Oleg Terlyakov, a senior official at Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal media regulator, said at a meeting with IT industry representatives that his agency had successfully blocked Telegram. When challenged, he dismissed the concern.
The details came from Ashmanov, an entrepreneur and developer. His wife, Natalya Kaspersky — a co-founder of Kaspersky Lab and president of the InfoWatch group of companies — had attended the meeting.
On June 9, Ashmanov published an unofficial transcript of the meeting on his Substack newsletter. According to the transcript, the following exchange took place between Terlyakov and Kaspersky:
Terlyakov: Whether people like us or not — that’s beside the point. We do our job. We have a task, and we’ll get it done. With or without you.
Kaspersky: And are there any results from the blocking? For example, did you block Telegram?
Terlyakov: Yes, of course.
Kaspersky: Colleagues, raise your hands — who is still using Telegram? [Everyone raises their hands.] Well?
Terlyakov: But then what are you worried about, if everything works for you? That means Roskomnadzor isn’t so bad after all.
Ashmanov later deleted the post and published a new one — also behind a paywall — under the headline: “Self-Censorship Again.”
In the deleted post, as the Russian business outlet The Bell reports, Ashmanov assessed the outcome of the meeting “skeptically.” He said Roskomnadzor refused to identify which agencies order the blockings (describing them only as “other agencies, whose identities everyone here understands”) and that it would continue its current course.
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