In December 2022, half of adult Russians were using Telegram, a statistic reported by TASS and attributed to Valery Fedorov, the head of the All-Russian Public Opinion Center, known as VTsIOM. The finding highlights Telegram as the fastest-growing messaging platform in the country, with its user base expanding from 29% of Russians aged 18 and over in February 2021 to 51% by the end of 2022.
According to VTsIOM’s assessment, WhatsApp, YouTube, and VKontakte remain the most widely used internet services among Russians. Among young adults, roughly nine in ten in the 18 to 24 age group report using these platforms. In the 45 to 59 bracket, WhatsApp usage stands at about 79%, YouTube at 67%, and YouTube’s reach is also noted at 45% for this cohort.
Similarly, TikTok showed growth within the adult population during 2021–2022. By February 2021, around one in five Russians aged 18 and over used TikTok, while by the end of 2022 the share rose to about 30%. This rise happened despite content posting restrictions that affected the service. At the same time, Instagram usage in Russia declined, with usage falling from 41% to 20% as the platform’s owner, Meta, faced designation as extremism by authorities. Facebook, also tied to Meta, saw its audience drop from 41% to 20%, and 19% to 7% in different demographic slices. Each shift reflects broader choices in how Russians access social networks and messaging tools amid regulatory and platform-specific dynamics.
Historical notes from the technology landscape show Telegram growing in prominence as a communications channel, while other services experience more pronounced fluctuations in popularity. The situation illustrates how consumer preferences evolve in response to policy actions, platform restrictions, and the practical features that users value in daily digital life. Across these shifts, Telegram’s rise in 2021–2022 underscores a broader trend toward versatile messengers that blend messaging with content sharing, channels, and public discourse in a single app.
In related observations, industry commentators have identified Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder, as a highly influential figure within the broader tech ecosystem. The dynamics in markets like Russia and the Gulf region often frame Durov’s impact through the lens of how messaging platforms shape communication norms, privacy considerations, and user autonomy in varied regulatory environments.