Why government websites are blocked abroad
Most Russian government web resources closed themselves to foreign IPs several years ago — against DDoS attacks and unwanted access from outside. That hit millions of Russians abroad: relocated workers, tourists, students.
Which portals are unavailable
The usual suspects (the answer is «Сайт недоступен» or plain 403 Forbidden):
- Gosuslugi (gosuslugi.ru) — certificates, documents, appointments with agencies
- FNS (nalog.gov.ru) — the taxpayer's account, tax returns
- Rosreestr — EGRN property extracts, registering property rights
- SFR (sfr.gov.ru) — pensions, maternity capital, benefits
- GIBDD — checking and paying traffic fines
- Regional portals — mos.ru, school and healthcare websites
How to get in
The portal's security has to believe you are in Russia. That means swapping your IP for a Russian one with a VPN: you connect to a server in Moscow, and that server talks to Gosuslugi on your behalf.
Not just any VPN, though. Because of TSPU/Roskomnadzor filtering, classic protocols (OpenVPN, plain WireGuard) are easily detected. And most Western providers dropped Russia from their server lists back in 2022.
VPN Russia offers:
- Servers in Russia on modern, hard-to-block protocols (VLESS)
- Reliable sign-in through ESIA, the Gosuslugi authorisation system
- Personal data protected by strong encryption
Setup, step by step
- Download VPN Russia for iOS (iPhone, iPad), Android or macOS
- Subscribe and connect to a Russia server
- Go to gosuslugi.ru or whichever portal you need — and log in as usual