The Russian republic of Dagestan’s digital development minister Yuri Gamzatov said on Saturday that authorities in Dagestan and the Chechen Republic had banned the Telegram app over concerns it was being used by “enemies,” according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
The two southern Russian republics are predominantly Muslim and intelligence services have recorded a rise in militant Islamist activity.
“Telegram is often used by enemies, an example of which is the riots at Makhachkala airport,” Gamzatov said, adding that the decision to ban the app was made at the federal level.
Gamzatov was referring to anti-Israel riots that erupted in Dagestan in October 2023, when hundreds of protesters stormed an airport in an attempt to attack passengers arriving on a flight from Israel.
No passengers were hurt, and authorities have prosecuted several people over the incident.
News of the plane’s arrival spread through local Telegram channels, where users posted calls for anti-Semitic violence. The app denounced the attack and said it would block the channels.
Telegram was founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, has nearly a billion users and is widely used in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
Moscow has tried unsuccessfully to block Telegram, and has previously demanded the platform hand over user data. Durov is under investigation in France as part of an investigation into organised crime on the app.
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