In the heart of Moscow, a quiet cafe buzzes with the hum of laptops and the clinking of coffee cups. Here, in this haven for digital nomads, a Russian interior designer embarks on a daily dance of technological evasion. She logs onto a virtual private network (VPN), a digital cloak that routes her internet connection through private servers outside Russia, allowing her to bypass the country's internet restrictions. This is a common scene in Russia today, where the Kremlin's tightening grip on the internet has sparked a surge in VPN downloads and a proliferation of technical solutions to skirt its digital iron curtain.
The Russian government's recent crackdown on the internet has been nothing short of draconian. With the goal of achieving "digital sovereignty," the Kremlin has been pushing Russians to use state-backed alternatives to foreign apps and websites. But this push has met with resistance, as many users are wary of the potential surveillance risks associated with these alternatives. The state-controlled app MAX, for instance, has been accused by some of being a tool for tracking users, a claim its owner, the technology giant VK, denies.
The interior designer, Irina, is one of the many Russians who have turned to VPNs to maintain their digital freedoms. She acknowledges the inconvenience, but sees it as a necessary evil. "Of course, this is all a huge pain in the backside, but what else can we do?" she says. "You get used to it and spend your days turning VPNs on and off, toggling between different messengers and switching between different virtual countries or phones to use the apps and websites you need."
The surge in VPN downloads is a testament to the growing frustration with the Kremlin's internet controls. In March alone, there were 9.2 million downloads of the five most popular VPN services from the Google Play store, a 14-fold increase from the same month last year, according to the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant. This is a significant shift, as Russians had grown accustomed to a degree of online freedom before the Ukraine war. Security services have long sought to silence domestic critics, but authorities rarely interfered with people's ability to use foreign apps or access Western media content.
The Kremlin's internet controls have had a ripple effect on various sectors. Banking, transport, and e-commerce have been disrupted, and even social media influencers, who usually stay clear of politics, have criticized the restrictions. Frustration over the curbs, combined with rising prices, tax hikes, and war fatigue, is believed to have contributed to Putin's falling approval ratings. According to the state pollster VTsIOM, his approval rating dropped from 75.1% in February to 65.6% in April, before rebounding to nearly 67%.
The Kremlin's response to the growing discontent has been mixed. While officials have pushed for "digital sovereignty," they have also acknowledged the need for a more nuanced approach. In April, Putin instructed the government to tread more softly, telling lawmakers it was "counterproductive" to "focus solely on bans and restrictions."
The situation is a game of cat and mouse between the government and its citizens. While it is not illegal to use VPNs, the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor has restricted access to hundreds of them. This has led to a constant cycle of users downloading new VPN services to access the content they want. In April, government offices, banks, and major online retailers started preventing people with VPNs enabled from accessing their sites, further complicating the digital landscape.
The interior designer, Irina, is not holding her breath for a resolution to the digital dilemma. "In Russia, we have a saying: Nothing is more permanent than the temporary," she says. This sentiment reflects the broader frustration with the Kremlin's internet controls, which show no signs of abating anytime soon. As the digital divide deepens, Russians are left to navigate a complex web of restrictions, VPNs, and state-backed alternatives, all while trying to maintain their online freedoms.
