Russia has begun testing a new system to intercept global Internet access, with early reports suggesting that even virtual networks known as VPNs have been unable to bypass these restrictions. This marks a major step forward in the country's efforts to establish what it calls a “sovereign Internet.”
In a recent report by NetBlocks, the Russian government tried its best to shut down Internet access in Dagestan. Local news outlet Chernovik reported that the blockade lasted 24 hours and extended to Chechnya and Ingushetia.
“Many sites won't load, including ours, Russian ones. Nothing works!” Reported by one of the readers of Chernivtsi who lives in Makhachkala. Local news shared that services such as YouTube, Telegram and taxi apps have stopped working.
“Regarding the ongoing Roskomnadzor exercises to prepare the conditions for disabling access to the external part of the Internet, today, [Dec. 6]There will be restrictions on access to certain websites and services (WhatsApp etc.) from 4:00 am onwards. Estimated recovery time is 4:00 PM Moscow time [Dec. 7]”Local ISP Ilco shared with their customers, according to local reports.
The Russian government is doubling down on these efforts, with the Ministry of Digital Development planning to allocate 60 billion rubles ($660 million) over the next five years to boost its web traffic censorship system. This system uses domestically developed traffic management tools known as TSPU, which are created, distributed and monitored by Roskomnadzor, the state communications regulator.
According to researchers at Censored Planet, a global online censorship monitoring project, the TSPU represents a sophisticated approach to Internet censorship. The system allows Russian authorities to inspect and filter Internet traffic, which can block access to certain websites and services while protecting authorized local resources.
Internet censorship is on the rise.
Russia's move is part of a broader global trend of increasing internet restrictions, even in traditionally liberal societies. In the United States, the ongoing effort to block TikTok — currently the world's largest social media platform — reflects growing concerns about data sovereignty and national security. Other countries, including Hungary, Turkey, Israel and Venezuela, have implemented various internet censorship and content controls.
And other countries have begun using digital censorship for law enforcement. A recent example of this trend recently occurred in Brazil, where authorities implemented measures to restrict access to X (formerly Twitter) after Elon Musk refused to comply with environmental laws.
During this incident, experts suggested that the government could monitor communications and identify Brazilian accounts when posted on the platform. Additionally, Brazilian authorities may work with Internet Service Providers or ISPs to detect and block traffic from VPN servers.
Russia's system appears to be more extensive than previous attempts at Internet control. The TSPU infrastructure allows for deep packet inspection and traffic redirection, making it difficult for citizens to access blocked content, even with tools typically used to bypass censorship.
Other techniques used by the Russian government include blocking domestic websites that use encryption features from Cloudflare, redirecting traffic through government-controlled infrastructure, targeting encryption services and VPN traffic, and other methods.
While not outright illegal, VPN use is highly restricted in Russia. In the year In 2017, the country banned VPN providers that were not approved by the government. These approved VPNs were required to log user information and provide it to the government upon request.
Russia's pursuit of Internet isolation is more thorough than any other country's because it focuses on setting up a domestic DNS and disabling Western hardware and software. The country follows a similar approach to China and North Korea, where governments have high levels of control over internet traffic.
However, completely isolating the Russian Internet is a technical challenge due to its complex infrastructure and dependence on international networks. The idea has been floating around for a while, and experts aren't sure if it will be easy to implement.
Andrew Sullivan, president of the Internet Society, told The Record in 2023 that “China came to the Internet very late, very cautiously, and has a very large domestic population that is very similar in policy, culturally.” There is no way in Russia to repeat the Chinese way. This does not mean that Russia will not try. But the path is likely to cause more resistance in a population where something is being taken over than in a population that didn't have the Internet in the first place.
Edited by Andrew Hayward.
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