Telegram never became a mass platform for bloggers, and channel authors would simply migrate to MAX following any block, said Maxim Perlin, co-founder of the Bloggers and Agencies Association, in an NSN interview. State Duma deputy Mikhail Delyagin predicted a possible Telegram block in Russia by fall 2026, though he stressed businesses would continue partial use, similar to Instagram—where roughly half the audience remains despite the ban (Meta recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).

Perlin noted Instagram’s audience dropped ~50% post-block but has partially recovered to 60-65% of 2022 levels; bloggers lost ~80% of platform income due to informal ads. Russian bloggers typically maintain multi-platform presences (YouTube, VK), so they’d easily add MAX channels. MAX offers decent usability but minimal monetization as a startup, representing fractions of total promotion costs.

source: nsn

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