Wasn't it the West who supported the Putin's criminal regime from the beginning?
Now Russia is on the best way to became Gulag 2.0
Either are Russians absolutely dumb or severely mentally ill, but it's difficult to understand why they still support the Lenin-Trotzki-KGB regime in Kremlin?
The Russian authorities’ attempts to stifle internet freedom and further isolate the country from the rest of the world appear to be ramping up in the second year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Over the course of the thirteen months since President Vladimir Putin launched his so-called "Special Military Operation", Russia's digital censor, Roskomnadzor, has implemented a widespread clampdown on scores of websites. The blacklist includes popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, alongside human rights websites and news media outlets such as the BBC, the Voice of America and Meduza. Almost all of these decisions are directly linked to dissent and criticism of the government’s decision to invade Ukraine.
In addition, more than 10,000 websites have been blocked for allegedly distributing materials that “discredit the Russian armed forces.” The blocks are ordered by the country's Prosecutor General's Office, which holds the power to unilaterally suppress large sections of the internet without the need for court approval, often resulting in sweeping, mass-blocking of sites. On one occasion, a single decision resulted in the blocking of over 6,000 URLs accused of spreading fake news about the military.
In an attempt to get around the ever-increasing restrictions, Russians have increasingly turned to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), technology that allows the user to access a website by re-routing the connection through servers located abroad, granting unfettered access to the internet and bypassing government bans.
According to the latest data from the VPN Adoption Index by Atlas VPN, downloads in Russia have experienced a significant upswing, increasing from 12.59mn in 2021 to 33.54mn in 2022. In 2022, the first year of the invasion, approximately 25% of the Russian population installed VPNs on their devices, making Russia the eighth most popular country for VPN usage worldwide.
The growth in VPN usage among the Russian populace has even spread to less internet-savvy demographics. What was once used almost exclusively by the younger, internet-literate generation has now spread much wider. Before the war, these services were primarily used by tourists, expats and those seeking to watch foreign versions of Netflix. Nowadays, millions of Russians are now turning to VPNs just to see photos of their friends on Instagram.
The rapid rise in popularity of VPNs has now evolved into an ongoing technological game of whack-a-mole between the Russian government and VPN companies. Instead of accepting defeat when targeted by authoritarian states, these companies have started actively developing strategies to bypass the restrictions on internet freedom imposed by the government, including setting up new servers and working on more advanced protocols. These efforts have been especially notable from VPN providers that have been singled out and banned by the Russian authorities, like ExpressVPN.
In September 2022, several of the most widely used VPN services, including ExpressVPN, were officially blocked. Despite this, ExpressVPN and most other VPNs remained fully functional until February 2023, without any significant interruptions. The situation has now changed significantly. In recent weeks, Russian users have taken to social media to complain that many of the country’s most popular VPNs no longer work on mobile internet connections provided by MTS, Megafon, Tele2, as well as several home internet providers, suggesting that Moscow’s clampdown has ramped up. These same complaints have also been shared by numerous foreign correspondents and expatriates living and working in Russia.
ExpressVPN itself has also reported that operating in Russia has become harder than ever before.
www.intellinews.com
Now Russia is on the best way to became Gulag 2.0
Either are Russians absolutely dumb or severely mentally ill, but it's difficult to understand why they still support the Lenin-Trotzki-KGB regime in Kremlin?
The Russian authorities’ attempts to stifle internet freedom and further isolate the country from the rest of the world appear to be ramping up in the second year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Over the course of the thirteen months since President Vladimir Putin launched his so-called "Special Military Operation", Russia's digital censor, Roskomnadzor, has implemented a widespread clampdown on scores of websites. The blacklist includes popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, alongside human rights websites and news media outlets such as the BBC, the Voice of America and Meduza. Almost all of these decisions are directly linked to dissent and criticism of the government’s decision to invade Ukraine.
In addition, more than 10,000 websites have been blocked for allegedly distributing materials that “discredit the Russian armed forces.” The blocks are ordered by the country's Prosecutor General's Office, which holds the power to unilaterally suppress large sections of the internet without the need for court approval, often resulting in sweeping, mass-blocking of sites. On one occasion, a single decision resulted in the blocking of over 6,000 URLs accused of spreading fake news about the military.
In an attempt to get around the ever-increasing restrictions, Russians have increasingly turned to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), technology that allows the user to access a website by re-routing the connection through servers located abroad, granting unfettered access to the internet and bypassing government bans.
According to the latest data from the VPN Adoption Index by Atlas VPN, downloads in Russia have experienced a significant upswing, increasing from 12.59mn in 2021 to 33.54mn in 2022. In 2022, the first year of the invasion, approximately 25% of the Russian population installed VPNs on their devices, making Russia the eighth most popular country for VPN usage worldwide.
The growth in VPN usage among the Russian populace has even spread to less internet-savvy demographics. What was once used almost exclusively by the younger, internet-literate generation has now spread much wider. Before the war, these services were primarily used by tourists, expats and those seeking to watch foreign versions of Netflix. Nowadays, millions of Russians are now turning to VPNs just to see photos of their friends on Instagram.
The rapid rise in popularity of VPNs has now evolved into an ongoing technological game of whack-a-mole between the Russian government and VPN companies. Instead of accepting defeat when targeted by authoritarian states, these companies have started actively developing strategies to bypass the restrictions on internet freedom imposed by the government, including setting up new servers and working on more advanced protocols. These efforts have been especially notable from VPN providers that have been singled out and banned by the Russian authorities, like ExpressVPN.
In September 2022, several of the most widely used VPN services, including ExpressVPN, were officially blocked. Despite this, ExpressVPN and most other VPNs remained fully functional until February 2023, without any significant interruptions. The situation has now changed significantly. In recent weeks, Russian users have taken to social media to complain that many of the country’s most popular VPNs no longer work on mobile internet connections provided by MTS, Megafon, Tele2, as well as several home internet providers, suggesting that Moscow’s clampdown has ramped up. These same complaints have also been shared by numerous foreign correspondents and expatriates living and working in Russia.
ExpressVPN itself has also reported that operating in Russia has become harder than ever before.
Russia cracks down on VPNs as restrictions on internet freedoms continue to increase
The Russian authorities’ attempts to stifle internet freedom and further isolate the country from the rest of the world appear to be ramping up in ...
www.intellinews.com
