μ-Note: Russia's Max Tightens Telegram's Ad Business Handcuffs

The online publication Ixbt.com published "The National Messenger Max Has Opened Up New Business Opportunities: Integration Is Available for More Than 8 Million Companies and Individual Entrepreneurs." Click here for the source document The details are less important than the knife stabbed into the guts of Telegram, the most popular messaging application in Russia. If the Kremlin continues to take small steps like banning Russian advertising on Telegram and expanding the Kremlin-approved app to accommodate advertising, Pavel Durov's company will take hits.

The loss of advertising revenue is significant. The ecosystem built by third parties to facilitate placing advertisements on Telegram is entrenched. However, with the Kremlin criminalizing Russians for advertising on Telegram and making advertising services firms placing the ads accomplices, disruption is inevitable. Will the third-party advertising services firms take down their tent and become RUtube.ru creators? Unlikely. These firms will just shift to support advertising on the Max system. Telegram loses revenue slowly and then more quickly. After reporting losses exceeding US$200 million in 2025, Telegram will notice erosion in advertising revenue.

The more problematic issue is the loss of users. The Kremlin now has its own messenger application. Furthermore, the Kremlin has a number of tools it can use to force Telegram users to shift to the Max system. If the threat of fines and prison are not working quickly enough, Russia can block Telegram and pay a bounty for people to turn in Telegram users.

Stephen E Arnold, March 20, 2026