Yes, Instagram (and Facebook) are officially banned in Russia as of March 2022, designated as "extremist" organizations by Russian authorities, restricting access, advertising, and transactions; however, many Russians continue to use them via VPNs, as the ban primarily targets the platforms and not individual users, though businesses face restrictions.
Facebook and Instagram are already banned in Russia. WhatsApp and Telegram are being restricted. And Vladimir Putin seems to be preparing to promote a new domestic alternative. In June he signed a decree ordering the creation of a state-endorsed app that would combine messaging with e-government services.
Since March 2022, Instagram has been officially banned in Russia due to government regulations. This means that users trying to access the platform from within the country will encounter restrictions preventing them from logging in or loading content.
Full scale Internet censorship after 2022
By 2022, several major Internet platforms and media had already been shut down, including Twitter and Facebook, which were fully blocked for permitting content deemed hostile toward Russians.
Iran. Iran blocks or restricts many international social media and messaging platforms. While platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X have long been restricted. Instagram, one of the last widely accessible platforms, was also banned in 2022 following mass protests.
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WhatsApp is fully banned in China and North Korea, while several other countries like the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Russia impose restrictions, often targeting Voice over IP (VoIP) calls for security/financial reasons, leaving text messaging functional but voice/video calls blocked or throttled, with usage dependent on local telecom policies and intermittent government actions.
"WhatsApp continues to violate Russian law. The messenger is used to organise and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, to recruit their perpetrators and to commit fraud and other crimes against our citizens," Roskomnadzor, the regulator, told Russian state media.
VK (short for its original name VKontakte; Russian: ВКонтакте, lit. 'InContact') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predominantly used by Russian speakers.
In 2022, Google's local subsidiary was declared bankrupt and the company has stopped offering its commercial services in Russia, such as advertising. However, its products are not completely banned in the country. This development is the latest escalation between Russia and the US tech giant.
There were 63 924 100 Instagram users in Russian Federation in April 2024, which accounted for 44.8% of its entire population. The majority of them were women - 60.3%. People aged 25 to 34 were the largest user group (20 600 000).
Russia is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to foreign countries.
In 2025, Instagram continues to reign as a global social media powerhouse—and India is officially its biggest playground. With a staggering 413.85 million users, India tops the global chart by a landslide, nearly doubling the second-place United States, which logs 171.7 million users.
Paradoxically, users have not been held liable for using “extremist” Facebook and Instagram, as they are still able to access them by using VPNs. Telegram is an alternative network to which users switched after Facebook and Instagram were blocked.
The government has also acted against popular messaging platforms. The encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in 2024. This year, authorities banned calls via WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in Russia, and Telegram, a close second.
2. Instagram. Why It's Banned: Owned by Meta, Instagram carries a similar ban in countries like China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Access to YouTube was disrupted last year in what experts called deliberate throttling of the widely popular site by the authorities.
TikTok hasn't been completely banned in Russia, but its operations have been significantly restricted since early 2022. This all started in March 2022, shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
When texting someone in Russia, you must include the country code +7 to alert the mobile network that your message is intended for Russia. To input the country code, long-press the "0" key on your phone until a "+" symbol appears, or type "007" before the phone number.
Most Popular Mobile Apps: Russia
Telegram, cloud-based messaging app owned by Russian entrepreneurs Pavel and Nikolai Durov. Telegram users can exchange text messages, hold voice calls, share files, join groups of up to 200,000 members, and subscribe to public broadcast channels.
Russia restricts calls on WhatsApp, Telegram as internet control tightens.
Twitter has been subjected to Internet censorship by governments and other authorities which may take unilateral action to block Internet access to Twitter or its content. The social media platform is currently blocked in China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
A handful of countries have completely banned WhatsApp. Saudi Arabia isn't on that list, but it has restricted the app's voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) features. That move has frustrated expats and other users, as WhatsApp is an affordable communication option, especially for international contacts.