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Expanding Freedom and Democracy
Freedom on the Net 2026

Russia

Not Free
16
100
A Obstacles to Access 10 25
B Limits on Content 3 35
C Violations of User Rights 3 40
Last Year's Score & Status
17 100 Not Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
Russia_hero

header1 Overview

Internet freedom in Russia hit a new low as authorities ramped up efforts to isolate the population from the global internet. In February 2026, President Vladimir Putin approved legal changes that allow the Federal Security Service (FSB) to demand that providers of cellular and landline internet service turn off or restrict access for users based solely on presidential decrees.1 Throughout the coverage period, mobile internet was disrupted and shut down across entire regions, most notably in Moscow and St. Petersburg.2 Roskomnadzor, the state communications regulator, continued to block websites as well as targeting end-to-end encrypted messaging applications and some of the remaining foreign platforms that host user-generated content.3 A new law punishing intentional searches for broadly defined “extremist material” was enacted during the coverage period, alongside another law that lists using virtual private networks (VPNs) as an aggravating circumstance during the commission of some crimes.4 People who criticized the Kremlin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine that had begun in 2022, and the government more broadly, continued to receive long prison sentences.5

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2026. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource. For additional information, see the 2024 full report and 2025 abridged report.

A Obstacles to Access

A1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? 6.006 6.006

Score Change: The score improved from 5 to 6 because infrastructure-related outages did not restrict access to the internet, as they had in the previous coverage period.

A2 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? 2.002 3.003
A3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? 1.001 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 2 to 1 because the government periodically restricted or shut down access to mobile internet across at least 38 regions during the coverage period.1

A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 1.001 6.006
A5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers, digital platforms, and the internet more broadly fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? 0.000 4.004

B Limits on Content

B1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 0.000 6.006
B2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, digital platforms, content hosts, or other intermediaries to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 0.000 4.004
B3 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? 0.000 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do journalists, commentators, and ordinary people practice self-censorship online? 1.001 4.004
B5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a favored interest? 0.000 4.004
B6 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are there economic, regulatory, or other constraints that negatively affect individuals’ ability to publish content online? 0.000 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 0.000 4.004

Score Change: The score declined from 1 to 0 due to the government blocking access to a record number of websites1 and the country’s most popular messaging app, Telegram,2 as well as authorities’ escalating efforts to disrupt VPN use in order to prevent users from circumventing censorship,3 all of which severely degraded the diversity of online information available to Russians.

B8 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do conditions impede individuals’ ability to form communities, mobilize, and campaign online, particularly on political and social issues? 2.002 6.006

C Violations of User Rights

C1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? 0.000 6.006
C2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are there laws that assign criminal penalties or civil liability for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 0.000 4.004
C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 1.001 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous online communication or encryption? 0.000 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on individuals’ right to privacy? 1.001 6.006
C6 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on individuals’ right to privacy? 0.000 6.006
C7 1.00-5.00 pts0-5 pts
Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? 1.001 5.005
C8 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individuals subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? 0.000 3.003

On Russia

See all data, scores & information on this country or territory.

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Country Facts

  • Population

    144,200,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    12 100 not free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    16 100 not free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Not Free