Russia goes after VPNs as 'great crackdown' gathers pace

Access to several foreign platforms is being restricted by authorities

Photo: Reuters

Russia is going to further clamp down Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which are used by millions of Russians to get around internet controls and censorship, Russia's digital minister said.

In what has been cast by diplomats as Russia's "great crackdown", the authorities have repeatedly blocked mobile internet and jammed major messenger services while giving sweeping powers to cut off mass communications.

"The task is reduce VPN usage," Digital Minister Maksut Shadayev said on state-backed messenger MAX late on Monday, adding that his ministry was trying to impose the limits with minimal impact on users.

He said decisions had been taken to restrict access to a number of unidentified foreign platforms without giving details.

After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia imposed the most repressive laws seen since Soviet times, ordering censorship and bolstering the influence of the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

But in recent months, the state has gone much further: it blocked WhatsApp, has slowed down Telegram and has repeatedly jammed mobile internet in Moscow and other cities and regions.

The Kremlin says foreign platforms have failed to abide by the law and that mobile internet restrictions are necessary to counter mass Ukrainian drone strikes.

By mid-January, Russia had blocked more than 400 VPNs, 70 percent more than late last year, according to the Kommersant newspaper.

But it is a game of cat and mouse: as soon as the authorities take down one VPN, another appears and many young Russians change their VPNs daily, according to Reuters reporters.