The publication analyzed the register maintained by the "Roskomsvoboda" project and discovered that last year access to a total of 523 thousand websites was restricted, although 106 thousand of them were later unblocked.
According to "Roskomsvoboda," a record number of blocks was set in 2023 — during that year, authorities restricted access to approximately 571 thousand websites, but ultimately only around 197 thousand remained under restrictions.
The Federal Tax Service blocked the highest number of resources last year — by the beginning of 2025, its list included 142 thousand blocked websites. Previously, it also held the top position for blocks, but the gap from other agencies was significantly larger.
In second place was Roskomnadzor, which restricted access to over 132 thousand websites. The third position was occupied by the "Unspecified Government Agency," which has 62 thousand blocked resources in its registry. The Moscow City Court and other courts collectively limited access to more than 60 thousand websites, as noted in the publication by "Vёрстка."
Since 2022, the focus of judicial blocks has expanded. Previously, the primary targets were websites featuring pornography and gambling, but now the list has also included resources related to so-called discrediting and fake information about the Russian army.
In 2023, Roskomnadzor blocked Signal, Discord, and Viber, slowed down YouTube, and prohibited over 800 tools for bypassing restrictions, including the removal of hundreds of applications from the App Store.
From June to September 2024, Apple removed about 60 VPN services, with their total number exceeding a hundred. For instance, the Amnezia VPN application was deleted from the Russian App Store just three hours after Roskomnadzor's request. In October-November, the applications of Radio Free Europe and its projects — Siberia.Reality and North.Reality — were removed. Applications from the BBC, Meduza, "Dozhd," and other independent media are also at risk.
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