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Report: Russia’s Gosuslugi government portal blocks access for users with VPN enabled

Source: Verstka

Russia’s Gosuslugi government services portal has blocked access for users inside Russia who have a VPN enabled, the independent Russian news outlet Verstka reported on April 16.

Users of both the app and the website see a message that reads: “To ensure the app works correctly, please disable your VPN. Access has been restricted for security reasons.”

Users outside Russia can still access the Gosuslugi website with a VPN enabled. The same pattern — in which users abroad with VPNs could reach sites that had restricted access for Russian users with circumvention tools active — had been observed previously as well.

In late March, the Digital Development Ministry demanded that major platforms restrict the ability of users to access their services via VPN, threatening to remove any that refused from “white lists.” In early April, Izvestia reported that major online marketplaces had begun blocking access for users with VPNs. By mid-April, users in Russia found that other services — including Yandex, VK, and banking apps — had also stopped working with a VPN enabled.

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