December 01, 2019

Roskmomnadzor Strikes At VPNs, Again


Roskmomnadzor Strikes At VPNs, Again
iPhone resting on top of a Macbook keyboard. SimonWaldherr, Wikimedia Commons.

On July 4, the Russian version of Apple's App Store notified four Virtual Private Network (VPN) companies they would no longer be available on their platform due to pressure from the service supervising communications, Roskomnadzor.

When Russia's War on Ukraine began, the Kremlin cracked down on internet use within its borders. Local and foreign news websites and social media platforms, including all Meta platforms and X/Twitter, were banned in the country. In response, many Russians turned to VPNs to bypass government restrictions and surveillance, and to access forbidden content. 

Roskomnadzor had blocked multiple VPN servers even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, the war has fueled the Kremlin's urgency to tackle any access to independent news sources and "unfriendly" internet content. Proton, Nord, Red Shield, and Le VPN are the latest victims of Roskomnadzor bans. 

In an email shared by Red Shield VPN on X, the App Review said it removed the application from the App Store "because it includes content that is illegal in Russia, which is not in compliance with the App Review Guidelines." The App Review concluded their notification with a suggestion to consult with an attorney or contact Roskomnazor directly.

Since these VPN services are still available in other countries, Red Shield VPN suggested that Russian users change their Apple ID region to continue to access the app. However, experts warned Mediazona that connecting to VPNs will become harder for regular users as Russia attempts to replace global platforms with national copies.

See Also

No More Music

No More Music

So far this year, Yandex.Music has eradicated more than 4000 bits of content.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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 Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

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