In 2026, Roskomnadzor plans to launch a system of internet traffic censorship using artificial intelligence.
The state is allocating 2.27 billion rubles (over $29 million) to develop this infrastructure for internet restrictions. At the same time, regions are forced to save on salaries for state employees or even on the delivery of food to remote settlements.
This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation.
Under the guise of combating dangerous content, the Kremlin is massively "cleaning up" everything that interferes with its information monopoly. The Russian Federation is systematically increasing its tools for total control over the internet. In 2025 alone, the number of blocked materials increased by almost 60% — to 1.29 million materials. The fastest rate of censorship is for content related to bypassing blocks and VPN services — up 1,235% in a year.
Russian propaganda proudly presents this process as a move toward "digital sovereignty." In reality, however, a digital prison is being built, where the state determines what can be seen, read, and said. Prisons — physical and digital — are perhaps the only thing that Putin's regime has consistently succeeded in building.