February 23, 2023

Bye-Bye, YouTube?


Bye-Bye, YouTube?
A message in Russian from YouTube saying that a video is blocked in Germany. YouTube, Wikimedia Commons

After invading Ukraine, the Russian government quickly blocked Western social media outlets such as Instagram and Facebook, but not YouTube. On February 17, however, Meduza revealed that the Kremlin is discussing shutting down access to the video platform.

In January, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, declared: "YouTube will be closed soon. And then, those actively using YouTube for their part will be identified and punished after the ban takes effect." While Prigozhin is not a government official, he is a Kremlin insider.

The state-run platform VKontakte (VK) is being updated to compete with the American video platform, and Meduza alleges that the ban won't be implemented until this is completed. VK now controls Medium Quality, which produces widely-viewed Youtube shows such as "Chto Bylo Dalshe?" (What Happened Next) and "Vnutry Lapenko" (Inside Lapenko). The most popular blogger in Russia, the Belarussian Vlad Bumaga, is reportedly leaving YouTube for VK Video.

YouTube has been the home of independent news channels and dissidents fleeing government crackdowns since before the war. In fact, Alexey Navalny, the president of Russia's main political rival, cultivated his base in large part thanks to the video-hosting service

No formal announcement has yet been made about the banning of YouTube in Russia. However, a government source told Meduza: "Our president [Vladimir Putin] definitely doesn't use YouTube and poorly understands how it works. The block is meant as further escalation [with the West]."

Of course, use of a VPN would allow a Russian user to circumvent any ban, and a ban of a high-bandwidth service like YouTube would put a serious strain on VPN apps. Over 35 million VPN downloads were recorded in 2022.

You Might Also Like

AI Will Watch You
  • February 13, 2023

AI Will Watch You

Russian authorities plan to use artificial intelligence to scour the interwebs for undesirable political information.
Meduza Declared Undesirable
  • January 27, 2023

Meduza Declared Undesirable

On January 26, Russia’s Prosecutor General declared the popular publication Meduza an “undesirable” organization.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955