In November 2017, the Russian government passed a law banning the use of VPNs, Tor, and proxies to access unauthorized content. Since that time, it has been used to restrict specific VPN services.
The ban targets VPN providers who refuse to submit data to the Russian government. The threat of bans came in 2019. Two waves of bans followed in 2021, covering 15 VPNs. Only one Russia-based provider is known to have complied with the rules.