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Russia has begun using a new mechanism to restrict access to websites, according to a report by the independent project Na Svyazi (lit. “In Touch”), which tracks internet connectivity amid government blocking efforts and produces its own “VPN rating.” The activists have recorded disruptions in access to YouTube, linking the problem to Russia’s National Domain Name System — better known by its acronym NSDI (НСДИ) — a structure created as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to develop a so-called “sovereign internet.”
As web addresses are removed from the NSDI, Russians across the country experience disruptions in access to a number of sites and platforms. For them, the resources effectively “disappear,” even though they still remain accessible for customers of telecom operators that do not have the NSDI installed as their DNS provider. Na Svyazi told The Insider that the service disruptions are the direct result of Russian state regulator Roskomnadzor deliberately removing the addresses from the system, as opposed to an accidental outage.
What the NSDI is and why it matters
The National Domain Name System is a government-backed online infrastructure project created under Russia’s “sovereign internet” law. It mirrors the global Domain Name System (DNS), the mechanism that matches website domain names to their IP addresses, thereby enabling a user’s device to connect to the proper server.
Outside Russia, DNS records are created by domain owners and are distributed through an international system of registries and providers. Under Russian law, however, telecom operators are required to use the NSDI as the source of data on domain names.
That means if a record for a particular site is changed or removed in the NSDI, providers will pass that information on to users, even if it differs from the global DNS system. As a result, a site can “disappear” for users in Russia even if it continues to work in the worldwide DNS system.
In practice, the NSDI gives the regulator the means to exercise centralized control over which addresses “exist” for users inside the country.
Which addresses were removed from the NSDI
Out of 50 websites checked by Na Svyazi, 13 had no entries in the NSDI, meaning Russian users whose providers rely on the system cannot access those resources. The list includes sites that are not officially blocked in Russia, but which have been slowed. No such disruptions were observed when using alternative DNS providers.
Among the domains tested by Na Svyazi that return an “unresolved” status through the NSDI were:
- www.youtube.com
- www.web.whatsapp.com
- www.windscribe.com
- www.apkmirror.com
- www.bbc.com
- www.currenttime.tv
- www.dw.com
- www.facebook.com
- www.instagram.com
- www.messenger.com
- www.svoboda.org
- www.themoscowtimes.com
- www.torproject.org
When users try to open the above websites, the browser responds with a DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error, which means that the domain name does not exist. In effect, the IP addresses for these resources have been manually removed from the NSDI directory.
Experts say this is an example of so-called DNS tampering — interference in the domain name system through deletion of records. The method had previously been used selectively, for example during the blocking of Discord and Signal in 2024. This, however, is the first time a mass removal has been recorded.
For now, the issue affects the NSDI specifically, while other DNS providers continue to function normally. At present, the use of VPNs helps bypass the restrictions.
As of the time of publication, there had been no official comments from Russian authorities or NSDI representatives regarding the situation.
“Slowing down” Telegram
Earlier this week, hundreds of users in Russia began complaining about disruptions to the popular messaging app Telegram. On Feb. 10, business publication RBC reported that Roskomnadzor would begin work on “slowing” Telegram starting from that date, and the agency’s press service later confirmed the move, claiming that the step-by-step restrictions were aimed at “securing compliance with Russian law and ensuring the protection of citizens.”
Actual restrictions had been introduced before, but authorities previously cited technical problems as being behind the disruptions, Na Svyazi explained.
The first signs of tighter controls appeared in January 2024, when the so-called anti-messenger regime was introduced in Russia’s Far East. In August of that year, restrictions were applied during a hostage-taking incident in a Volgograd prison. In the fall of 2024, problems with access to Telegram were reported in Dagestan and Chechnya, followed in March 2025 by an official acknowledgment of blocking efforts at the regional level.
In August 2025, the audio and video call features in Telegram and WhatsApp were blocked, and in October, the first major wave of traffic throttling hit, with users reporting problems sending media files and text messages. After that, restrictions began to recur about twice a month. Around the same period, SMS authorization in messengers was blocked. In November 2025, Roskomnadzor acknowledged it was blocking WhatsApp.
In January 2026, speculation emerged that Telegram was being restricted using a so-called YouTube-style scheme, meaning the limitations are expected to be introduced gradually: first, partial limits or test “waves” in specific regions, then, after the mechanism is refined, the measures will expand nationwide and become permanent.