Russia has escalated its control over the internet by blocking WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram through its national domain name system. The move, enforced by the state regulator Roskomnadzor, removes these platforms’ domains from the country’s DNS directory, effectively making them inaccessible without a VPN.
This latest step advances Moscow’s “sovereign internet” policy, introduced in 2019 to allow tighter control over information flow. Unlike earlier throttling measures that slowed access, the DNS-level bans prevent users from reaching the platforms entirely by rendering their domains non-existent within Russia’s digital infrastructure.
Beyond social media, access to several international outlets including BBC, Deutsche Welle, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has also been restricted, as well as the Tor anonymity network. Technical specialists confirmed that DNS requests to YouTube no longer pass through the national system, indicating full removal from Russian address servers.
Telegram experienced partial outages following new restrictions, prompting its founder Pavel Durov to accuse Russian authorities of attempting to “force citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance.” Durov compared the move to Iran’s failed attempt to block Telegram in 2016, noting users there continued to rely on VPNs to access the platform.
The crackdown coincides with the government’s promotion of Max, a state-backed messaging platform developed by VK and mandated to come pre-installed on all new devices sold in Russia. Max has grown to 70 million monthly users but still trails WhatsApp and Telegram, which maintain larger audiences despite restrictions. The app requires Russian or Belarusian phone numbers and is closely integrated with state services, drawing criticism from digital rights advocates.
Authorities have also expanded efforts to disrupt VPN technologies such as WireGuard and OpenVPN through advanced network inspection tools, reinforcing the state’s increasing control over online communication channels.
