Russia's censor body, Roskomnadzor, wants to block 92% of VPN apps by 2030 — and it's investing 20 billion rubles a year to build a permanent VPN censorship system | Tech Radar

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Russia's censor body, Roskomnadzor, wants to block 92% of VPN apps by 2030 — and it's investing 20 billion rubles a year to build a permanent VPN censorship system

Moscow is spending big to make bypassing censorship an uphill battle

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Millions in funding will build a permanent censorship infrastructure

New taxes and detection rules further tighten the net

The Russian media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has set an ambitious and alarming goal: to block 92% of all Virtual Private Network (VPN) services operating within the country by 2030.

This directive — first uncovered 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-running effort to control what its citizens see online and cut them off from the open internet.

Crucially, the plan is already funded. Federal budget laws have set aside roughly 20 billion rubles a year starting in 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.

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The 2030 target is driven by the Automated System for Supplying Security (ASBI), which manages TSPUs — specialized hardware gatekeepers installed directly inside internet service providers. These devices inspect data packets in real-time to identify and block VPN traffic based on specific signatures.

The subsidy document allocates roughly 20 billion rubles annually for the operation of ASBI. This figure corroborates a September 2024 report that authorities intended to spend 60 billion rubles (around $650 million) over the next five years to update its internet-blocking system.

A critical detail is that the Russian government hasn’t defined what "92% effectiveness" actually means. Kolomychenko noted it could refer to the number of VPN applications removed from stores, the volume of traffic blocked, or the percentage of people unable to connect.

This marks a fundamental shift in how Russia governs the internet. Rather than chasing down individual services one by one, the state is now pouring money into the underlying network layer to build a permanent filter.

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

While the 2030 blueprint sets the stage for long-term isolation, the situation for Russian internet users is already declining.

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

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Millions of websites have been blocked, and as of 2025, authorities have started cutting off mobile internet across entire regions. They’ve also officially blocked major platforms like Whats App and Telegram.

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

Russia's Roskomnadzor has set a target of 92% VPN blocking effectiveness by 2030, with around 20 billion rubles allocated annually for the blocking infrastructure, according to a January subsidy document. Over 1,000 VPN services have already been blocked, and since April 15 major…May 5, 2026

Russia's Roskomnadzor has set a target of 92% VPN blocking effectiveness by 2030, with around 20 billion rubles allocated annually for the blocking infrastructure, according to a January subsidy document. Over 1,000 VPN services have already been blocked, and since April 15 major…May 5, 2026

The game has changed from simple blocking to include active detection and financial punishment.

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

At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Development is also pushing a new "foreign traffic tax". It would charge mobile users 150 rubles per gigabyte for any data over a 15GB monthly limit. This fee, which has been facing technical delays, hits the international routes VPNs rely on, making it too costly for most people to bypass the blocks.

When you combine these measures with the technical upgrades to ASBI, the result is a comprehensive squeeze on user access. It makes escaping censorship not just a technical headache, but a costly and even risky gamble.

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Mark is a Tech Security Writer for Tech Radar and has been published on Comparitech and IGN. He graduated with a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Lincoln and spent several years teaching English as a foreign language in Spain. The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal sparked Mark’s interest in online privacy, leading him to write hundreds of articles on VPNs, antivirus software, password managers, and other cybersecurity topics. He recently completed the Google Cybersecurity Certificate, and when he's not studying for the Comp TIA Security+ exam, Mark can be found agonizing over his fantasy football team selections, watching the Detroit Lions, and battling bugs and bots in Helldivers 2.

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