The kremlin Is Intensifying Digital Repression

In 2026, roskomnadzor is considering launching a new mechanism for filtering internet traffic based on machine learning and AI – the kremlin’s another step towards deepening digital isolation. US$29.2 million has already been allocated to the project, despite chronic budget deficits and rising costs of maintaining the existing control infrastructure.

The initiative aims to block content in a more rigorous and targeted manner: from automatically detecting “mirrors” of banned resources to neutralizing VPN services and analyzing traffic content – texts, images, video, and audio. This involves a transition from crude mass blocking to targeted filtering, which makes it much more difficult to circumvent restrictions and intensifies the persecution of Internet dissidents and critics of the regime.

Technically, the system will be based on DPI solutions already deployed in russia, with the addition of AI modules for real-time analysis of patterns and anomalies, particularly in conditionally encrypted traffic. The authorities already use the “Oculus” and “Vepr” systems, which blocked 1.289 million resources in 2025 and restricted access to 5,500 addresses daily. However, their effectiveness is only about 60% and requires increasingly greater computing costs.

The new initiative demonstrates the kremlin’s desire not only to strengthen censorship, but also to establish total control over the information space. At the same time, financial constraints and high technological complexity cast doubt on moscow’s ability to fully implement these plans.