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Russia VPN downloads jump 14×, Wildberries traffic falls

6/13/2026

37 7 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Interior designer Irina in Moscow turned on a VPN, logged into WhatsApp, and disabled it to buy a train ticket, showing everyday workarounds.
March VPN downloads on Google Play hit two million, a fourteen-fold rise from a year earlier, indicating growing bypass of state blocks.
Wildberries saw a ten percent traffic drop after banks blocked VPN users, while Kremlin officials postponed extra foreign-data fees and called shutdowns temporary.

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Story summary

Interior designer Irina in Moscow turned on a VPN, logged into WhatsApp, and disabled it to buy a train ticket, showing everyday workarounds.
March VPN downloads on Google Play hit two million, a fourteen-fold rise from a year earlier, indicating growing bypass of state blocks.
Wildberries saw a ten percent traffic drop after banks blocked VPN users, while Kremlin officials postponed extra foreign-data fees and called shutdowns temporary.