MOSCOW, June 13 — In a quiet cafe popular for its free Wi-Fi and good coffee, a Russian interior designer logs onto a virtual private network so she can chat with friends abroad...

Authorities push state-backed apps while users remain cautious over privacy concerns

Frustration over the curbs – together with rising prices, tax hikes and war fatigue – is widely believed to have contributed to Putin's falling approval ratings

In Russia’s tightening internet controls, users juggle VPNs, multiple phones and state apps to reach blocked services like WhatsApp and Telegram as outages, restrictions and…

MOSCOW, June 13 — In a quiet cafe popular for its free Wi-Fi and good coffee, a Russian interior designer logs onto a virtual private network so she can chat with friends abroad...

Since the Kremlin ratcheted up control over the internet this year, Russians have been turning to increasingly convoluted technical solutions to circumvent state monitoring and…