Russia’s authorities are implementing a multipronged and long-term effort to bring the internet under the Kremlin’s full control. This includes adopting restrictive laws, banning websites and platforms that don’t comply, and implementing technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic. Virtual private network apps are routinely blocked, and authorities have also restricted internet access this summer with widespread shutdowns of cellphone internet connections and adopting a law punishing users for searching for content they deem illicit. President Vladimir Putin has urged the government to “stifle” foreign internet services and ordered officials to assemble a list of platforms from “unfriendly” states that should be restricted. Experts and rights advocates have described Moscow’s approach to reining in the internet as “death by a thousand cuts.”
Russia’s efforts to control what Russians do, read, or say online date back to 2011-12, when the internet was used to challenge authority. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Signal, and a few other messaging apps. VPNs were targeted, making it harder to reach restricted websites.
The Kremlin has been trying to push businesses to migrate to Russian hosting providers that can be controlled, with estimates that about half of all Russian websites are powered by foreign hosting and infrastructure providers.
