As of November 2026, Russian network operators utilize centralized DPI systems to restrict internet access. These systems identify and block VPN protocols, including OpenVPN, WireGuard, and legacy Shadowsocks, often by detecting signatures or performing active probing of suspicious servers.
Major foreign cloud providers, such as AWS, Hetzner, and OVH, face widespread IP address freezing. Connections to these services often experience throughput throttling, where the initial 15–20 KB of data passes, but subsequent traffic is blocked, resulting in stalled connections.
Effective circumvention strategies now rely on masking traffic as standard HTTPS. The most resilient method involves a multi-server chain where traffic is routed through a domestic entry node to a foreign exit node. Using a personal domain with a legitimate website and certificate on the exit server helps evade active probing.
Techniques like VLESS with Reality and XTLS Vision are currently favored for their ability to mimic browser traffic. Operators are advised to perform pre-deployment testing on candidate IP addresses by attempting to download a 10 MB file to detect potential throttling or blocking before committing to a host.
