Since the war in Ukraine began, the Kremlin has made a concerted effort to limit public access to outside information. In response, Russians have become increasingly creative in finding ways to outfox the government’s strict anti-internet laws, with one outcome being a surge in VPN usage.
This hasn’t set well with the country’s communication regulators, Roskomnadzor, who are now ramping up efforts to stop the free flow of information into and out of Russia for good.
To this end, the government is pledging an eye-watering $646 million on tightening controls. Here’s how they plan to implement these measures.
Russia’s Internet Restrictions
To better understand the wholescale attack on the country’s communications outlets, a little context is necessary.
In 2019, the Russians passed a law facilitating a total internet cut off from the rest of the world. Called digital sovereignty, the initiative focused on developing a domestic technology industry that allowed the state to impose restrictions over internet traffic.
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The project had been ten years in the making, so hardly a surprise, but was nonetheless, extremely repressive when fully enforced.
Fast-forward to the invasion of Ukraine, and the Kremlin accelerated its efforts to sever external influence and information. This push was designed to promote its own agenda without opposition. These ruthless actions have worked… up to a point.
Upgrading Internet Filtering Systems to Block VPNs
The citizens of the Federation are a resourceful lot and as such, they looked for ways around the restrictions. One such way was virtual private connections, or VPNs, encrypted connections that allow devices to connect to various networks using the internet under a masked IP address, thus bypassing government controls.
The authorities soon caught on and began blocking VPNs. Although this effort has been slow and inconsistent, allowing new VPN services to spring up as old ones were shut down, recent developments suggest the government is getting serious. According to Forbes Russia, who have been privy to official documents, approximately $646 million has been allocated over the next five years to upgrade internet traffic filtering systems, making VPN access more difficult.
Furthermore, Roskomnadzor has been quietly buying new equipment to achieve the goal, as well as consorting with the Chinese to glean tactics. Among these are intermittent blocking rather than full-time, as it keeps users guessing and forces regulators to remain on the lookout.
What Happens After the Upgrades?
VPN providers are already working on ways to bypass the intended blocks on their services, though admittedly, they will be harder for the average Russian consumer to get a hold of than in the past.
It has been suggested that solutions now public will go underground, and that in future, good old-fashion word-of-mouth will no doubt come into play to circumvent obstructions. In addition, the Biden administration has hosted discussions with major tech companies, like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to explore US government-backed internet censorship evasion tools.
Currently, bending the rules is not a deterrent, with offenders getting off with a slap on the wrist and a $324 fine. However, stricter enforcement could be on the horizon. Should penalties intensify, Russians may soon face a difficult choice: risk fines and punishment for accessing outside information or remain isolated within the state’s tightly controlled information bubble.
