Does NordVPN work in Russia?

As of Jul 22, 2026, NordVPN is blocked in Russia.

Status: blocked
Confidence: medium
Last verified: Jul 22, 2026
Method: nordvpn.com confirmed blocked in-country; apps pulled from Russian app stores and no Russian servers since 2019; Roskomnadzor DPI blocks VPN protocols; an aggregator claim that NordWhisper may work in some cases has no dated in-country report behind it

Working alternatives in Russia

No VPN is currently verified as working in Russia. We would rather say that than guess. Check back after the next weekly verification pass.

What we're seeing

OONI shows 346 confirmed blocks and 2,413 anomalies for nordvpn.com from June 1 to July 21, 2026, with confirmed blocks rising to 14-16 per day in mid-July. A May 2026 in-country test of 8 VPNs concluded NordVPN is not suitable for Russia because it fails against DPI. NordVPN shut down its Russian servers in 2019 and makes no claim the service works from inside the country. An aggregator suggestion that NordWhisper may work in some cases has no dated in-country report behind it.

Sources for the above:

user_report (Jul 22, 2026): OONI Jun 1 to Jul 21 2026: 4,240 measurements, 2,413 anomalies plus 346 confirmed blocks vs 1,309 ok; confirmed blocks rising through July (14-16/day mid-July); website not tunnel
forum (Jul 22, 2026): Habr in-country test of 8 VPNs, May 2026 (snippet-observed, direct fetch 403): verdict that NordVPN is not suitable for Russia because it fails against DPI; about 2 months old, strong background
news (Jul 22, 2026): Habr news 2026-02-26: Roskomnadzor had restricted 469 VPN services by late Feb 2026; protocol-level blocking of SOCKS5/VLESS/L2TP intensified since Dec 2025; background context
news (Jul 22, 2026): Russian-language article: NordVPN IPs blocked since 2022, DPI detects VPN traffic by signature; promotes a competing service so biased, used only as corroboration
vendor (Jul 22, 2026): NordVPN shut down all Russian servers by April 2019 rather than comply with Roskomnadzor; vendor makes no claim the service works from inside Russia

Common questions

Is using a VPN legal in Russia?

Personal use is not banned, but a law passed in July 2025 fines advertising VPNs up to 500,000 rubles and treats VPN use as an aggravating factor in other offenses. The state also blocks VPN services that refuse to censor.

Which VPNs still work in Russia?

As of July 2026, none is verified fully working. Mullvad documents a partial path with QUIC or Shadowsocks, and Proton says Stealth connects for many, though forum reports say it is targeted. Seven of the ten we track are blocked.

Can I pay for a VPN from Russia?

It is hard. Visa and Mastercard stopped working for foreign payments in 2022, and several providers limit Russian accounts. Where a provider accepts them, vouchers or cryptocurrency are the practical routes.