VPN and the Law in Russia: What the Regulation Actually Says

The topic of VPN regulation in Russia is often discussed at the level of rumor — "VPN was banned," or conversely, "VPN isn't regulated at all." Both statements are inaccurate. Let's break down exactly who the existing rules target.

Who the law targets

The key 2017 amendments (to the law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection") concern not ordinary users but the operators of VPN services and anonymizers. The point of the regulation is to require such services to connect to the state information system that tracks blocked resources, and to restrict access to sites on Roskomnadzor's registry for users located in Russia — or else face being blocked themselves.

What this means for an ordinary user

The law formulates obligations specifically for service operators, not direct liability for a person who simply uses a VPN for personal purposes. This is a key distinction from the "using a VPN is illegal" rhetoric — that framing doesn't reflect the literal text of the law.

Why some VPN services get blocked and others don't

In practice, Roskomnadzor blocks services that haven't connected to the tracking system for blocked resources and don't restrict access to sites on the registry. This explains why some VPN services periodically get blocked while others keep working — it's not a question of "allowed/forbidden" in general, but of the specific status of a specific service.

Where we stand on this

We're transparent about our block-monitoring precisely because regulation and the technical environment change together. Part of our work isn't just technical resilience against DPI, but also staying aware of how the context the service operates in is shifting.