Russia has blocked Meduza’s website

Update: Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal censor, confirms that it is now requiring Internet service providers nationwide to restrict access to Meduza, the news outlet you are reading right now. The agency says it is enforcing an order issued by the Attorney General’s Office on February 24, 2022. The Russian authorities say Meduza “disseminated information in violation of the law.” Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, federal officials have censored any media outlets that report “unofficial” facts about the war. Indeed, calling the invasion “a war” (or “an invasion”) is now considered unlawful.

Many Internet users in Russia are currently unable to access Meduza’s website. Our newsroom was first informed of this by our readers on the evening of Thursday, March 3.

At the time of this writing, Meduza is not included on the list of banned websites maintained by Russia’s censorship agency, Roskomnadzor. We have not received official confirmation that our website has been blocked in Russia.

Around the same time on Thursday evening, Facebook users in Russia began to report difficulties accessing the social network, reported Downdetector and Globalcheck. According to Globalcheck, Meduza’s website is inaccessible to users on most Russian mobile operators.

In addition, access to the BBC’s website is also mostly restricted, and Deutsche Welle’s website can’t be reached at all. Readers in some Russian regions also reported problems accessing the website of RFE/RL’s Russian service, Radio Svoboda. Globalcheck also reports that the App Store and Google Play are being blocked in Russia, as well.

Readers in Russia are still able to access Meduza’s reporting by downloading our mobile app — this can be done here.