According to a study conducted by the company Atlas VPN, the demand for VPNs in Russia exploded after the start of the invasion in Ukraine. According to recorded data, subscriptions for VPNs increased by 1906%.
Atlas VPN, one of the leaders in the free VPN market, has just published the results of its latest study dedicated to demand in Russia. According to data collected by the company, more and more Russian users want to equip themselves with a VPN since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
In effect, the number of subscriptions in the country increased by 1906% after the first moments of the invasion. According to Atlas VPN, this reflects a desire by Russian users to keep unlimited access to the Internet. The surge in VPN installations began as early as February 16, 2022, the day the first cyberattacks hit Ukrainian infrastructure.
When Russian troops officially entered the country on February 25, VPN demand increased again by 241% compared to the average, before registering a jump of 1076% compared to normal on February 26. “We expect interest in VPNs to remain at these highs in the coming weeks. However, if major events continue, we could see the numbers climb even higher.” assures the company.
Russians want to escape government control on the Internet
As you may know, it has happened in the past that Russia blocks access to certain services and content on the webin particular in connection with the consumption of drugs, alcohol, with terrorism or with the management of the health crisis by the Russian authorities.
In May 2021, Russia demanded that Google remove some of this content, threatening to slow down search engine traffic in the country and to impose a hefty $5 billion fine on the American company. The Russian government had previously issued a similar ultimatum to Twitter. More recently, Russia rightly sought to tighten its grip on the country’s internet by blocking the most popular VPNs on its territory. We found in the list of big names on the market such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN or HolaVPN.
Source: TechRadar
