The social media company Vkontakte has recently accelerated the expansion of its CDN server network to speed up the loading of video content on its service.
Russian-speaking Forbes (you’re moving to another service) according to it, it seems that the Russian Finnish platform is preparing for a significant increase in user traffic. The newspaper points out that this may signal the closure of YouTube in Russia.
Special expert in social influence and doctoral researcher Knuppu-Maija Pelevina The University of Helsinki is cautious about the forecast.
According to Pelevina, Russia probably still wants to use platforms popular in Western countries for external influence, but they want to curb the use of the domestic audience.
– However, the talk about a possible ban on YouTube shows that the popularity of the platform and the opportunity for citizens to get alternative information clearly annoys those in power in Russia.
In the context of Russia, it is difficult to assess how much intimidation is in the air or how much of an effect a YouTube ban would have.
The work to attract Russian bloggers is going hot
Social media was left by Vkontakte reported (you switch to another service) About expanding the CDN server network already in 2021.
Since then, according to Forbes, Vkontakte has continuously increased its bandwidth.
According to Forbes, Vkontakte has promised Russian telecom operators to lure Russia’s leading bloggers away from YouTube to their own platform.
– It seems that Vkontakte is destined to replace foreign video service platforms, of which YouTube is obviously the most popular, Forbes’ source said.
Of the Russian social media platforms, Vkontakte is the closest to the Kremlin’s sphere of influence, states Pelevina.
However, the platform is more like Facebook or the messaging service Telegram than YouTube.
Russian content producers have long favored foreign Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube in order to attract global audiences. Successful Russian bloggers would hardly give up YouTube and switch to Russian social media just to start their work from a clean slate, the expert thinks.
However, one thing can change the situation.
– Several non-political Instagram celebrities have recently been accused of money laundering and tax evasion, which may indicate that users and popular influencers are now being tried a little more actively than before to scare them into switching to the domestic platform, Pelevina states.
The war overshadowed the discussion about the YouTube ban
Speculations that Russia was about to shut down YouTube started as early as February 2022, when Russia started a war of aggression in Ukraine.
The leader of the mercenary company Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin said it works in Vkontakte its press service (you switch to another service) through in January 2023, that YouTube will be banned in Russia soon and YouTubers will be punished.
There is no confirmed information that Russia is about to close YouTube. In addition, Prigozhin has recently drifted into disagreements with the Kremlin.
In the war year 2022, Vkontakte’s traffic more than doubled and the number of users increased by almost 20 percent.
The increase happened at the same time as Russia banned American Facebook and Instagram services.
– Even if Russia were to consider banning YouTube, it is already losing its audience to short video format platforms such as Tiktok, Pelevina reminds.
There has been no discussion about shutting down the Chinese-owned Tiktok in Russia. On the contrary, Russia has tried to increase political and economic cooperation with China during the war.
Youtube is like a stone in the shoe of the Russian government
American-owned Youtube is repeatedly blocked (you switch to another service) Russian media and government channels on its site, which has increased the Russian authorities’ willingness to intervene in the platform’s operations.
For example, for the Russian RT, which is banned in almost all Western countries, YouTube has been an important communication channel for spreading propaganda videos around the world.
Editor-in-Chief of RT Margarita Simonyan supports the YouTube ban in Russia.
Opposition newspaper Meduzan (you switch to another service) according to information, the Kremlin’s position regarding YouTube is divided.
For example, the deputy head of the security and intelligence service Alexei Gromov and many high-ranking FSB officers support a complete ban on Youtube.
Deputy Director of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko and the ruling United Russia party oppose the initiative.
Entertainment may save YouTube
For both the Russian political elite and the Russian opposition and civil society, various social media platforms have traditionally been important channels to make their voices heard, Pelevina states.
The importance of YouTube in Russia can be seen, for example, in how heavy sentences Russian bloggers have received for their anti-war positions on YouTube.
However, Pelevina, a special expert in social influence, reminds us that YouTube is, above all, a huge entertainment channel in Russia.
In addition to political content, Russians produce and consume a lot of entertainment, children’s programs and educational videos on YouTube.
Banning YouTube in Russia could, according to Pelevina, arouse dissatisfaction among citizens.
Russians are used to the fact that since the 1990s they have been able to use Western technologies and consume Western media content freely.
It is also unclear how the YouTube ban would be enforced or how it would be implemented in Russia.
In connection with the Instagram ban, it became clear that restricting social media afterwards is difficult.
When Russia banned Instagram last year, citizens didn’t flock to Russian social platforms, but instead learned to use a VPN to get around the Instagram ban.