By Murad Rakhimov | 2026-04-06

Russia is building a wall around its internet -- and unlike most government reforms, this one launched before anyone announced it.

By March 13, 2026, Forbes reporters at three separate locations in central Moscow confirmed that a "white list" system, restricting access to only state-approved websites, was already operational. An employee at one provider confirmed the same. The Kremlin had set 2030 as the target year for a "sovereign" internet. It arrived four years early, without public debate, and without warning.

State Duma Information Policy Committee Vice Chairman Andrey Svintsov announced the formal measure on March 12, saying approved lists would include banking apps, marketplaces, mobile carrier platforms, email services, and even cash registers.

"Over a fairly short period -- I hope within two to three weeks -- these lists will be analyzed and all routing will be established," he said.

By that date, the system had already gone live in 68 to 71 Russian regions.

What gets through

While no complete white list has been officially published, statements from the Ministry of Digital Development, provider data, and media reports outline its shape.

Federal and official portals lead the list: Gosuslugi, the websites of the president and his administration, the State Duma, the Federation Council, ministries, and state agencies. The list also covers the remote electronic voting platform and regional government websites.

Business resources include remote auditing applications, online financial tools, banks, and stock exchanges. Approved telecom operators and the MAX messaging platform make the cut, along with censored social networks, pro-Kremlin media outlets, and select ride-hailing, delivery, and entertainment services -- provided those platforms have purged content deemed inconsistent with "traditional values" or Kremlin policy.

What does not make the list: independent media, platforms that refuse to hand over user data to state agencies, and any service with unmoderated messaging capabilities, including in-game chats.

A kill switch, not an upgrade

Prominent YouTuber Ulugbek Ashur told Kontur the transition represents a new stage in institutionalizing digital censorship, not a technical upgrade.

"While the official narrative focuses on 'enhancing security' and 'user protection,' in practice, this model gives the state total control over what information citizens can access," he said.

Ashur noted the gap between the official rollout timeline and what was already deployed on the ground. The infrastructure existed before the public announcement -- a pattern, he said, that is deliberate.

"This is typical practice for the Kremlin: first, they create the technical capacity for control, and then they legalize it retroactively."

Political analyst Anvar Nazirov told Kontur the white list system marks another step toward making Russia resemble North Korea or Iran. He said Russian regions are competing to exceed blocking quotas to impress the central government -- behavior he compares to the Stalin era, when Soviet republics competed to compile the longest lists of enemies of the people.

"This follows the typical logic of a totalitarian regime. We are witnessing the modern Putin regime gradually reformatting itself into a full-blown, old-school Stalinist one," Nazirov said.

Kazakh expert Galym Ageleuov told Kontur the consequences will reach beyond the internet.

"Everyone earning a living through social media will suffer heavy losses. The authorities will use their own marketplaces to monitor every purchase. Civil society will die," he said.

He warned that the fear of committing a "thoughtcrime" -- a reference to George Orwell's 1984 -- will produce total self-censorship and allow disinformation to dominate.

Businesses left outside the wall

Russian human rights activist and blogger Alexander Kim told Kontur the primary targets are platforms hosting large volumes of uncensored Russian-language content. But the economic damage will extend to businesses cut off from essential tools and trading platforms.

Nazirov said the new system will sever Russian companies from markets within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and BRICS -- leaving the country in deeper isolation than its current sanctions exposure.

"Has anyone ever heard of a North Korean business on the world stage? Of course not. Russian business will vanish in exactly the same way," he said.

The white list system took shape against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine. Muscovites began reporting mobile internet and connection problems on March 6, after authorities instructed telecom operators to restrict mobile internet access in certain city areas. The white list activation followed within a week.

Access to information, Ashur said, has become a state-regulated privilege.