The Best Free & Premium VPNs for Russia

Analysis of the Best Russia VPNs

1. 1. Astrill VPN: Best VPN for Russia

   A reliable anti-censorship VPN with obfuscation, and servers in both Russia and Eastern Europe.

   Ranked #1 out of 55 VPNs for Russia

   

    Rated 0 out of 5 

   No user reviews

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   Pros

   • Proprietary Stealth VPN protocol
   • VPN servers in Russia
   • Nearby servers in Eastern Europe
   • Kill switch & no IP, DNS, WebRTC leaks
   • Privacy-friendly jurisdiction

   Cons

   • Mobile apps lack key features
   • Clunky and unappealing apps
   • Expensive compared to rivals

   Overall Rating for Russia: 9.5/10

   This overall rating is calculated based on the following category ratings. To learn more, read our Russia VPN testing methodology.

   • Bypassing Russian Censorship:
     9.99.9/10
   • Obfuscation Technology:
     9.89.8/10
   • Privacy & Logging Policy:
     8.98.9/10
   • Speed:
     7.87.8/10
   • Nearby Servers to Russia:
     9.29.2/10

   Astrill bypasses censorship effectively using its proprietary Stealth VPN protocol, which adds an extra layer of obfuscation over the already ultra-secure OpenVPN protocol. This makes it the best VPN for Russia in 2023.

   It offers excellent security, no IP or DNS leaks, and a range of VPN servers in Russia itself. Though it is excellent for censorship, our testing found its mobile apps lacked key features and its user interface was difficult to use.

   Countries	56
   Logging Policy	Some User Logs
   SpeediSpeedCloseBased on 100Mbps local test connection	92Mbps
   Data Leaks	No
   See all features
   Jurisdiction	Seychelles (Privacy Haven)
   Cheapest Price	$12.50/mo over two years See all plans

   An Extremely Effective Anti-Censorship VPN

   Astrill has earned itself a reputation for its ability to beat the most sophisticated online censorship.

   It’s not the most popular VPN, but this comes with its benefits – it’s yet to be targeted by the Russian government. This allows the service to operate physical VPN servers within Russia, minimizing any potential speed loss.

   The VPN is packed with advanced security features and configuration options. This includes ‘Smart Mode’ which works automatically to use your VPN IP address on international websites but keep your real IP for local sites.

   Excellent Security, But Poor user Interface

   Astrill is full of options to customize your encryption and security, too. As a minimum standard, it provides an essential kill switch and IP and DNS leak protection.

   

   Astrill’s security settings offer both StealthVPN and TCP.

   All your VPN traffic is routed through Astrill’s own DNS servers, which means there is no possibility your traffic will be routed through less-secure third-party servers.

   Like our other top picks, Astrill provides an alternative download link, which means it’s possible to download within Russia’s borders.

   The biggest drawback of Astrill is its visually unappealing apps on all platforms. Its archaic and clunky interface is sure to put off anyone at first – from VPN beginners to experts.

   Mobile users in Russia should not use this option, either. Astrill’s Android and iOS apps lack some essential features including a kill switch and the Stealth VPN protocol.

   Visit Astrill

   or read our full Astrill VPN Review.

   
   

2. 2. PrivateVPN: Best Cheap VPN for Russia

   A fast and very affordable stealth VPN for Russia.

   

    Rated 4.9 out of 5 

   1,735 user reviews

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   Pros

   • Stealth VPN protocol works on mobile
   • Servers in Russia and neighboring countries
   • Extremely cheap on long-term plans
   • Best free trial of any VPN service
   • Safe and secure with no IP leaks

   Cons

   • Small overall server network
   • Poor customer support
   • Mac & mobile apps lack configurability
   • No browser VPN extensions

   Overall Rating for Russia: 9.2/10

   This overall rating is calculated based on the following category ratings. To learn more, read our Russia VPN testing methodology.

   • Bypassing Russian Censorship:
     9.49.4/10
   • Obfuscation Technology:
     9.19.1/10
   • Privacy & Logging Policy:
     9.39.3/10
   • Speed:
     9.19.1/10
   • Nearby Servers to Russia:
     8.88.8/10

   PrivateVPN works reliably in Russia, and is incredible value for money. On long-term subscription plans, it can cost as little as $2.00 per month.

   It offers servers in both Russia and neighboring countries, and unlike Astrill or ExpressVPN, its stealth VPN protocol works on mobile devices.

   Countries	63
   Logging Policy	No Logs
   SpeediSpeedCloseBased on 100Mbps local test connection	95Mbps
   Data Leaks	No
   See all features
   Jurisdiction	Sweden (14-Eyes Member)
   Cheapest Price	$2.00/mo over 3 years See all plans

   A Small Network With VPN Servers in Russia

   PrivateVPN doesn’t have a large server network overall, but it does offer VPN servers in Russia, Ukraine, and Latvia. This will ensure you get fast and reliable speeds from Russia.

   PrivateVPN’s obfuscation protocol is also called Stealth VPN. It works in Russia, but our testing found it to be less consistent than ExpressVPN and Astrill VPN.

   However, PrivateVPN’s Stealth VPN protocol works on iOS and Android. This is a huge plus over Astrill and Windscribe, and is a reason to opt for PrivateVPN if you’re a mobile user.

   Safe to Use, But Limited Customer Support

   PrivateVPN also includes a VPN kill switch, AES-256 encryption, and protection against IP and DNS leaks. This is coupled with a strict no-logs policy, which ensures none of your online activity is recorded.

   

   PrivateVPN offers VPN servers in Russia.

   If you want to try out PrivateVPN before committing to a long-term plan, you can also take advantage of its superb seven-day free trial.

   Though it is an excellent choice for Russia in terms of security, privacy, and simplicity, our testing did find issues with PrivateVPN’s limited customer support and lack of configuration options on Mac and iOS.

   Visit PrivateVPN

   or read our full PrivateVPN Review.

   
   

3. 3. VPNArea: Best for Russian VPN Servers

   Comes with X-Stunnel anti-censorship servers and IP addresses within Russia.

   

    Rated 5 out of 5 

   1 user reviews

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   Pros

   • X-Stunnel servers bypass Russian censorship
   • Secure servers in Moscow & St. Petersberg
   • Connections in neighboring Eastern Europe
   • No logs privacy policy

   Cons

   • Not the most user-friendly
   • Overall server network is small

   Overall Rating for Russia: 9.1/10

   This overall rating is calculated based on the following category ratings. To learn more, read our Russia VPN testing methodology.

   • Bypassing Russian Censorship:
     9.49.4/10
   • Obfuscation Technology:
     9.69.6/10
   • Privacy & Logging Policy:
     77.0/10
   • Speed:
     9.19.1/10
   • Nearby Servers to Russia:
     8.98.9/10

   VPNArea is not banned in Russia and has servers within the country and its surrounding neighbors. If you want to get a Russian IP address, or need to bypass web censorship at high speed, VPNArea is a good choice.

   Furthermore, VPNArea comes with proprietary X-Stunnel servers, which are designed to get very strict censorship systems. The VPN is also no-logs and won’t record any web activity on its servers.

   Countries	55
   Logging Policy	No Logs
   SpeediSpeedCloseBased on 100Mbps local test connection	95Mbps
   Data Leaks	No
   See all features
   Jurisdiction	Bulgaria (EU Member)
   Cheapest Price	$3.21/mo over 24 Months See all plans

   Effective Anti-Censorship Obfuscation

   VPNArea is a very good VPN for beating state censorship throughout the world.

   It’s not quite as reliable as Astrill VPN, which works 100% of the time in any country, but our tests have shown that VPNArea works the majority of the time in Russia.

   VPNArea’s effectiveness is largely due to its X-Stunnel servers, which disguise VPN connections as normal web traffic.

   

   VPNArea’s X-Stunnel servers in the apps server list.

   Moreover, Russia is less sophisticated than China at blocking VPN traffic. As a result, VPNArea is a solid alternative to Astrill for Russian internet users.

   The VPN is also zero-logs, which is key for internet privacy. Even if Russian authorities seized VPNArea’s servers, no sensitive data would be found.

   Servers Within and Near Russia

   VPNArea has IP addresses within Russia and in nearby countries like Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Finland.

   This ensures you maintain good internet connection speeds after you bypass the web blocks.

   Secure servers within Russia also let users outside the country get a Russian IP address and access local websites and web content.

   Visit VPNArea

   or read our full VPNArea Review.

   
   

4. 4. Surfshark: Best Russia VPN for Beginners

   A fast and easy-to-use VPN for Russia with an effective 'NoBorders' setting.

   

    Rated 4.1 out of 5 

   131 user reviews

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   Pros

   • User-friendly apps for popular devices
   • ‘NoBorders’ feature works to beat censors
   • Nearby VPN servers in Latvia, Poland & Finland
   • Great value for money on long-term plans
   • Works with major streaming services
   • Unlimited simultaneous connections

   Cons

   • International speeds could be better
   • Kill switch not enabled by default
   • Not compatible with IPv6 connections

   Overall Rating for Russia: 9.0/10

   This overall rating is calculated based on the following category ratings. To learn more, read our Russia VPN testing methodology.

   • Bypassing Russian Censorship:
     99.0/10
   • Obfuscation Technology:
     9.29.2/10
   • Privacy & Logging Policy:
     8.78.7/10
   • Average Speed:
     9.19.1/10
   • Nearby Servers to Russia:
     9.19.1/10

   If you’re looking for an affordable VPN for Russia, Surfshark is a good choice. The VPN costs just $2.30 per month on its two-year plan, which is among the lowest prices on the market.

   The service runs VPN servers in Finland and Latvia, unlimited simultaneous connections, and a ‘NoBorders’ feature that safely unblocks restricted websites in Russia.

   Countries	100
   Logging Policy	No Identifying Data
   SpeediSpeedCloseBased on 100Mbps local test connection	95Mbps
   Data Leaks	No
   See all features
   Jurisdiction	Netherlands (EU Member)
   Cheapest Price	$2.30/mo over 26 months See all plans

   'NoBorders' Works to Bypass Russian Censorship

   Surfshark comes with bespoke ‘NoBorders’ obfuscation technology that reliably bypasses internet restrictions. Just be sure it is enabled in the application’s settings before connecting to a VPN server.

   This technology is available on both the Android and iOS apps, too, which means you can beat the Russian VPN ban on all of your devices. In our experience, the tool is quite slow and can take up to five minutes to connect to a server.

   Surfshark’s alternative download link also means you can download the app even if you’re already in Russia.

   Servers in 3,200+ Countries, Including Countries Bordering Russia

   Admittedly, Surfshark’s network of servers in 3,200+ countries isn’t the largest available. However, it is redeemed by its servers in countries neighbouring Russia.

   

   Surfshark has a VPN server in St. Petersburg.

   This means that your connection is not routed via distant locations, minimizing any internet speed loss. Surfshark maintains servers in 7 nearby countries, including: Ukraine, Latvia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Poland, Moldova, and Romania.

   Our tests found that Surfshark isn’t particularly fast on international connection, but it is one of the top choices for accessing streaming services, including US Netflix and BBC iPlayer. It even works with Disney Plus on every single server.

   The generous allowance of unlimited simultaneous connections means you can also share an account across all of your devices.

   Visit Surfshark

   or read our full Surfshark VPN Review.

   
   

5. 5. Windscribe: Best Free VPN for Russia

   A fast and reliable free VPN with obfuscation and a 10GB monthly data limit.

   

    Rated 5 out of 5 

   3 user reviews

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   Pros

   • Works reliably to access websites and apps
   • Three Russian servers
   • Easy-to-use and intuitive apps
   • Free version bypasses web censorship
   • Privacy-friendly logging policy

   Cons

   • Stealth protocol not available on iOS
   • Based in privacy-unfriendly Canada
   • No live chat
   • Slower speeds on long-distance connections

   Overall Rating for Russia: 7.5/10

   This overall rating is calculated based on the following category ratings. To learn more, read our Russia VPN testing methodology.

   • Bypassing Russian Censorship:
     9.69.6/10
   • Obfuscation Technology:
     9.49.4/10
   • Privacy & Logging Policy:
     8.68.6/10
   • Average Speed:
     8.88.8/10
   • Nearby Servers to Russia:
     9.29.2/10

   Windscribe offers both a paid and free VPN. Its free service is the best free VPN for Russia, but both versions are good choices if you’re looking for simplicity.

   Windscribe uses its own in-house VPN obfuscation protocol – also called Stealth VPN – which works consistently in Russia, but isn’t as reliable as Astrill VPN.

   Countries	11
   Logging Policy	No Identifying Data
   SpeediSpeedCloseBased on 100Mbps local test connection	90Mbps
   Data Leaks	No
   See all features
   Jurisdiction	Canada (Five Eyes Member)
   Cheapest Price	Free

   A Good Choice for Casual VPN Users

   Windscribe is designed for VPN beginners. Its apps are lightweight, simple, and appealing, at no cost of advanced features.

   The VPN service also provides a good range of security and privacy settings.

   Windscribe Free is the only effective free VPN for Russia, which lets you test its usability before committing to a paid subscription.

   If you don’t upgrade to the premium tier, you’re limited to 10GB of data usage per month.

   This data cap is generous for a free VPN, but will quickly get used up by high-bandwidth activities like streaming or torrenting.

   Three Russian Servers, But No Stealth VPN On iOS

   Windscribe can access restricted websites and apps in Russia. It has a privacy-friendly logging policy, reasonable speeds, and the premium tier even includes three servers in Russia itself.

   

   Windscribe offers an obfuscation protocol called Stealth.

   Though it works well against censorship on PC, Mac, and Android, iPhone and iPad users are better off with an alternative option.

   This is because the Stealth protocol is unavailable through the iOS and iPadOS applications, which means it is less secure on those devices.

   Visit Windscribe

   or read our full Windscribe VPN Review.

   
   

How We Test VPNs for Russia

We use a unique, exhaustive testing process to make sure we only recommend the safest and most reliable VPNs for Russia.

We test every VPN service in five key categories, and use these results to calculate an overall rating for Russia.

For Russia specifically, we test every VPN for:

• Bypassing censorship in Russia
• Effective obfuscation technology
• VPN servers in nearby countries
• AES-256 encryption and OpenVPN
• Safe no-logs policy & no IP or DNS leaks
• Fast download & upload speeds

Here’s a more detailed list of the five testing categories, along with how much of the overall rating for Russia they make up:

1. Bypassing Russian Censorship: 50%

Minimum Requirement: Some VPN servers work in Russia.
We Recommend: All VPN servers reliably work in Russia.

The most important attribute of a top Russian VPN is its ability to bypass censorship.

We use remote servers to test every VPN on its ability to access restricted websites and services.

The most effective VPNs will work to bypass website blocks on all servers, without limitations. However, we also reward the services that can work to bypass censorship almost all of the time.

2. Obfuscation Technology: 20%

Minimum Requirement: Some obfuscation functionality.
We Recommend: Multiple advanced obfuscation tools.

Obfuscation is a type of technology designed to disguise or camouflage your VPN traffic.

Typical encryption stops third parties from being able to see your activity. Obfuscation prevents them from knowing it is VPN traffic at all.

This type of technology is vital if you’re looking to bypass online censorship safely and effectively.

For this reason, we test every VPN for the ability to select an obfuscation protocol from the settings menu. VPNs with multiple obfuscation options, AES-256 encryption, and IP leak protection are rewarded.

3. Privacy & Logging Policy: 10%

Minimum Requirement: A clear privacy policy with minimal logs.
We Recommend: A strict zero-logs privacy policy.

Russia has banned unauthorized VPNs, which means it’s important there are no logs of your internet connections in the country.

We analyze every VPN privacy policy in detail to assess its privacy policy, jurisdiction, and ownership. We do not recommend any service that collects identifying logs or has ties to the Russian government.

4. Speed: 10%

Minimum Requirement: Average download speeds over 60Mbps.
We Recommend: Average download speeds over 80Mbps.

We regularly test for local speeds from the US, and international download speeds while connected to Australia, Singapore, the UK, and more.

After recording speeds connected to a VPN, we compare them to speeds without using a VPN to figure out the percentage drop.

The best VPNs only have minimal speed loss when connected to servers in the same continent. It’s likely that the further away the server you connect to, the slower your internet speeds will be.

5. Nearby Servers to Russia: 10%

Minimum Requirement: VPN servers in some countries near Russia.
We Recommend: A wide range of VPN servers in Russia and nearby countries.

Finally, we test every VPN to assess the number of server locations on offers both within Russia and its neighboring countries.

The closer these servers are to your physical location, the better your VPN speeds will be.

VPN services with multiple server locations in a wide range of neighboring countries are rewarded, while those that cater only to Western countries are penalised.

Data Cap Penalty: Up to 50% Reduction

Almost all free VPNs come with a data cap. Like with most limitations on free VPNs, this is imposed to encourage users to upgrade to a premium subscription.

If you use up your data cap, the rest of your internet activity will be outside of the VPN tunnel. Consequently, your ISP can monitor the webpages you visit and you won’t be able to access blocked websites in Russia.

We apply a penalty to the VPN’s final overall rating for Russia based on its data cap:

• 10GB per month: -20% to the overall rating
• 500MB per day: -25% to the overall rating
• 5GB per month: -30% to the overall rating
• 1GB per month: -35% to the overall rating
• 500MB per month: -50% to the overall rating

How to Use a VPN in Russia

It’s not always possible to download and install a VPN before entering Russia.

Fortunately, the five VPNs we recommend in this list provide alternative websites to download and install their software within Russia.

Simply contact your chosen VPN service’s customer support to get the latest URL that works.

To safely download and use a VPN in Russia, follow the steps below:

1. Before you arrive in the country, visit the VPN service’s website and sign up.
2. If you’re already in Russia, contact your VPN service to find an alternative download URL.
3. Locate the ‘Download VPN’ section and click the button for your desired device.
4. Open the downloaded file, launch the app, and input your username and password.
5. Ensure OpenVPN is the VPN protocol selected – or an obfuscated protocol, like Astrill’s StealthVPN.
6. Ensure the kill switch is enabled, as well as any traffic obfuscation features.
7. Connect to a server in Russia or a nearby country such as Ukraine.

How to Get a Russian IP Address

Getting a Russian IP address is useful if you need to access content that’s only available within the country’s borders.

Some major VPN services, like ExpressVPN, have removed their servers from Russia to protect their users from surveillance. As a result, it’s become harder to find VPN servers that reliably provide a Russian IP address.

The safest VPNs with servers in Russia are Surfshark, Astrill, VPNArea, Windscribe, and PrivateVPN.

Follow the steps below to get an anonymous Russian IP address:

1. Sign up to a VPN with servers in Russia. See our Russia VPN rankings.
2. Visit the service provider’s website and install the software on your device.
3. Open the application and sign in with your account details.
4. In the app settings, enable the kill switch, OpenVPN, and leak protection.
5. Enable traffic obfuscation, if available.
6. Select Russia from the list of available server locations, and connect.
7. Check your new Russian IP address using an IP address checker.

Which VPNs Have Servers Near Russia?

If you’re looking to achieve the fastest VPN speeds in Russia, you’ll need to connect to a server as close as possible to your physical location.

This reduces the distance your internet traffic has to travel, minimizing any potential internet speed loss.

If your VPN service doesn’t have servers in Russia, it’s best to choose a server in a nearby country like Ukraine, Latvia, Finland, or Kazakhstan.

These are the closest countries to Russia that most VPN services typically operate servers in.

Using the table below, find out which popular VPNs have servers in Russia, and which have servers in nearby countries.

Are VPNs Banned in Russia?

By encrypting your traffic and changing your IP address, VPN software can access blocked web content deemed incompatible with the views of the Russian government.

As a result, many VPNs are banned in Russia, as part of a larger attempt to make the internet’s information conform to the ideals of the Russian state.

A protester marches against Russia’s increasing internet censorship.

Using a VPN in Russia is not illegal in itself, but using an ‘unauthorized’ VPN is against the law.

The punishment for using an unauthorized VPN in Russia is 300,000 RUB ($5,100) for the user and 700,000 RUB ($12,000) for the VPN service.

To become an ‘authorized’ VPN service, the company must cooperate with the Russian state and agree to block all of the websites in the government’s extensive website blacklist. They must also agree to share user data with Russian security services.

This makes using an ‘authorized’ VPN in Russia useless from a privacy and anti-censorship perspective.

If you use the best VPNs with strong encryption and effective obfuscation technology, it’s very unlikely your traffic will be identified or intercepted.

Russian Internet Censorship and Regulation

Over the past decade, the Russian government has made several attempts to increase its control over the domestic internet. Here are some of the most important events affecting the country’s online freedoms:

1. Blocking Telegram

In April 2018, the Russian Communications Watchdog blocked over 4 million IP addresses in an attempt to ban the private messaging app Telegram.

Telegram remained online, while hundreds of unrelated websites and apps were unintentionally shut down.

The sudden rise in blocked IP addresses in Russia after the attempted block on Telegram.

The sites and services involved included MasterCard, Twitch, Viber, and popular e-commerce and online banking sites. It took over a month for these apps to be put back online.

2. The Yarovaya Law

In 2016, Russia’s parliament approved the ‘Yarovaya Law’.

This law requires all Russian telecom companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP) to store detailed user communication records for six months, and all connection metadata for three years.

This allows the government to access records of everything you do online at any time.

Promoting ‘extremism’ online is punishable by up to five years in prison. Under the Yarovaya Law, ‘extremism’ can include modest protests, including “humiliation of national dignity”.

3. Russia’s Domestic Internet

More recently, Russia has initiated the final steps of its censorship strategy — to create its own domestic alternative to the global internet.

In November 2019, the aptly named ‘Sovereign Internet’ law came into force. This law allows the Russian state to switch off Russia’s access to the worldwide web in the event of an “emergency.”

As part of this, the government even plans to write its own version of Wikipedia by 2023, to provide citizens with more ‘reliable’ information regarding the country’s history.

If this physical disconnection from the global internet ever happens, VPN services would no longer work.

Which Websites and Apps Are Blocked in Russia?

Blocked web content in Russia includes websites from the LGBT+ community, certain Wikipedia articles, as well as popular apps like LinkedIn and Dailymotion.

Websites like LinkedIn and Dailymotion are also blocked in Russia after they refused to agree to the country’s Personal Data law.

Under this law, any internet company with users in the country must agree to store its data on servers within Russian borders.

The Russian state has enforced this law under the guise of ‘protecting Russian internet users’.

There are risks bigger tech portal like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram will be permanently banned in the near future.

These services are likely to receive bans due to their unwillingness to store Russian user data on Russian servers, as well as reportedly refusing to open offices within Russia.

Latest Update: Russia has blocked an increasing number of websites since the conflict in Ukraine began.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the BBC are now restricted, with likely more websites/apps soon to be added to the list of blocked websites in Russia.