A new Russian law – which came into effect in September – punishes online searches for what the government labels ‘extremist content’. But while the Kremlin has published a list of more than 5,000 banned websites, there’s still little clarity surrounding the law’s implementation and what makes the designated content ‘extremist’. As a result, there are widespread fears that the law could be used to further silence government critics, particularly those commentating on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The fines imposed on individuals searching for ‘extremist content’ range from RUB 3,000 to RUB 5,000 – equivalent to between $38 and $54 – and are enough to act as a serious deterrent, says Arapova. It’s an attempt to ensure that Russian citizens ‘pay a high price for reading independent media,’ she says, ‘or at least make them afraid to search for something which could be considered extremist content.’

The legislation also introduces new penalties for violating state rules on virtual private networks (VPNs), which remain the most popular way for Russian citizens to circumvent state-imposed internet restrictions. Although using a VPN is not illegal, individuals, officials and organisations now face steep fines for advertising them – and the use of such a network could be treated as an aggravating factor in criminal cases.

Arapova is particularly concerned that the government’s list of ‘extremist’ individuals extends to leading independent, influential voices such as exiled activist Maxim Katz and journalist Dmitry Kolezev. The regulation aims ‘to censor and isolate Russian citizens from independent sources of information, from Russian exiled media and international discourse on what is going on in the outside world and about the war in Ukraine,’ says Arapova.

Mark Stephens, Co-Chair of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute, agrees that the continual loosening of definitions around notions such as ‘extremism’ by the Russian authorities has given them licence to further cut the country’s citizens off from the rest of the world. ‘The idea is to increasingly isolate the Russian populace from global information platforms because that way they don’t get an alternative narrative,’ he says.

Stephens, who’s a media law specialist at Howard Kennedy in London, also highlights the rollout in September of the state-backed Max app, which allows users to send messages and access social networks, make audio and video calls and transfer money. There are also ambitious plans to expand the app’s capabilities to allow users to access government, banking and commercial services in the future.

Stephens says Max, which must now be pre-installed on all new smartphone devices sold in Russia, is probably a response to criticism on other platforms about the war in Ukraine. But he’s most concerned about the lack of security surrounding the app, which has been dubbed Russia’s equivalent to China’s WeChat owing to its lack of end-to-end encryption – although the Kremlin denies it’s a spy app. ‘They are stifling dissent, putting technical barriers up to prevent people having information and encouraging people to move […] to these more domestic alternatives, which have vulnerabilities,’ says Stephens.

Although national ID has been required to buy SIM cards – chips that authenticate the user’s identity with a mobile network provider – in Russia for decades, in September it became illegal for users to share a SIM with anyone other than a close relative. Max also requires users to register their ID, giving the authorities instant access to the personal information of users, including chat logs, contacts, photos and location data. Since Max’s rollout, users have also reported significant disruption to rival foreign messaging apps, including WhatsApp and Telegram.

Meanwhile, in June, US company Cloudflare confirmed that the Russian authorities were ‘systematically throttling traffic to websites and services’, preventing users in the country from accessing websites and services that rely on the platform. Additionally, internet blackouts have been reported on an anecdotal basis across the country. Although the Russian authorities say the enforced shutdowns are necessary to protect citizens from Ukrainian drone attacks, there are reports of mobile internet blackouts lasting for days and even weeks in areas far removed from the fighting, such as in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. 

Russia has heavily integrated digital services into every aspect of its economy as it aims to establish a form of digital sovereignty akin to that of China, but the Kremlin faces growing opposition to its attempts to crack down on digital freedoms. ‘In Russia, there is a generation of young people who can’t even imagine living without the internet,’ says Arapova. ‘Now when they are outside their house they cannot use [the] mobile internet, they cannot call for a taxi and online payments are seriously disrupted – sometimes even impossible.’

She believes that growing frustration with the shutdowns could mark a tipping point. ‘This really is a new moment and a point of serious stress for society. The authorities are playing tough, but this actually might be something that people will not tolerate,’ says Arapova, highlighting that ‘it’s about everyday life.’

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