Russia strengthens restrictions on services VPN on the Internet after elections

Plink minus 10 virtual private network services (VPN) reported limitations during the last week, today Viorstka reported on its channel on the Telegram platform, also blocked in Russia.

One of the main VPN services informed users on Friday, September 25, of restrictions that caused malfunctions in operation and, in some cases, total disconnection.

“ We predict that the blockades will not stop, so we are preparing contingency solutions so that the next blocking spots affect us as little as possible. Other VPN services face similar failures,” the company said in a message to customers.

Viorstka did not identify the service “for security reasons”.

Another VPN provider reported that the new series of locks began on September 21, one day after the elections, forcing eight servers to replace in just five days.

Seven other services also alerted “new failures and blockages” through their channels on Telegram.

One of them stated that the Russian communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, blocked all IP addresses of its servers located abroad.

The chairman of the representative association of the VPN companies, Alexéi Kozliuk, told Viorstka that the increase in restrictions after the elections was “something expected”, although he considered that this was not a “new wave” of blockades.

According to Kozliuk, the pressure on these services has increased considerably since early August.

The Russian Government launched a restriction campaign on the Internet at the end of March which included measures to reduce the use of VPN, services that allow you to bypass blockades and access censored content.

One month later, about 20 international communications operators joined a measure by the authorities to restrict the bandwidth used by these services.

Restrictions on the Internet and social networks have provoked criticism in different sectors of Russian society, including military, businessmen, entrepreneurs and youth.