Yesterday it became known that Roblox was unblocked in Russia. However, it immediately became clear that the story is more interesting than just the return of a gaming platform. Today, June 11, official comments appeared — and one of them is more important than the Roblox news itself. I break down what happened, what doesn’t work, and what this means for the entire Russian internet.
Let’s figure out why Roskomnadzor took pity on Roblox players
Why Roblox Was Unblocked — The Official Version
The Ministry of Digital Development issued an official statement:
Roblox has fully complied with the requirements of Russian legislation regarding user safety. The online gaming service is once again available throughout Russia.
The unblocking of Roblox became possible after the platform implemented a specific package of measures: it launched a mechanism to restrict access to games by age groups and committed to fighting unwanted content. Why Roblox was initially blocked and what path the negotiations took over six months was discussed separately.
This is the first case where a major foreign service went through this path to the end: from blocking through negotiations to actual compliance with requirements and official unblocking. Before this, no such precedent existed — there were either endless negotiations without results or blocking without any steps toward compromise.
What Doesn’t Work After Roblox Was Unblocked
An important nuance that gets lost against the backdrop of the news about Roblox’s return to Russia. After unblocking, Roblox chats are unavailable to Russian users: neither text nor voice.
Our editorial team confirmed: chats in Roblox no longer work
And on the game’s website it says directly:
You can only view system messages. Chat is unavailable in your region.
The fact that Roblox chats don’t work is part of the agreements, not a temporary technical glitch. The platform removed the public game chat as part of fulfilling child protection requirements. For those who played Roblox for socializing with other players — this is a significant limitation. For those who simply play — it’s not critical.
Roblox on Android and other platforms works normally without a VPN, and access is open throughout Russia. Age groups have appeared in account settings, and age verification is offered for additional features. Roblox without VPN is now a reality, personally verified.
Will Telegram and YouTube Return to Russia
This is where it gets most interesting. When asked whether Telegram and YouTube could return to Russia, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov replied:
The Roblox story clearly shows that all services can return if they comply with the laws.
This is not an accidental slip of the tongue, but the official Kremlin position. How realistic this is for Telegram and YouTube is a separate question. Each service has its own blocking history and its own obstacles. Telegram is blocked in the context of far more complex relations with the regulator than a children’s gaming platform. YouTube is a story about multi-billion dollar fines and fundamental disagreements over content moderation. Roblox in this sense was a more manageable case: specific complaints, specific measures, specific results. But Peskov’s statement is a signal. The door has been officially declared open. What happens next depends on whether the services themselves want to walk through it on the proposed terms.
Will Internet Blocks in Russia Be Lifted
The honest answer is no, they won’t. And here’s why the Roblox story, despite all its positivity, doesn’t change the overall picture.
The unblocking of Roblox is a story about one specific service that agreed to specific conditions: age filtering, disabling chats, moderation commitments. This is not internet liberalization, but a managed return upon fulfillment of regulatory requirements. The difference is fundamental.
Waiting for further internet liberalization is pointless for now
Internet blocks in Russia and whitelists continue to exist in parallel and are in no way connected to the negotiations around Roblox. How internet whitelists in Russia work and why they function even when a specific service is formally unblocked can be learned from a separate article.
Roblox in 2026 has returned, which is already good news for millions of Russian players. But looking at the bigger picture: the precedent that has been created doesn’t mean “the internet is free again,” but rather “the internet is available to those who accepted the rules of the game.” These are different stories.
