Russia

• Russia plans to block 92% of VPNs by 2030
• Millions of dollars in funding will build permanent censorship infrastructure
• New taxes and detection rules tighten the net even further

Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has set an ambitious and alarming goal: to block 92% of all virtual private network (VPN) services operating in the country by 2030.

The directive – first discovered by Russian independent journalist Maria Kolomychenko and reported by the Russian version of Radio Free Europe – marks a major escalation in the Kremlin’s long-standing efforts to control what its citizens see online and cut them off from the open Internet.

Above all, the plan is already funded. Federal budget laws have allocated about 20 billion rubles per year starting from 2025 to build the technical infrastructure needed for these blocks, according to Kolomychenko. Even the best VPN services face a growing maze of technical and legal hurdles across the country.

The infrastructure behind the 92% goal

The 2030 target is driven by the Automated Security of Supply System (ASBI), which manages TSPUs – specialized hardware controllers installed directly within Internet service providers. These devices inspect data packets in real time to identify and block VPN traffic based on specific signatures.

The subsidy document provides about 20 billion rubles per year for the operation of ASBI. This figure supports a September 2024 report that said authorities intended to spend 60 billion rubles (about $650 million) over the next five years to update their internet blocking system.

A crucial detail is that the Russian government has not defined what “92% efficiency” actually means. Kolomychenko noted that this could refer to the number of VPN apps removed from stores, the volume of traffic blocked, or the percentage of people unable to connect.

This marks a fundamental change in the way Russia manages the Internet. Rather than tackling individual services one by one, the state is now investing money in the underlying network layer to build a permanent filter.

By placing these filters directly in the network path, Roskomnadzor aims to make bypassing blockages a constant battle for users.

A growing wave of internet restrictions

While Project 2030 paves the way for long-term isolation, the situation for Russian Internet users is already deteriorating.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, censorship has expanded from specific media outlets to major social media platforms and messaging tools.

Millions of websites have been blocked, and since 2025, authorities have started cutting off mobile internet in entire regions. They also officially blocked major platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

So far, more than 400 VPN services have been banned, and more than 1,000 restricted, according to another Russian journalist, Aleksandar Djokic. This is even though it is still legal to use a VPN in Russia.

The game has moved from simple blocking to active detection and financial sanctions.

Since April 15, 2026, major Russian service providers have been legally required to detect whether a user is connected via a VPN, raising concerns about data privacy and possible future profiling.

At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Development is also proposing a new “external traffic tax”. It would charge mobile users 150 rubles per gigabyte for any data exceeding a monthly limit of 15 GB. These fees, which have faced technical delays, hit the international routes that VPNs rely on, making circumventing blocks too expensive for most people.

When you combine these measures with ASBI’s technical upgrades, the result is a total reduction in user access. This makes evading censorship not only a technical headache, but also an expensive, even risky, gamble.

Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!