Facebook

Yes. Facebook has been blocked in Russia since 4 March 2022. Russia’s internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, cut access just over a week after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Two and a half weeks later, a Moscow court went further and banned the activities of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, as “extremist”.

Why Russia blocked Facebook

The official reason was that Facebook had restricted the pages of Russian state media outlets such as RT. Russia called this discrimination against Russian media. In reality, Facebook had become one of the few big platforms where Russians could see independent reporting and criticism of the war, and the block came alongside new laws that punished spreading “false information” about the army.

The ‘extremist’ ruling

On 21 March 2022, Moscow’s Tverskoi district court accepted a lawsuit from the Prosecutor General and banned Meta’s Facebook and Instagram operations in Russia, with immediate effect. The case followed Meta’s decision to temporarily allow some posts in Ukraine calling for violence against Russian soldiers. NPR reported that prosecutors said ordinary users would not be prosecuted simply for using the platforms. WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, was left out of the ruling at the time.

Can people in Russia still use Facebook?

Only with a VPN, and demand for VPNs in Russia jumped sharply in March 2022. Using Facebook through a VPN is not itself a crime, but businesses cannot advertise on it, and displaying Meta’s logos can be treated as promoting an extremist organisation. Since then, Russia has tightened its grip further, blocking messengers such as Signal and, in February 2026, WhatsApp.

Facebook is also blocked in China and Iran. For the full picture, see every app Russia restricts or our guide to countries where social media is banned.