YouTube Slowdown in Russia: Official Comments and Timeline

The situation surrounding the slowdown of YouTube in Russia continues to develop. Alexander Khinshtein, head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, explained that the slowdown is “primarily due to the actions (or rather, inaction) of YouTube itself.” Roskomnadzor also commented, stating that “disrespect for our country and citizens is grounds for taking measures against YouTube.”

Timeline of Events

• Spring 2022: Google notified Russian providers about the shutdown of Google Global Cache (GGC) servers, which help speed up the company’s services, including YouTube. At the start of 2022, there were about 700 GGC caching servers in Russian operators’ networks, expected to decrease to around 450 by the end of 2023.
• Late 2023: Konstantin Kolesov, Head of Strategic Data Transmission Development at PJSC VimpelCom (“Beeline”), reported at the MSK-IX Peering Forum that Google offered Russian operators to establish direct connections in Moscow or St. Petersburg to maintain quality access to its services, instead of relying on outdated and overloaded cache servers.
• July 12, 2024: Representatives of Rostelecom warned about the likelihood of technical issues with YouTube video loading speeds in the near future. The company cited problems with Google Global Cache equipment used in their network infrastructure and peering points, affecting video loading speed and playback quality for subscribers of all Russian operators. On the same day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian authorities do not plan to restrict access to YouTube and that the service’s issues are due to equipment problems, which have not been updated for over two years.
• July 12, 2024: The publication Gazeta.ru, citing sources close to the presidential administration and law enforcement, reported that Russian authorities plan to fully block YouTube in September 2024.
• July 24, 2024: Rostelecom reported a decline in YouTube video loading quality, especially in high-resolution formats, and an increase in user complaints. The company again stated that Google is responsible, as it has not expanded or updated its equipment in Russia since 2022, leading to equipment wear and inability to handle increased internet traffic.
• July 25, 2024: Alexander Khinshtein announced on his Telegram channel that the “degradation” of YouTube is a forced measure, not aimed at Russian users but at the administration of the foreign platform, which continues to violate and ignore Russian law. He predicted that desktop YouTube loading speeds could drop to 40% by the end of the week and up to 70% by the end of the next week.
• July 26, 2024: Khinshtein published a detailed post explaining that YouTube loading speeds have already dropped to 40% and may decrease to 70% by next week, mainly due to YouTube’s own actions or inaction. He noted that 80% of YouTube content viewed by Russian users is stored on Google servers in Russia, which are hosted on telecom operators’ infrastructure and major data centers. Google has not invested in its own data centers in Russia and stopped maintaining or replacing equipment after the start of the Ukraine conflict and sanctions, even shutting down some servers. As a result, YouTube traffic has already dropped by 40% over two years, with the number of GGC servers falling from 700 in 2022 to 450 by the end of 2023, and continuing to decrease.

Khinshtein added that Google began offering telecom operators direct connections to Russian data centers, temporarily halting the decline in traffic quality. However, since Google supports sanctions and bankrupted its Russian subsidiary, it cannot officially pay for Russian data center services. He speculated that servers might be hosted for free or through “gray” semi-legal schemes, but in any case, this is illegal and all parties are aware of it. Khinshtein emphasized that Russian data centers cooperating with Google plan to stop working with the company via “gray schemes” in the coming days, which will further reduce YouTube loading speeds (up to 70%). Data center actions will primarily affect desktop traffic.

He stressed that YouTube will remain accessible to Russian users, but loading times will increase. The most affected will likely be advertisers, which could become a serious problem for Google. Khinshtein stated that the situation could change, but it depends entirely on Google’s policies. He suggested that Google could build its own data centers in Russia, open a representative office, negotiate with US authorities to lift sanctions, or make legal payments for Russian data center services. Most importantly, he called on Google to comply with Russian laws and stop its anti-Russian policies, including unblocking Russian media, bloggers, and public figures’ channels as required by Roskomnadzor. Until these demands are met, the government has grounds to take enforcement measures as provided by law.

Roskomnadzor’s Position

Roskomnadzor (RKN) also commented on the YouTube slowdown, stating that “numerous violations of our laws, disrespect for our country and citizens are grounds for taking measures against YouTube.” The agency added that it has enough tools to motivate the company, noting that Russian courts have fined Google over 25 billion rubles in the past three years, though this has not helped. RKN also reminded that it has repeatedly demanded Google unblock more than 200 accounts of Russian media, artists, and public figures, but has received no response.

Impact on Bloggers and Advertisers

The Association of Professional Social Media and Messenger Users believes that Russian bloggers are not at risk of losing ad revenue from YouTube due to the slowdown of its desktop versions. According to association head Vladimir Zykov, since the slowdown only affects desktop versions, it “won’t have a significant impact” on bloggers and advertisers. He noted that if advertisers see changes in bloggers’ statistics, they may ask for discounts, but it’s too early to say. Zykov called the slowdown a “cunning measure,” as users who don’t follow the news may blame Google for the poor performance of the video platform.

“Obviously, the slowdown is a very cunning measure. When a site or service is blocked, users realize it’s inaccessible and look for ways to bypass the block. With a slowdown, few users read the news daily or keep up with current events… I think many dissatisfied people will blame YouTube, thinking the problem is with the platform itself and criticize the American corporation,” Zykov said.

Additional Comments from the Kremlin

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also commented on the YouTube slowdown, saying, “We just need to be ready for the fact that yes, we will continue to be pushed out of their resources. But I believe that if you’re pushed out of one, you should go to another. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He added that the West is not ready to listen to Russia’s opinion and that it’s currently pointless to try to explain. “It’s like not performing surgery during the acute phase of an illness. The same goes for trying to break through to them [the West] with information. Time will pass, and things will calm down.”