Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has added the social media platform Bluesky to its registry of banned websites, according to the digital rights organization RKS Global.
The move follows a series of restrictions targeting foreign online services across the country. While the regulator has not yet provided a public explanation for the specific block, the action aligns with a wider tightening of internet control since the invasion of Ukraine.
Bluesky has become a niche destination for Russian users seeking alternatives to X, formerly Twitter, which has faced significant accessibility issues. Aleksey Kozlyuk, an expert at RKS Global, noted that the regulator is targeting platforms that users migrate to when other services fail.
"The successive blocking of Discord, Signal, Viber, WhatsApp and now Telegram has pushed users toward alternative services that are still accessible — including Bluesky — and Roskomnadzor appears to have noticed this," Kozlyuk told Recorded Future News.
Expanding digital restrictions
Roskomnadzor oversees censorship and content regulation in Russia. Earlier this year, the agency targeted Telegram and WhatsApp, alleging the platforms failed to comply with local legislation.
Despite the block, Bluesky remains accessible to some users in Russia via virtual private networks (VPNs). However, the Kremlin has increased efforts to restrict the use of these tools.
The crackdown coincides with intermittent mobile internet shutdowns across various Russian regions. Officials attribute these outages to security considerations.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the disruptions during a press briefing on Tuesday. "It’s clear that internet restrictions are causing inconvenience for many citizens, but that’s how it is now," Peskov told reporters.
Bluesky, a decentralized network, has seen rapid global growth in 2024, reaching approximately 43.7 million users. This remains a fraction of the hundreds of millions of active users on Meta's Threads or Elon Musk's X.
