Test if a site is blocked in Russia

The easiest way to check if a website is blocked in Russia is to use Comparitech’s free domain-checking tool. Russian authorities don’t provide a full list of censored sites, meaning users have to check each site individually. Whether you’re preparing for a trip to Russia or just want to learn more about digital censorship, keep reading. I’ll explain what types of content are blocked and how to beat Russian internet censorship.

Just connect to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and you’ll be able to access censored websites and apps in Russia. They also hide your real IP address and location, making them valuable privacy tools for people in authoritarian countries. It’s important to note, however, that users face fines for attempting to access “extremist” content. Effectively, this means anything the government disapproves of, including pro-democracy, pro-LGBTQIA+, or anti-censorship sites.

Here’s how to unblock censored websites in Russia:

1. Sign up for a VPN that still works in Russia. The government is constantly trying to block major providers, but most VPNs offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If your chosen service doesn’t work, you can claim a refund and switch to another.
2. Enable your VPN’s obfuscation feature. This hides the telltale indicators of VPN traffic, making it more difficult to tell when you’re using one.
3. Connect to a server outside of Russia. Very few VPNs still offer Russian servers since the government is legally-entitled to access them. Instead, choose a server in a country with few online restrictions, like the US or Australia.
4. Start browsing the open internet. Assuming you’ve connected successfully, you should now be able to visit previously-inaccessible sites.

In 2008, The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (aka Roskomnadzor) began blocking harmful websites. Initially, its list of blocked domains (“the single register”) focused on sites promoting drugs, suicide, and child pornography. However, this was swiftly expanded to include any content the government disapproved of. Today, an estimated 4.7 million websites are inaccessible in Russia.

Russia’s banned content list is constantly expanding, though blocking is largely arbitrary. Essentially, if the government wants a site to be inaccessible, they’ll find a reason. For instance, authorities previously restricted access to all of Reddit because of a single objectionable post. Here is a non-exhaustive guide to the type of websites that are blocked in Russia:

• Encrypted messaging platforms including Discord, Telegram, and Signal
• Impartial news sources such as BBC News, El Pais, and Deutsche Welle
• Content that criticizes or undermines the federal government (such as anti-war or pro-democracy websites)
• All Meta-owned services like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
• LGBTQIA+ support and advocacy
• Websites promoting religious pluralism
• Any site storing data of Russian users outside of Russia
• Pro-privacy sites and anti-censorship tools

VPN providers are playing a cat-and-mouse game with Russian authorities, trying to remain accessible despite increasingly-sophisticated censorship. Simply, the best VPNs for Russia are whatever allows you to communicate safely at the present moment. We’ve previously had good results with NordVPN and ExpressVPN thanks to their advanced obfuscation features.

The key thing to remember is that most VPN sites can’t be accessed within Russia. That’s why it’s so important to install your VPN before you arrive. You may also want to save a copy of its manual configuration instructions in case the app stops working unexpectedly.

If you’d rather not use a VPN, it’s possible to bypass Russian website-blocking using Tor. However, it won’t work with default settings; you’ll have to connect to a bridge first. These are non-public Tor nodes, making them harder for the government to automatically block.

Thankfully, you’ll find instructions in English and Russian on the Tor Project’s website.

International travelers frequently use foreign eSIM cards to bypass state censorship. However, since 2025, foreign eSIMs are prevented from using the internet or texting for their first 24 hours in Russia. If three days pass without the eSIM being used, another 24-hour freeze will take effect. Aside from stopping people from bypassing censorship, this also disrupts Ukrainian drones, which often rely on eSIMs for long-range piloting.

Russia’s internet is heavily-censored but despite this, there are still several ways to access restricted content. No system, whether it’s Russia’s Sovereign Internet or China’s Great Firewall, is completely foolproof – there will always be workarounds. Knowing how to sidestep Russian censorship and what kind of content is blocked, you’re now fully prepared for your next visit.