'VPNs have adapted': How BlancVPN and VPN Liberty are dodging Russia's VPN blocking technology to allow Russians access to Telegram without losing everyday services

Date:
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:30:09 +0000

Description:
While the Kremlin's fight against VPN usage reached new heights, the tech seems to keep outsmarting the politics for now, at least. And these are the best performing VPNs in Russia right now.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter As Russia continues to crack down on VPN usage, some censorship-resistant providers seem to be resisting the latest wave of restrictions.

In a post on X shared on Monday (April 27), Maxim Katz, a prominent Russian opposition figure who tracks VPN connectivity in the region, recorded that
the most popular VPN services in Russia "are working just fine overall," arguing that "VPNs have adapted." As per the latest data , BlancVPN and VPN Liberty are the VPNs performing best, both on home Wi-Fi routers and mobile connections. You may like Detect, block, evade: how to survive Russias VPN crackdown Best Russia VPNs Russia's major internet services instructed on how to detect VPNs Katz launched its "VPN Traffic Light" project on March 18, 2026, to help residents track daily performances of popular VPN apps in the region and choose the most reliable services. Something that Katz deems "complicated" for people right now. "Even good VPNs sometimes don't work well in Russia," he told TechRadar. The Kremlin blocked the website less than a month after its creation, on April 9. Despite this, Katz assures TechRadar that visitors from Russia have never been higher. "In Russia, everyone knows how to go through these blockages," he added. While VPN performance changes daily, Katz's announcement likely comes as a relief for Russia's residents.
As the internet gets more censored, VPNs have indeed become a lifeline for people in the country. Most recently, Russians were forced to use VPNs to access Telegram, the latest social media to be restricted by Roskomnadzor, Russia's censorship agency.

Authorities are working hard to reverse this trend of circumvention but the tech seems to continue outsmarting the politics. How are VPN adapting Most Western VPNs are well-known for not working in Russia. TunnelBear , for example, is consistently flagged as "not working" across all types of
internet connections on Katz's list.

According to Katz, this is because Russia isn't the main market for
mainstream services; hence, many of these don't usually focus their resources on keeping up with the constant changes in Russian censors' detection and blocking techniques. What to read next Telegram CEO condemns new restrictions in Russia as citizens turn to VPNs to bypass the blocks Telegram CEO urges Russians to 'stock up' on VPNs as the platform gets an anti-censorship boost 'Switch to MAX, by any means necessary' Inside Russias great internet crackdown

"For this reason, the most popular VPN in Russia are made by Russians living abroad. And these VPNs work specifically in making the internet work for Russians," Katz told TechRadar. https://t.co/h0mqBIAHep pic.twitter.com/jAChvkKoWw April 27, 2026 BlancVPN , the company explains on its website, is a project launched in 2018 as a "Telegram proxy solution" to protect freedom of speech in countries such as Russia and Iran, where
Telegram faces restrictions.

Over the years, the team has been working on its censorship-resistant abilities. In 2021, for example, it added support for the Outline protocol and, two years later, also for the open-source obfuscated V2Ray proxy.

Now, in its latest Android update released on April 14, BlancVPN added new features designed to evade the ongoing Russian blocks.

These include two specialized VPN protocols (Xray and Xray Extra) and a "Disable VPN for Russian services" option to let users open local banking apps, marketplaces, and government sites without a VPN. Similar tools landed on iOS on April 15.

Through its Telegram channel , Armenia-based VPN Liberty is also constantly offering guidance and new tools to help Russian residents navigate the complicated online landscape.

The latest round of releases was rolled out today (April 29) and includes an upgrade to its current solution against what's known as 'whitelisting . '
That refers to a more disruptive censorship technique that blocks content, communication, or internet access by default. The improved version is now
live on Android, with iOS support still in development.

Similar to BlancVPN, VPN Liberty also added a new way to exclude Russian websites from the VPN tunnel, without the need for manual configuration.

Even good VPNs sometimes don't work well in Russia Maxim Katz AmneziaVPN, a provider we often see to be reliable in Russia, appears to be working only on certain mobile connections as of today. When we checked on Tuesday (April
28), Katz's data flagged it as "partially working."

That said, the team at AmneziaVPN is also constantly boosting its censorship-resistant features.

At the end of March, for example, it released a more powerful version of its flagship stealth protocol, AmneziaWG , exactly to keep the internet
accessible in highly censored regions.

We have contacted AmneziaVPN for comments, and we will update the page as
more information becomes available.

That said, these constant changes in VPN connectivity levels are a stark reminder that no solution is guaranteed to work forever. Exactly the reason why Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, urges people in the country to " stock up on VPNs ." A political shift As more people turn to VPN services Novaya Gazeta reported that VPN downloads are 14 times higher than last year the Kremlin has been doubling down on its crackdown, as hard as ever before.

At the end of March, Russia's Minister of Digital Development, Maksut
Shadaev, announced a new plan to " reduce VPN usage ." This includes new blocking obligations for Russian internet service providers and even some
fees for VPN users.

Starting April 15, major providers are required to actively detect and block VPNs to avoid having their IT accreditation revoked. The introduction of VPN fees , however, has been delayed for alleged "technical hurdles."

Earlier this week, local news outlet Meduza reported that Shadaev claimed
that VPN blocking is necessary to protect Russians' personal data. Another report cites the Head of Russias Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Valery Fadeyev, deeming VPN use as "something unnatural."

A recent State Duma proposal is also considering creating a 'whitelist' of approved VPNs to minimize inconvenience for citizens and businesses who rely on stable internet connections for work.

The Kremlin's fight against VPN usage has officially entered a new phase.
Yet, Katz remains hopeful that the tech would remain stronger than the politics.

"The VPN industry is a rich and profitable business that hires the best technical people to fight Roskomnadzor," Katz told TechRadar, arguing that "nobody wants to work" for Roskomnadzor. "They can hire somebody, but the level of their side remains lower than the level of our side," he added.

A constant cat-and-mouse game, then, that for now, at least the VPN
industry seems to keep finding ways to remain a step ahead. Today's best VPN deals NordVPN 2 Year 2.59 /mth View +3 months free Surfshark 24 Months 1.49 /mth View Proton VPN 24 Month 2.39 /mth View +4 MONTHS FREE ExpressVPN 24 month 1.99 /mth View We check over 250 million products every day for the
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/vpns-have-adapted-how-blanc vpn-and-vpn-liberty-are-dodging-russias-vpn-blocking-technology-to-allow-russi ans-access-to-telegram-without-losing-everyday-services


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