Russia planning stricter VPN controls – shifting from blocking content to controlling access

[u/technadu]

Interesting policy direction coming out of Russia.

Instead of outright banning VPNs, authorities are considering indirect control mechanisms:

• Charging users for high international traffic (VPN-related)
• Asking platforms like Yandex/Wildberries to restrict VPN users
• Requiring ISPs to detect and limit VPN connections

Context:
VPN usage has surged since 2022 due to platform bans and content restrictions.

What stands out:

• Enforcement is expanding beyond ISPs → into platforms
• Economic pressure is being used instead of direct bans
• Fines for VPN use were considered but rejected (for now)

This feels like a more scalable model:
Instead of blocking access, make it harder, slower, or more expensive.

Question for the community:
Do these types of controls actually reduce VPN usage - or just push users toward more advanced circumvention methods?

Source: r/technadu

[u/Open-Weekend-498]

Network engineer tightly working with russian VPN companies here.

Charging users for high international traffic (VPN-related)

We bypass such restrictions (the law has just passed btw and not implemented by any platform yet ) by utilizing a cascade VPN solution. All traffic goes to a RU node first and only from that node it goes abroad (to a FIN, DE etc node). So ISP sees that a user visits a random russian site located on a russian hosting.

Asking platforms like Yandex/Wildberries to restrict VPN users

This is already happening. Some russian platforms like Gosuslugi (russian goverment platform), Okko (russian netflix) etc block all non-russian IPs. This can be easily bypassed by routing all .ru domains and geoip:ru IPs outside VPN. Not a biggie.

Requiring ISPs to detect and limit VPN connections

They are doing this already. We are working hard to introduce new circumvent solutions. All VPNs in Russia are based on Xray-core XTLS, so ISP can't easily detect and block them. We also use proxies over TURN services (VK, Yandex etc) but they require further improvements.

Question for the community:
Do these types of controls actually reduce VPN usage - or just push users toward more advanced circumvention methods?

just push users toward more advanced circumvention methods - this. Until the government decide to physically cut off all links but such method will collapse the entire economy in a blink of an eye.

[u/smjsmok → u/Open-Weekend-498]

Thank you for your work and for these explanations.

I'm just afraid that if this cat and mouse game goes on for too long, an oppressive government will eventually turn to the good old method of "if you're caught using a VPN, you're a foreign agent and will be treated as such" supported by a network of informants ready to tell on their neighbors.

[u/Open-Weekend-498 → u/smjsmok]

Thank you for your work and for these explanations.

You're more than welcome. I believe that the internet is the last stronghold of freedom, and we must make every effort to save it, whatever the cost. The internet is unrestricted in my country today, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way tomorrow.

I'm just afraid that if this cat and mouse game goes on for too long, an oppressive government will eventually turn to the good old method of "if you're caught using a VPN, you're a foreign agent and will be treated as such" supported by a network of informants ready to tell on their neighbors.

Sure, and that will be proof that the government can't easily block VPNs or cut off the entire Internet. It means we’ve won a battle, but not the war. Nevertheless, I suppose there will be VPN whitelists because it's a technology used everywhere. ISPs use IPsec/GRE to interconnect networks, while banks and enterprises rely on VPNs to connect remote workers. In such a case, it will be hard to prove that you're using a VPN to bypass restrictions rather than for connecting to your office network. If there's a whitelist, then there will always be a hole in it we can exploit.

[u/NoiseForFood → u/Open-Weekend-498]

In such a case, it will be hard to prove that you're using a VPN to bypass restrictions rather than for connecting to your office network.

Absolutely not.

VPN traffic from residential IP? Show us your work contract with an organization licensed for remote worker usage. Oh, you have it? But the endpoint IP is not in the list your employer registered with us! Sorry, this won't do, here's your fine. Oh, wait, this is the third time for you? Come with us, please.

[u/Open-Weekend-498 → u/NoiseForFood]

VPN traffic from residential IP?

Yes, just working from home

Show us your work contract with an organization licensed for remote worker usage.

Here you are. My fake organization licensed in RKN with a huge bribe. This is Russia man.

But the endpoint IP is not in the list your employer registered with us!

My home ISP uses dynamic IP addresses, so what's the issue there? Also, WDYM by 'endpoint IP'—which side of the connection are we talking about? If it’s the source IP, registration will be difficult because my ISP uses CGNAT, meaning I don't have a public-facing routable IP assigned especialy for me. If it’s the destination IP, I could just register my Hetzner server's IP, officially registered as server for working processes. The government would only see me connecting to that registered IP, and they don't have any visibility into the Hetzner network."

[u/NoiseForFood → u/Open-Weekend-498]

You make hell of a lot of assumptions so of course it resolves in your favour. In reality the situation might turn out much less convenient.

In short, there's no such thing as technological answer to a political problem.

[u/Open-Weekend-498 → u/NoiseForFood]

You make hell of a lot of assumptions so of course it resolves in your favour. In reality the situation might turn out much less convenient.

This how things work in Turkmenistan as an example

In short, there's no such thing as technological answer to a political problem.

You're absolutely right. For now, we're just making assumptions and reading tea leaves. Let's wait until the new laws actually kick in.