Russians are flocking to VPNs as Putin closes off the Russian internet in a crackdown against dissent

According to multiple media reports and analyses, Russians are flocking to online tools that help them skirt internet restrictions as the Kremlin began blocking or limiting access to foreign platforms and social media sites.

According to data from Top10VPN, demand for virtual private networks, or VPNs, has increased in Russia in the weeks after President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation into Ukraine. Over the previous 30 days, Top10VPN reported that search traffic around the term "VPN" jumped by 1,092%.

Russian authorities have banned 200 websites, including the Russian-language versions of the British Broadcasting Corp., the German outletDeutsche Welle, and a plethora of Ukrainian news sites.

The war in Ukraine has caused the Kremlin to crack down on dissent.

On Saturday, Russia blocked both social networking sites. The Russian government signed a new law that punishes anyone spreading false information about its assault on Ukraine with up to 15 years in prison.

As Russia cuts its access to these sites, other platforms such as TikTok, Amazon, and Netflix have voluntarily withdrawn their services from the country in line with heavy sanctions imposed by the West.

Downloads for the top 10 VPNs in Russia increased by 4,375% from an average of 16,000 per day to more than 700,000 daily since February 24, according to analysis website AppFigures.

In the 10 days between February 24 and March 5, 4,600,000 new downloads were made for the top 10 VPNs on the App Store and on Google Play. The website wrote that their estimates are very conservative.

The company Vice President Harold Li said that ExpressVPN has seen a 330% increase in traffic from Russia on its website.

Surfshark's average weekly sales have increased by 35 times since the invasion began.

The last time we saw an increase in sales was when China passed the Hong Kong Security Law in May 2020.

As of Wednesday evening, the social media platform has included the onion network on its list of supported browsers, two days after it said it was working to restore access to its services in Russia.

It is possible to break through a country's internet restrictions with the help of a program called "tor". The browser is a software that allows access to the "Dark Web" or hidden sites that are often used for illegal purposes and the black market.