A Russian senator for the ruling United Russia party said that VPNs will be banned in Russia from March 1 next year – forcing Russians to watch some of the most dire television shows in the world.

Demand for VPN services soared after Russia restricted access to some Western social media after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

 Senator Artem Sheikin said an order from the Roskomnadzor watchdog would come into force on March 1 and would block VPNs.

"From March 1, 2024, an order will come into force to block VPN services providing access to sites banned in Russia," Sheikin was quoted as saying by the glorious state news agency RIA.

However, he might be a little optimistic. China, which has a long history of trying to block Internet access has not had much luck shutting down VPNs.

All that usually happens is that those who know how to do it have the same amount of access that they always do, it just becomes even more difficult for those who don’t.