Russia’s crackdown on VPNs reaches new heights as internet restrictions intensify

• Mobile internet has been restricted in Moscow, St Petersburg since March 5
• The Kremlin also announced plans to block Telegram and VPNs
• An independent media outlet was punished for advertising VPNs

Internet freedoms in Russia appear to be rapidly deteriorating.

Residents in Moscow and St Petersburg have reported widespread disruption to their mobile internet connections for almost an entire week. Public Wi-Fi hotspots have also been disabled, with many analysts concerned that the restrictions may serve as a precursor to the introduction of a 'white list' of allowed apps and websites.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities have said that Telegram — which has an estimated 95 million users in the country — will soon be inaccessible even with a VPN.

Government official Andrey Svintsov claimed that the country's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, now has the technical capability to selectively restrict VPN traffic. The BBC has reported that the measures are expected to be introduced within the next three to six months.

Finally, an independent media outlet is facing legal action for reportedly advertising a VPN on Telegram. Although a 2024 law prohibited the distribution of information regarding censorship circumvention tools, this is reportedly the first time an independent publication has been penalized under the legislation.

Towards a 'whitelist' system?

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said the internet outages are measures to "ensure the safety of our citizens." However, there's growing concern among digital rights groups that the disruptions are linked to the introduction of a whitelisting system.

The system would mean Russians could only access government-approved websites and platforms. Such an approach — as has been since in Iran — would likely make access to VPNs considerably more difficult.

"Only VPN tunnels that are pre-approved by state authorities will continue to function," Mazay Banzaev, the Founder of Russia-based Amnezia VPN, told TechRadar in an interview earlier this year.

For now, it appears Russians are planning for the disruptions to continue, with sales of walkie-talkies, pagers, and road atlases in Moscow reportedly surging by 27%, 73%, and 170% respectively as residents seek reliable communication offline.

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