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The Telegram channel of Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and the country's former president, had the most views per post on average in Russia in January 2025, at approximately *** million. The channel of Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Russian State Duma, ranked fourth.

How do Telegram channels work?

Besides one-to-one and group chats, Telegram offers users an option to post messages publicly on their own channels, which their subscribers can follow. Channels can be used for sharing information, as sales platforms, or to conduct polls, among other purposes. For example, Topor Live, one of the most-subscribed Telegram channels in Russia, operates as a news platform. Telegram channels can be managed anonymously, which can make it difficult for authorities to identify the authors.

Telegram usage in Russia since the war in Ukraine

After Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram were blocked in Russia in February and March 2022, social media users switched to other networks, such as Telegram and VK. In the first month of the ban, Telegram’s Russian-speaking audience increased by ** percent. Telegram was among the most-downloaded apps in the country in March 2022. Over ** million Russian users accessed Telegram on average daily in August 2022.