The Russian party "Yabloko" has officially announced its intentions to hold a mass rally aimed at defending the messenger Telegram and the citizens' right to free access to information. The notification was submitted to the Moscow city hall by the party chairman Nikolai Rybakov, federal committee member Ivan Bolshakov, and the head of the Moscow branch Kirill Goncharov.
The planned rally will take place on March 1, 2026, in "Zaryadye" Park, where up to 5,000 people are expected to participate. The leaders of "Yabloko" emphasize that according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the authorities have no legal grounds to ban this event. They are confident that any opposition will be interpreted as political pressure.
"We demand an end to the practice of blocking and respect for our rights. If the authorities attempt to ban the rally, it will be their political decision, not a legal one," noted Nikolai Rybakov. Party members emphasize that Telegram is the "last space of freedom" in the country and urge the authorities not to try to "suppress the voice of millions of Russians through censorship."
The reason for holding the rally is the significant increase in pressure on Telegram in February 2026. On February 10, Roskomnadzor began a large-scale "throttling" of the messenger's operations in Russia, justifying it by the need to comply with legislation and combat extremism. Since the summer of 2025, restrictions on video calls had already been imposed on the messenger, and rumors are circulating about a possible complete blocking of the service starting April 1. "Yabloko" considers these actions a violation of citizens' constitutional rights to convenient means of communication.
