- The Russian Parliament has adopted a law to punish online research for a so-called “extremist” content
- The law also adds new penalties for VPN users, making its use to access extremist content a crime as an aggravating factor
- WhatsApp is the last application that will be prohibited in Russia
Residents of Russia are expected to face new fines to “search or access knowing extremist materials”, including via VPN services.
The Russian Parliament, the Duma of the State, adopted the new law on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, with 306 votes in favor, 67 against, and 22 abstaining – as reported by the independent Russian media MEDUZA.
The law has so far attracted strong criticism, even among the pro-government figures, according to PK Press Club. Digital rights experts also stimulate alarm.
Russia VPN – What changes with the new law?
The fight of the Kremlin against the use of VPN is certainly not new. While more and more people in Russia have turned to the best VPN applications to circumvent the increasingly strict internet censorship, the authorities have done their best to prevent it.
From the deployment of sophisticated VPN blocking techniques in March 2024, the government introduced a law for the first time to criminalize the propagation of information on the means of bypassing internet restrictions.
This is probably the basis that led the infamous Kremlin censorship regulator, Roskomnadzor, to issue requests for the abolition of VPN against the great technology giant. Apple was the most complainant in the lot, killing at least 60 VPN applications, including the popular Russian service Amnezia VPN, from July 2024 alone.
Now the new law introduces additional sanctions for violation of the rules on the use of VPN. This means that advertising VPN services can now cost between 50,000 and 80,000 rubles ($ 640 to $ 1,020). This reaches 80,000 to 150,000 rubles ($ 1,020 to $ 1,900) for civil servants and 200,000 to 500,000 rubles ($ 2,550 to $ 6,380) for legal entities.
As Meduza reported, legislators have also adopted a provision that makes the use of a VPN to access extremist content “a crime as an aggravating factor”.
How does Russia the new law affects VPN users?
According to the Kremlin, the ban on online research of so -called extremist content is an alternative to completely blocking foreign platforms.
“In our understanding, this [the adoption of the bill] Allows us to find a balance: on the one hand, to avoid additional dissemination of extremist materials, [and] On the other hand, refrain from blocking the main Western platforms for the moment, “said the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev – Interfax.
Above all, Shadayev also guarantees that “ordinary users will not be affected”, despite not explaining how.
However, this insurance is not convincing of digital rights experts who are now afraid of high repercussions against dissidents.
Speaking in Moscow Times, the co -founder of the Russian digital defense group Roskomsvoboda, Sarkis Darbinyan said: “If you have a VPN on your phone, this could be enough to trigger a deeper control. Finally, we could see criminal charges for VPN use after one or two warnings – such as the law on foreign agents.”
It should also be mentioned that the very popular WhatsApp application is now likely to be limited in Russia.
