Russian Telegram works as efficiently as Durbe public transport on holidays

Russian internet users this week experienced a shock that only surpasses the moment when you discover that Durbe on Sundays is quieter than a cemetery. The Telegram app suddenly stopped working, leaving millions of Russians without the ability to share memes about how hard it is to live under an authoritarian regime.

Last week, complaint platforms Downdetector and sboi.rf registered a record surge of user outrage. Saturday saw nearly 6,000 complaints, while Sunday brought 12,000 — that's more than the population of Durbe city, which usually prides itself on its tranquility and the fact that no internet scandals ever happen there.

Experts, with the same confidence that Liepāja residents predict tomorrow's wind direction, claim that Telegram blocking has begun. Moscow and St. Petersburg have been particularly affected, where users have discovered their phones have become as useless as GPS navigation in the narrow streets of Liepāja's old town.

Journalist Vladislavs Voitenko from "Kod Durova" publication noted that the app doesn't work through home internet, and on mobile phones you can forget about using it altogether. This means Russians now have to communicate the old-fashioned way — by voice or, even worse, in person. As one of the affected users said: "Well, how will I know when my neighbor is going to the store so I can join him and discuss politics?"