Let’s remind briefly: Yesterday many programs that provide VPN connection in Russia stopped working at the same time. These include various media outlets called Lantern, Outline VPN, NordVPN, and Proton. The latter posted a message on its website stating that the reason for the unavailability of the service was not on behalf of the company, but probably on behalf of local Internet providers, which began blocking it at the request of the authorities.

I understand now

With no warnings from Russian officials, the media could only speculate on what was really going on. But now there is an official comment from Roskomnadzor. According to representatives of the censorship body, the regulator is trying to interfere with the operation of VPN services that “violate the law.”

According to the Communications Law, ways to prevent illegal content from being blocked are considered a threat. The Center for Monitoring and Management of the Public Communication Network takes measures to restrict the operation of VPN services in Russia that violate Russian law,
– Quotes the words of the department of the publication “Interfax”.

Therefore, work is underway in the Russian segment of the Internet to block VPN services, including Proton VPN, which helps to prevent unblocking of banned content recognized in Russia. This includes anything that contradicts official Russian propaganda, including accurate information about the war in Ukraine, as well as many other texts and media content that Russia has at various times considered extremist.

In this case, it seems that if all ways to circumvent censorship are blocked, nothing will be done and the Russians will remain in the information vacuum. It’s impossible to influence this from developers, as Proton said yesterday: “Local ISPs and authorities are likely to interfere with VPN connections, in which case we will not be able to fix such problems. Some servers may continue to work. We continue to try to bypass the blockade.”