worldwide. With an increasing penetration rate, the Russian internet, also known as RuNet, plays a significant role in the country's society. In the past two decades, the population became more connected, as the internet started assisting Russians in their daily life, enabling them to pay the bills, order food and taxi, and communicate via
. The young generation is particularly tech-savvy, as Russian children get their own digital devices at an early age, using them to access social networks, video services, and games. During the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many Russians learned online skills while adapting to remote working arrangements or education and
How do Russians access the internet?
Most Russian households connect to the internet via smartphones. The country was forecast to have over 135 million
mobile internet users in 2029. The 5G infrastructure is still under development, challenged by high costs and policy complications, as higher frequencies are occupied by national security authorities. The number of
mobile broadband subscriptions was estimated at over 171 million in 2024, which was over four times higher than the
fixed broadband connections count.
What are the major internet companies in Russia?
A major characteristic of the Russian internet is the wide availability of the country's own online resources. The leading internet corporations are
Yandex and
VK. Both companies provide a variety of services, such as a search engine, food delivery, mobility apps, maps, and news aggregators. Furthermore, they expanded their businesses with Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, such as smart home devices and virtual assistants. When it comes to social media, the
user count of domestic platforms like VKontakte, Telegram, and Ok.ru, or Odnoklassniki, was among the highest in the country. In the e-commerce segment, the
largest online retailer was Wildberries.
Russia's sovereign internet
Freedom House ranked Russia's internet freedom at 21 out of 100 points in 2023, as state-led interventions like information bans and site blockings limit internet use. The government is pursuing the 'sovereign internet' policy, amending the national legislation to ensure a centralized management of the RuNet by the state. In 2020, free access was enabled to domestic online resources considered socially essential. Starting from April 2021, smartphones, computers, and smart TV devices sold in the country had to have Russian software pre-installed on them. At the end of 2021, the government demanded several foreign tech companies, such as Google, Meta, Apple, TikTok, and Twitter, to open a subsidiary in Russia to comply with the country's regulations.
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