Pavel Durov: Russia’s anti-VPN measures triggered payment failure

Telegram founder Pavel has attributed a massive disruption in Russia’s domestic payment systems to the government’s own attempts to block Virtual Private Networks (VPNS). Given the severity of the situation, the billionaire founder said today that this attempt significantly triggered problems with the payments system, as tens of millions of Russians mobilized to bypass digital restrictions.

According to Reuters, Russian authorities have intensified efforts to control mass communications by jamming messenger services like Telegram and blocking VPNs- a move diplomat are calling a great crackdown. On Friday, April 3, 2026, these state-led interventions triggered a massive technical outage. This forced the Moscow Metro to allow free entry and led businesses, including a regional zoo, to revert to cash-only transactions. For their part, Russian officials argue that the crackdown is a matter of national security, citing the need to prevent sabotage and deadly attacks linked to Western intelligence agencies.

This crackdown is a tactic to force citizens onto MAX, a state-backed messaging application. While schools and universities have been ordered to use it, the move has reportedly upset many Russians. Additionally, although Sberbank acknowledged a technical issue, some Russian media outlets reportedly deleted stories that linked the banking failures to the government’s attempts to block VPNs.