Paul Goble Staunton, Mar. 31 – Telegram channels are today one of the main platforms for political information in Russia, with half of Russians every day and nearly three out of four every month using them. Moreover, according to surveys, 55 percent of the top 100 telegram channels deal one way or another with current events or political news. Indeed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has declared that telegram channels are “the main source for receiving information” in Russia, a remarkable rise over just the last several years (https://t.me/kommersant/79903; and for data on this remarkable development, see mediascope.net/upload/iblock/2ee/bdbcymunn4gcxjwcgjgjzsw74nrqtmz6/Mediascope\_%D0%9D%D0%A0%D0%A4\_Telegram.pdf). But despite this growth and influence, Russia’s telegram channels have remained relatively little studied up to now. But research by the Center for Data and Research on Russia (CEDAR) has gone a long way to fill this gap and to explain why some telegram channels attract more visitors than others (cedarus.io/research/what-do-russians-read?lang=ru). Using content analysis, surveys, and focus groups, CEDAR draws the following conclusions about why some telegram channels attract more readers than others and what those now lagging might do to catch up. Specifically, it says • Forty-four percent of those reading telegram channels in Russia read pro-government outlets, while only 14 percent read those associated with the opposition.• In addition to these two categories, there are also “neutral” channels which focus on the economy, emergencies, health news, food and science.• Opposition media covers a narrower range of issues than do the other two.• Channels which have more positive content tend to be more popular not among these groups but within them. Pro-government channels present Russia more positively and that is an attraction. • Popularity is not a function of the emotional tone of the channels nor is the share of coverage of the war in Ukraine. Drawing on these findings, CEDAR recommends that those neutral and opposition outlets which want to attract more people need to cover more different topics, focus on “everyday issues” like the economy, emergencies and health. And they need to play up positive content rather than always be negative.