Russia ramps up internet censorship, blocks 439 VPNs

By January 2026, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor had restricted access to 439 VPN services, marking a 70% increase over three months. 

In October 2025, 258 services were blocked, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

According to the agency, the measures aim to ensure the security and stable operation of Russia’s internet segment and public communication networks.

The increase is partly due to expanded technical blocking capabilities. Since December, Roskomnadzor has more actively restricted additional VPN protocols. Complete blocking is difficult, as detection often relies on indirect signs, causing partial outages and instability rather than full shutdowns. 

Filters at internet providers analyse IP addresses, ports, and encryption types, according to Pavel Kovalenko, director of the anti-fraud centre at Informzaschita. Anastasia Bidzhelova, head of telecom services development at Telecom Birzha, noted that fully blocking all VPNs without affecting legitimate use is nearly impossible, as strict filters inevitably disrupt business and government traffic.

VPN regulations have tightened annually. Since 2017, services must restrict access to banned sites, or face their own blocking. In 2024, distribution of information on bypass methods was banned, and from September 2025, VPN advertising was prohibited, with fines up to 500,000 rubles (about $6,300–$6,400).

Despite stricter rules, demand for VPNs in Russia remains high, with users adopting more advanced circumvention tools. Sensor Tower reports that in the third quarter of 2025, the audience for the five most popular VPN apps grew from 247,000 to over 6 million users. Independent expert Alexey Leron estimates that overall VPN demand in Russia rose 36% in 2025.

Traffic exchange operator Piter-IX noted a sharp increase in international traffic since late December. “Growth is directed toward European hosting providers, which traditionally host various services,” said CEO Nikolay Metlyuk. 

Anton Chemiakin, head of analytics at Servicepipe, noted that amid messenger outages on Russian online stores in 2025, purchases from foreign IP addresses had surged sharply.

By Jeyhun Aghazada