This is a list of notable websites that have been blocked or censored in Russia, including current and past blocks. The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has maintained an official mandatory list since 2012. Websites can be blocked for obtaining child pornography, materials advocating drug abuse and drug production, items on the Federal List of Extremist Materials, [1] [2] violations of data retention and surveillance laws[ citation needed ] or about fake information of war or invasion of Ukraine.
A number of websites that maintain lists of banned websites are currently blocked in Russia, based on different sources of information. [3] [4]
The Russian Wikipedia is the Russian-language edition of Wikipedia. As of November 2024, it has 2,012,613 articles. It was started on 11 May 2001. In October 2015, it became the sixth-largest Wikipedia by the number of articles. It has the sixth-largest number of edits (142 million). In June 2020, it was the world's sixth most visited language Wikipedia. As of September 2024, it is the third most viewed Wikipedia, after the English and Japanese editions.
The current government of Russia maintains laws and practices that make it difficult for directors of mass-media outlets to carry out independent policies. These laws and practices also hinder the ability of journalists to access sources of information and to work without outside pressure. Media inside Russia includes television and radio channels, periodicals, and Internet media, which according to the laws of the Russian Federation may be either state or private property.
Lenta.ru is a Russian-language online newspaper. Based in Moscow, it is owned by Rambler Media Group. In 2013, the Alexander Mamut-owned companies "SUP Media" and "Rambler-Afisha" merged to form "Afisha.Rambler.SUP", which owns Lenta.ru. The online newspaper is one of the most popular Russian language online resources with over 600 thousand visitors daily.
Censorship of video-sharing platform YouTube occurs to varying degrees in many countries.
Odnoklassniki, abbreviated as OK or OK.ru, is a social networking service primarily in Russia and former Soviet Republics. The site was launched on March 4, 2006 by Albert Popkov and is currently owned by VK.
VK is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predominantly used by Russian speakers. VK users can message each other publicly or privately, edit these messages, create groups, public pages, and events; share and tag images, audio, and video; and play browser-based games.
The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as Roskomnadzor (RKN), is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring Russian mass media. Its areas of responsibility include electronic media, mass communications, information technology and telecommunications, supervising compliance with the law, protecting the confidentiality of personal data being processed, and organizing the work of the radio-frequency service.
Lurkmore or Lurkomorye was an informal Russian-language MediaWiki-powered online encyclopedia, based on the English-wiki website lurkmore.com, focusing on Internet subcultures, folklore, and memes. As of December 17, 2019, Lurkmore contained over 9000 articles. It was one of the most popular humor and internet meme-related websites of the Russian internet.
Censorship of Wikipedia by governments has occurred widely in countries including China, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela. Some instances are examples of widespread Internet censorship in general that includes Wikipedia content. Others are indicative of measures to prevent the viewing of specific content deemed offensive. The duration of different blocks has varied from hours to years.
Tbilisis Forumi is the largest and one of the oldest Georgian general-purpose internet forums. It was launched in 2001 by Temur Khaindrava. In 2004, the administration changed the engine from vBulletin into IPB; At that time the website was visited about 50-100 users each day. In 2007 Tbilisis Forumi became the most popular internet-forum in Georgia, having nearly thousand registered users logged in every day. As of 4 May 2018, the website claims to have 158,220 users and 49,640,102 posts. There are some users of social prominence. Some members were involved in social activities.
In Russia, internet censorship is enforced on the basis of several laws and through several mechanisms. Since 2012, Russia maintains a centralized internet blacklist maintained by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).
Librusec is a library internet portal, the owner of which, Ilja Larin, lives in Ecuador. Most of the content is in the Russian language, but the collection also has significant material in Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, German, French, Spanish and other languages. According to the rules of the library, Librusec calls itself a pirate library, opposes copyright laws and claims to operate under the laws of Ecuador. Users are asked to refrain from using it if it is illegal in their countries.
archive.today is a web archiving website founded in 2012 that saves snapshots on demand, and has support for JavaScript-heavy sites such as Google Maps and X. archive.today records two snapshots: one replicates the original webpage including any functional live links; the other is a screenshot of the page.
GitHub has been the target of censorship from governments using methods ranging from local Internet service provider blocks, intermediary blocking using methods such as DNS hijacking and man-in-the-middle attacks, and denial-of-service attacks on GitHub's servers from countries including China, India, Iraq, Russia, and Turkey. In all of these cases, GitHub has been eventually unblocked after backlash from users and technology businesses or compliance from GitHub.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zharov is a Russian politician. He served as head of Roskomnadzor from 2012 to 2020.
Maxim Ksenzov is a Russian statesman, Actual State Councillor of Russian Federation, 3rd class, and President of the Moscow Handball Federation.
The free online encyclopedia Wikipedia was briefly blocked in Russia in August 2015. Some articles of Wikipedia were included into various censorship lists disseminated by the government. Further threats to block were made following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The blocking of Meta Platforms in Russia is the process of blocking access and subsequent banning of Meta Platforms' social networks in Russia due to allowing Facebook and Instagram users to wish the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, as well as to call for violence against Russian servicemen participating in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Debri-DV is a Russian electronic periodical specializing in analytical information on the Far Eastern Federal District. It was registered as a media outlet in 2011 and has been operating as an electronic archive since 2006. The editorial office is located in Khabarovsk.