YouTube Experiencing Mass Outage in Russia, Now Available Only Through a VPN

• Access to YouTube has been disrupted for more than a month now.
• Reportedly, Russia plans to block YouTube entirely by September.
• A VPN is now the only way to access the streaming site fully.

Internet users in Russia have been reporting problems accessing and streaming YouTube for a while now, blaming the country’s potential block of this Google-owned site. The first official announcement came from Rostelecom in early July, saying that “technical problems in the operation of equipment owned by Google” were to blame.

More precisely, Rostelecom blamed Google for abandoning and neglecting their servers in Russia after withdrawing from the country after the invasion of Ukraine. However, as Russia’s Meduza reported, YouTube’s data transfer speeds have been limited to 128 kilobits per second, making it only possible to listen to audio.

Now, multiple sources are reporting that Google’s streaming platform experienced a mass outage throughout the country on the morning of August 8. This aligns with Meduza’s earlier report that the Russian authorities plan to slow down YouTube and ultimately block it entirely in September, which still hasn’t been officially confirmed.

YouTube, owned by American multinational Google, has had a strenuous relationship with Russia for some time now. In 2022, the streaming platform blocked Kremlin-backed media outlets RT and Sputnik and even terminated the channel of Russia’s lower house of parliament. As a result, the Kremlin responded by accusing YouTube of adhering to an “anti-Russia policy.”

In the meantime, Russian Internet users have started turning to VPN services, even though the Kremlin is trying to suppress those as well. By connecting to a VPN server outside the country, Internet users can obtain a non-Russian IP address. This helps bypass censorship measures and geo-blocks. In other words, a VPN is currently the only way to access YouTube in Russia.

It's worth noting that the Russian VPN ban has been ongoing for several years now. Even though a number of options are still available, the list of fully working VPNs in Russia has been shrinking. If you plan on using one, our strong recommendation is to pick one that with obfuscated servers and advanced anti-censorship measures.