A government VPN procurement highlights the problem of accessing messaging apps in Dagestan.

The Ministry of Digital Development of Dagestan has placed a contract for VPN services amid Telegram's slowdown. Residents of Makhachkala reported that Telegram and WhatsApp* still don't work without a VPN.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in October 2025, Telegram channel creators in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts experienced a decline in readership, difficulties posting, and reader complaints about access issues with Telegram due to the messaging app's blocking. Meanwhile, in Dagestan, restrictions on access to instant messaging apps introduced in 2024 have been eased, local journalists reported.

On the day Roskomnadzor partially slowed down Telegram, the Dagestan Ministry of Digital Development announced a VPN contract for 650,000 rubles, the Telegram channel Mash Gor reported on February 11, publishing a screenshot from the government procurement website.

According to the contract card on the Unified Information System for Procurement website, on February 10, the Dagestan Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media posted a contract for 650,000 rubles with a deadline of December 31, 2026.

The procurement object is listed as "services for the provision of a VPN channel; services for the technical maintenance of a secure connection configured between the customer's cryptographic equipment and the e-government infrastructure."

Dagestani publications commented on the information. "This is roughly what shooting yourself in the foot and trying to bandage the wound looks like," the Chernovik publication stated.

"On the one hand, the deal is legal, but on the other, all these technical games in an election year could leave the government and society without communication," Novoye Delo pointed out.

In Dagestan, a VPN is required due to Telegram being blocked, said Makhachkala resident Arsen. "I constantly use the internet to communicate with colleagues from different cities; we have our own Telegram group. It's blocked, so I have to use a VPN, but other services don't work with it. I have to constantly switch between services, which creates additional difficulties. "It turns out that the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media has decided to make its job easier by purchasing its own VPN with public funds," he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

All our school chats are on these messengers.

Telegram and WhatsApp* don't open in Dagestan without a VPN, confirmed Makhachkala resident Farida. "All our school chats are on these messengers. Sometimes at work, you can't make a call; you need to contact your children who are home alone, and messages don't get through. The republic is practically left without normal service; in many places in the city, there's no mobile internet," she told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

"I produce analytical reviews for various organizations. "All ministries and departments in the republic have their own Telegram channels... It's impossible to read them without using blocking tools," Makhachkala resident Marat told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

As a reminder, Dagestan has been experiencing problems accessing Telegram since 2024. However, authorities only acknowledged blocking the messenger in March 2025, even though access had been lost for several months by then: the republic's Minister of Digital Development announced that the messenger was blocked and no longer available in Dagestan and Chechnya. According to the official, the decision was made at the federal level at the request of security forces.

The temporary unblocking of Telegram in Dagestan on May 26 and 27, during a visit to the republic by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, affected only some users, and on May 28, access to Telegram from Dagestan was again blocked.

In August 2025, new public internet hotspots opened in Makhachkala amid mobile internet outages, but Telegram users complained about the poor performance of the hotspots. The city's Wi-Fi hotspots are unstable and provide a weak signal, and with regular mobile internet outages, the existing Wi-Fi zones are insufficient, according to Makhachkala residents. The Dagestan Ministry of Digital Development admitted problems with access points.