Telegram has begun working without VPN or proxies for some Russian users. Reports from users indicate the app resumed functioning on April 16, particularly for Android users and those with Telegram Premium subscriptions.
Ksenia Boletskaya, Director of Industry Relations at Yandex, noted on social media: "Strangely enough, Telegram is working for me right now without VPN, it even loads video." User reports indicate that in app settings, accounts showed as connected from a foreign country — suggesting a built-in bypass mechanism is at work.
Eldar Murtazin, leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, explained the technical mechanism: "The app's creators used a new type of traffic masking that closely resembles an ordinary browser. To block this type of traffic, you need a lot of advanced equipment — equipment Russia simply doesn't have right now."
Murtazin added that if Telegram embeds a VPN with browser-style traffic masking, blocking it becomes extremely difficult for even sophisticated deep packet inspection systems. The traffic appears indistinguishable from regular HTTPS browser traffic at the network level.
According to Bloomberg and Forbes, Russian authorities may be softening their stance on Telegram restrictions in order to reduce social tension. The Kremlin indicated that internet services would operate fully once companies fully comply with Russian law.
Meanwhile, Russian users began migrating to Telegram alternatives during periods of instability. South Korean app KakaoTalk and Chinese WeChat saw significant user growth from Russia. KakaoTalk's PR manager Lee Seung-tae confirmed: "We can confirm that the number of users from Russia has grown — we're seeing a sharp increase."
Why this matters for VPN users: Telegram's technical approach — making messenger traffic mimic normal browser connections — is similar to the obfuscation techniques used by premium VPN services. This incident demonstrates that sophisticated traffic masking can defeat even national-level blocking infrastructure. ASMO VPN employs similar principles, ensuring your traffic remains accessible regardless of blocking attempts.