Russians describe daily life under Kremlin's sweeping internet restrictions

Russian residents have shared their experiences living under increasingly strict internet censorship imposed by the Kremlin. This spring marked a significant escalation in blocking websites, apps, and services previously used in everyday life. Readers of Meduza, an independent Russian-language outlet, described the new habits they've developed to navigate the restrictions.

Life under Russia's internet censorship has become a daily obstacle course for ordinary citizens, according to accounts gathered by independent outlet Meduza from its readers inside Russia. This spring marked a turning point, as authorities expanded their blocking efforts to cover a wide range of websites, applications, and digital services that millions of Russians had come to rely on.

Restrictions grow sweeping

For years, Russian authorities have maintained an expanding list of blocked online resources, but the scale of restrictions intensified sharply in recent months. Residents describe having to constantly adapt — using VPNs, mirror sites, and workarounds just to access news, social media platforms, or communication tools that are standard in the rest of the world.

Meduza's readers reported that the new wave of restrictions has affected not just political content, but everyday services. From messaging apps to streaming platforms, the digital landscape inside Russia has narrowed considerably, forcing people to develop new technical skills or simply go without.

New habits and workarounds

Many respondents described adopting VPN tools as a routine necessity, though even these have faced crackdowns from Roskomnadzor, Russia's media and communications regulator. Others noted a growing sense of digital isolation — finding it harder to stay connected with family abroad or access professional resources needed for work.

The accounts paint a picture of a population increasingly cut off from the global internet, with the Kremlin tightening its grip on information flows particularly amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. For many Russians, navigating these restrictions has become as routine as any other daily task — a sign of how normalized censorship has become in contemporary Russian life.