned? Or maybe it already has been — who the hell knows. Better just to wait it out or move your channel to Max.

So, to hold onto even a fraction of my former income, I have to accept more of the yucky ads I used to turn down. And at lower rates, since few other publishers want them and advertisers know it. These days, I’m selling sketchy sponsored posts for 500 — or even 400 [rubles] CPM, whereas before the conversation started at a thousand, or I’d just say no.

Among many of my colleagues — authors of political, economic, and entertainment channels — the mood is bleak. Those who operate aboveboard — meaning they work with brands, pay taxes, and are registered with Roskomnadzor — are in a state bordering on panic. Based on statements from the Federal Antimonopoly Service, they’re expecting a legislative ban on Telegram advertising by the end of the year.

For years, people have tried to work honestly and comply with increasingly absurd demands from the authorities, but they’re being backed into a corner. Even among those who don’t write about politics at all and operate legitimately, there’s talk of emigration — even though that crowd is far from politically radical. Some are staying calmer about it and developing projects on Max. But not because things are going well.

Among people in my segment — the opposition-political one — the prevailing view is also that things with advertising will only get worse. But nobody seems to be planning to get out of the business.

The channel’s audience is about as resistant to blocks as you can get, so the worst-case scenario, as I see it, would be the introduction of real legal consequences — possibly even criminal liability — for reading “enemy messengers,” or literally cutting the internet cable. Right now that still sounds insane to me — but in Russia these days, anything is possible.

I’m not even considering the scenario where the gray market on Telegram gets wiped out entirely. But if the income dries up completely, I’ll probably run the channel the way I used to — for fun. And find something else to do for money.

Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the very start, and we are committed to reporting objectively on a war we firmly oppose. Join Meduza in its mission to challenge the Kremlin’s censorship with the truth. Donate today. 

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