Russia Tests Blocking Access to Global Web & VPNs Cannot Get Around It

Russia apparently disconnected several sections of the nation from the rest of the world's internet for a day, essentially siloing them, according to claims from European and Russian news sites reshared by the US charity Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and Western news publications.

Roskomnadzor, Russia's communications authority, has barred citizens in Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia, all of which have Muslim-majority populations, as stated by ISW. 

The three areas are in southwest Russia, along the borders with Georgia and Azerbaijan. People in specific locations were unable to access Google, YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp, or other foreign websites or apps, even if they used VPNs, according to a local Russian news website.

As stated by Russian digital rights NGO Roskomsvoboda, most VPNs did not work during the shutdown, but some did.

Russian news source Interfax reports that at least 197 VPNs are presently banned in Russia.

Russia tests cutting off access to the global web

The new partial internet blocks are the result of Russia testing its own sovereign internet, which it can fully control. 

The country has previously experimented with banning or throttling sites such as YouTube this year, slowing down speeds to the point where the services are completely useless. 

Russia has invested $648 million in its national internet and technology capable of imposing power restrictions, and it has been working on this since at least 2019.

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