A new wave of VPN installs originating from Russia began on March 11, 2022.

It’s no coincidence that at the same time, the Russian government’s communication agency announced it would block Instagram in Russia starting on March 14, 2022.

When that date came, VPN installs in Russia reached an all-time high – surging 11,253%, above the norm.

The ban on Instagram was, supposedly, in response to Facebook’s decision to temporarily allow users in some countries to call for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers in the context of the invasion.

Besides the Instagram ban, the Russian government also tightened its grip on independent media outlets. Nearly all news outlets that are not government-affiliated have been shut down in the past few weeks. On top of that, no website is allowed to call the invasion of Ukraine a war, but rather a “special military operation”.

Moreover, Putin has signed a new law that threatens Russians who post “fake news” about the invasion with up to 15 years in prison. Officials have already arrested thousands of protesters who do not agree with the “special military operation”.

As a result, Russian citizens are turning to Google to inquire about VPNs, which, they hope, will help them to avoid online restrictions and censorship.

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Using the Google Trends platform, Atlas VPN acquired the number of “VPN” searches in Russia over the last 30 days.

In accordance with the findings based on their internal data, the dramatic upsurge in VPN interest began around three weeks ago, on February 25, 2022.

Even though users in Russia began showing interest in VPNs three weeks ago, the peak popularity for the term hit a record-high on March 12, 2022.

Between leveraging VPNs and messaging services such as Telegram, activists can feel more comfortable sharing their opinions in online spaces where their ISP will not be able to track their activities, and their IP address is hidden from the public.

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