March 30, 2026

Russia Plans to Introduce Fees for VPN Services — Forbes

On March 28, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, at a meeting with representatives of the 'big four' operators, urged them to introduce fees for using VPN services. Forbes reports this, citing sources. This information is confirmed by RBC interlocutors. According to the publication, Shadayev proposed introducing a fee for the use of more than 15 GB of international traffic per month on mobile networks. One of Forbes' sources claims that the innovations may come into effect by May 1. Additionally, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development urged digital platforms VK, Ozon, Avito, Wildberries, Yandex, and others not to allow clients accessing their sites via VPN. According to a Forbes interlocutor, Shadayev also did not rule out the possibility of introducing administrative liability for using blocking circumvention tools, expressing hope that this could be avoided. Sources of the publication suggest that the Ministry of Digital Development's initiative stems from a closed directive from Vladimir Putin. Earlier, RBC reported that Shadayev instructed mobile operators to prohibit Russians from topping up their Apple ID balance from their mobile phone accounts, citing the need to prevent payments for VPN services as one of the reasons.