Does Surfshark work in Russia?

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

Status: blocked
Confidence: medium
Last verified: Jul 22, 2026
Method: In the Roskomnadzor block registry since 2021; app pulled from Russian stores; TSPU DPI fingerprints WireGuard/OpenVPN so protocol switching is unlikely to help; no fresh in-country report confirms any method working in 2026

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

Surfshark has been in the Roskomnadzor block registry since 2021, and OONI shows confirmed blocks of surfshark.com rising to 9-18 per day from late June into July 2026. Five separate in-country Reddit posts from May to October 2024 reported total failure across OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2, with zero contrary reports since. The vendor's own restricted-country article names only China, making no claim that Surfshark works in Russia.

Sources for the above:

user_report (Jul 22, 2026): OONI May-Jul 2026: 20-66 anomalies/day, confirmed blocks rising to 9-18/day from late June into July, only 5-37 ok/day; website not tunnel
reddit (Jul 22, 2026): Background (archive, May-Oct 2024): five separate in-country r/surfshark posts all report total failure across OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2; zero contrary reports since
forum (Jul 22, 2026): Russian-language 2026 writeup (snippet-observed): servers in RKN registry, protocols detected by TSPU, obfuscation additions adapted-around by 2026; competitor-biased, weak corroboration
news (Jul 22, 2026): TechRadar 2026 (snippet-observed): major Western VPNs described as effectively non-functional in Russia; country-level context
vendor (Jul 22, 2026): Vendor restricted-country article (updated May 2025) names only China, not Russia; no vendor claim that Surfshark works in 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.