Telegram: the rules.

What happened, by date

On 7 April 2025 Federal Law No. 72-FZ was signed. It added part 10.7 to article 5 of the law “On Advertising”: advertising is prohibited on resources to which access is restricted in Russia. The rule came into force on 1 September 2025, and for a while the market lived in uncertainty — Telegram was not listed in Roskomnadzor’s register of blocked sites.

In March 2026 the Federal Antimonopoly Service removed that uncertainty: since Roskomnadzor restricts access to the platform, Telegram is deemed a restricted-access resource, and advertising on it is illegal. At the same time the FAS announced a transition period: until 31 December 2026 no fines are applied, giving business time to rebuild its media mix.

From 2027 the fines are as follows: for individuals ₽2,000–2,500, for officials ₽4,000–20,000, for companies ₽100,000–500,000 per placement. Both the advertiser and the advertising distributor are liable — that is, both the business and the channel owner.

What exactly is banned

What is banned is advertising as the law understands it: information aimed at drawing attention to a specific product, service or brand and at promoting it to an indefinite circle of people. In practice the FAS puts here paid seeding in other people’s channels, blogger integrations, promo codes, links with a call to buy and “reviews” that single out one brand. The “this isn’t advertising, it’s a personal recommendation” format is not considered a defence: the service looks at the substance of the material, not at the caption under it.

Importantly, labelling has not gone anywhere. The requirements of parts 10.1–10.6 of article 5 and Roskomnadzor’s orders apply in full: the “Advertising” label, the advertiser’s details and the erid token are mandatory on every advertising post for as long as it exists at all. The ban on placement does not cancel the duty to label — these are two different articles and two different fines.

What remains legal

The brand’s own channel. A company can run its own channel and talk about its products, prices, promotions and news. That is informing on its own platform, not advertising on someone else’s.

Posts with no signs of promotion. Expert content, breakdowns, answers to questions, industry news — materials that do not single out a specific product and contain no call to buy.

Customer service. Chatbots, support, order notifications, closed chats for clients. Communication with those who have already come to you is not advertising.

The grey zone is mentions of partners, collaborations, giveaways with other people’s prizes. A simple rule applies here: if a post can be shown to an inspector and you can explain what it gives the channel’s reader beyond a sale, the risk is low. If the explanation begins with the words “we agreed with them”, the risk is high.

What to do before 31 December

Take stock. List every current placement: seeding, integrations, long-term contracts with bloggers. For each — end date, amount, whether there is a liability clause. Contracts that run past 1 January need to be either closed or reworked into a legal format.

Fix liability in contracts. While the transition period lasts, now is the time to add a clause to contracts with platforms on who is responsible for the legality of the placement and its labelling. After 2027, without such a clause the fine will come to both sides.

Keep documents. For every placement — a screenshot, a link, a certificate of completion, the erid token. Claims from the FAS arrive with a delay, and you will have to prove with documents that the post was lawful informing.

Move the audience, don’t abandon it. Your own Telegram channel remains legal, and there is no need to leave it. But paid growth through seeding is closing, so subscribers should be duplicated in advance into channels where advertising is allowed: MAX, VK, mailing lists, your own site.

Where to move the budget

Advertising money from Telegram is already being redistributed, and the platforms have noticed: prices for seeding in MAX and VK are rising as advertisers flow in. The “wait it out and come back” strategy does not work: the ban is tied to the resource’s status, not to a date, and there are no grounds to expect it to be lifted.

The working order: first the channels with a measurable result — search ads in Yandex Direct and targeted ads in VK Ads, where the cost per lead can be counted. Then seeding in MAX for those niches where the audience is already there — with mandatory labelling. Telegram remains a retention platform: your own channel, bots, service, but not acquisition.

In brief

• Advertising in Telegram has been illegal since 1 September 2025; the FAS confirmed this in March 2026.
• Fines apply from 1 January 2027: for companies ₽100,000–500,000 per placement.
• Your own channel, service bots and expert content without product promotion are legal.
• Labelling is mandatory for any advertising regardless of platform.
• Before the end of the year: take stock of placements, add a liability clause to contracts, move the audience.

Frequently asked questions

Can I leave an advertising post placed before 2027?

The FAS has no unambiguous position on “old” posts. The safe option is to delete paid placements before 31 December or rewrite them into an informing format.

Does a post about my own promotion in my own channel count as advertising?

No, if it is your channel and it is about your products. That is informing on your own platform.

What about blogger advertising if they are “just recommending”?

If the post is paid for and singles out your brand, the FAS will deem it advertising regardless of the delivery. Both sides are liable.

Is an erid needed if advertising is banned anyway?

Yes. Labelling and the ban on placement are different rules, and the fine for a missing token is charged separately.