Russia Tightens Its Grip on the Internet, Raising Risks for Businesses With Links to the Country

Since mid-2025, the Kremlin has stepped up controls on digital communications and infrastructure, according to Recorded Future's Insikt Group. The measures include stricter action against virtual private networks (VPNs), state-managed internet shutdowns, limits on civilian communications platforms, and monitoring of domestic and foreign entities. Analysts assess these steps very likely aim to suppress political dissent and support surveillance inside Russia, and represent an escalation from approaches used before 2024.

The researchers say the Kremlin has two main goals: extensive surveillance of online activity while staying connected to the global internet, and national internet infrastructure under its control that could allow isolation from the global internet if it chooses. Even so, technical and political limits will likely stop Moscow from achieving a fully "sovereign internet" in the near term. The most likely outcome is heavy censorship and monitoring, with increasingly strict but not absolute controls on tools that help people circumvent restrictions or stay anonymous.

For organisations, the report warns of growing operational risks. Those operating in Russia face surveillance and exposure of sensitive data, difficulty with emergency communications, disruption to corporate tools and applications, and legal risks. Businesses with only indirect exposure face a higher chance of supply-chain disruption and sanctions violations. Over time, they may also struggle to judge Russia's political and economic situation, because restrictions reduce the availability of high-quality open sources.