When Russian authorities blocked popular gaming platform Roblox last year for what they said “justifies terrorism and LGBTQ content,” young people quickly found a workaround.
“Everyone at school has a VPN,” one teenager told The Moscow Times, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Not just for messengers, but for gaming too.” Virtual private networks have become an everyday necessity for millions of Russians as the government has restricted foreign social media platforms, messaging apps and independent media.
VPN usage explodes amid internet restrictions
Russians using the internet today must navigate ever-widening restrictions, with the total number of blacklisted websites now standing at 4.7 million. Major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X have been blocked since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
This, combined with mounting restrictions on popular messengers Telegram and WhatsApp, have pushed many Russians toward regular VPN use. One man from Moscow said he started keeping his VPN on at all times since Telegram stopped working in February, only switching it off to use state-controlled apps.
A 29-year-old social media marketer from the Far East republic of Sakha said her job requires her to use VPNs to access Instagram and other restricted platforms like YouTube. She typically downloads a new VPN service every six months whenever her current one gets blocked.
Some estimates suggest Russia ranks second globally in VPN usage, with about 37.6% of internet users relying on them. Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Internet Protection Society, said roughly 60 million Russians are familiar with VPNs.
Government crackdown intensifies
Using a VPN in Russia is not illegal. But authorities have increasingly targeted tools that allow users to bypass internet restrictions. “If you live with a VPN switched on, you can access corners of the internet that are best avoided,” lawmaker Sergei Boyarsky warned Russians.
Safe Internet League head Yekaterina Mizulina called VPN services “a portal to hell.” By mid-January, Roskomnadzor had restricted access to more than 400 VPNs. Russia’s App Store also removed several VPN apps at Roskomnadzor’s request this month.
Russian law bans advertising VPN services, with fines of up to 150,000 rubles ($1,846) for individuals and 500,000 rubles ($6,153) for companies. Authorities also blocked topping up Apple ID balances using mobile phone accounts – one of the most popular payment methods since international payment services like Visa and MasterCard suspended operations in Russia.
Mobile operators could start charging up to 150 rubles ($1.80) per gigabyte for using more than 15 GB of international data routed through VPNs per month, according to reports. “The internet is becoming something only the wealthy can afford,” expert Eldar Murtazin said.
Internet shutdowns target VPN effectiveness
One way to restrict VPNs without blocking individual services is to limit access to the internet itself – which is exactly what authorities have been doing. Authorities in 83 regions have imposed mobile internet shutdowns at least once since May 2025, usually citing security concerns like Ukrainian drone attacks.
During these outages, access is typically limited to a “white list” of approved services, making many VPNs ineffective. Border regions like Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov have seen disruptions on more than 70% of days.
However, experts believe that a complete internet shutdown in Russia is highly unrealistic for now. “If Russia were to completely cut off access to the global internet, then VPNs would probably stop working – but everything else would stop working too,” Klimarev said. “How would they trade oil, manage their shadow fleet or buy drone parts?”
Impact on access to information
Western sanctions are making it harder to get a VPN, which limits Russians’ ability to obtain independent information. “Difficulties in paying for services outside Russia as well as commercial companies’ refusal to work with Russian users are significantly reducing the number of people who can pay for foreign VPN services,” said an expert from Teplitsa of Social Technologies.
At the same time, use of VPNs is treated as an aggravating factor in criminal cases, creating what one expert called “a climate of legal uncertainty and fear.” Russian authorities have said they would only permit FSB-licensed VPNs that do not bypass restrictions.
Despite the crackdown, experts say the state lacks the capacity to fully eliminate VPN use. Pro-Kremlin media have published comments acknowledging that “it is not technically feasible” for the government to defeat VPNs completely.