Detect, block, evade: how to survive Russias VPN crackdown

Date:
Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:26:49 +0000

Description:
Starting from April 15, Russian online service providers are required to actively prevent VPN use. But some workarounds may remain.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
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your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Starting from today (April 15), Russian service providers are required to restrict VPN users.

Last week, Russia's Minister of Digital Development, Maksut Shadaev, instructed over 20 Russian online service providers on how to detect and
block VPN connections. Failing to do so could lead to the loss of their IT accreditation . VPN services and similar circumvention tools have become a lifeline for Russian residents as internet restrictions have increased. Even platforms like Telegram are feeling the pinch of censorship but some workarounds remain. You may like Russia's major internet services instructed on how to detect VPNs Russias battle against VPNs is entering a new phase: Here's what to expect in 2026 "Another wave of VPN blocks:" Windscribe
records drop in traffic in Russia The impact on new blocking obligations (Image credit: Shutterstock) The newly enforced measures are part of the Kremlin's plan to "reduce VPN usage" through new blocking obligations for companies, alongside fines and fees for people caught using a virtual private network (VPN) or similar circumvention tools.

As Windscribe's CEO, Yegor Sak, noted, the detection guidelines are mostly aimed at Russian domestic platforms, not at blocking VPN connections themselves. "They want these companies to check if users have a VPN running
on their device and deny access if they do," Sak told TechRadar.

As reported by local news outlet Meduza , Russias major mobile carriers began warning users on Wednesday that their official company apps may not work properly when a VPN is active. Also, major Russian platforms like Yandex and VK are reported to have issued similar warnings.

Talking to TechRadar last week, Amnezia VPN 's Founder, Mazay Banzaev,
already confirmed that some marketplaces have begun complying with new rules ahead of the deadline, blocking users who were using VPNs.

"The sites slow down or stop loading altogether, and product pages fail to display," he explained at the time, adding that previously "services only warned about 'incorrect operation when using a VPN,' but now they are restricting access to their catalogs."

Stricter VPN detection seems to have been the goal for a while. Back in
March, security researchers warned that a state-controlled application, MAX, may have the capabilities to know if you are using a VPN .

According to a technical expert at Russian digital rights group RKS Global, these new developments mark a shift from passive internet censorship to
active censorship. The group compares these measures to what China did in the past when it tried to block the obfuscated Shadowsocks protocol. What to read next Windscribe promises users in Iran and Russia "solutions" to ongoing VPN crackdown here's everything we know Best Russia VPNs Russia moves to 'reduce VPN usage' with new blocking, fines and fees

"Its no longer just the providers equipment identifying suspicious or undesirable traffic additional data is now collected from the users device, and decisions are then made on whether to block something or not," RKS Global told TechRadar. So, are VPNs still working in Russia? Considering that the
new blocking obligations are being deployed today, the situation is expected to evolve and we will keep updating this page. That said, some censorship-resistant VPNs confirmed to TechRadar that they are still working in Russia despite the latest wave of restrictions.

Among those is Russia-based Amnezia VPN , which has recently released a new and more powerful version of its flagship stealth protocol, AmneziaWG .

"Currently, all Amnezia services Free, Premium, and Self-Hosted are operating normally," said company Founder, Banzaev. "However, we have already made a number of recommendations for our users."

After a beta Android release last February, Windscribe has now rolled out a standalone Stealth VPN app for mobile users , designed to beat stricter censorship like that in Russia, Iran, and China.

"To the best of our knowledge, we're the only commercial VPN, besides AmneziaVPN, to fully implement AmneziaWG server-side. It's a cat-and-mouse game, and always has been, but we're actively investing in staying ahead of it," said Windscribe's Sak. Attention users in Iran, Russia, and China: We've significantly improved our anti-censorship feature and updated all configurations.Check out the new settings in Preferences Connection. You should now have a much higher chance of connecting successfully. pic.twitter.com/C6nv7jtYF4 April 14, 2026 NymVPN has been boosting its censorship-resistant features lately, too. Harry Halpin, NymVPN's CEO, told TechRadar:

"We work under some circumstances, such as deep packet inspection , where the regime tries to block based on looking at known traffic types like Wireguard
, as we can disguise our VPN traffic like normal website traffic."

Yet, Halpin pointed out that running a VPN won't be possible "when the regime moves to a 'whitelist' where only allowed websites work, or if the entire internet is shut. How to evade VPN detection Sak from Windscribe recommends connecting with one of the provider's obfuscated VPN protocols , such as its AmneziaWG integration, Stealth, or WStunnel.

"Standard WireGuard or OpenVPN is trivially detected by DPI. You need something that disguises the traffic," said Sak, while adding that " Router-level VPN setups are also worth considering."

Banzaev from Amnezia VPN advises both users of the self-hosted VPN, Premium, and Free apps to enable split tunnelling . Authorities themselves have, in fact, identified both split tunneling and router VPNs among the challenges to VPN detection .

"For users of Amnezia Free and Premium, the option to enable automatic split tunneling will also be introduced, and protection against the detection of
our VPN servers by such methods will be implemented," Banzaev added. Some other advice: stock up on several VPNs/proxies in advance, help your friends and family do the same, and avoid using Russian apps while connected to a VPN (they are reporting your VPNs to authorities for blocking). April 11, 2026 Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, is also urging people in Russia to " stock up on several VPNs " as the messaging platform deploys new technology to combat the government-imposed ban. In our best free VPN guide, you can find all the most secure free products to do so without breaking your bank.

That's crucial because this allows you to hop from one app to another in case of disruptions. As Sak from Windscribe put it "no single approach is guaranteed to work forever."

Halpin from NymVPN also expects greater restrictions on official app stores. To bypass any potential blocks in downloading the app, he then suggests sideloading the APK for the Nym app and installing Graphene with F-droid as
an alternative app store.

RKS Global experts also recommend using separate devices whenever possible to minimize the chances of Russian application monitoring on-device VPN levels. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/detect-block-evade-how-to-s urvive-russias-vpn-crackdown


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