Archive.today, a widely-used website for accessing copies of paywalled articles and subscription-locked content, has been blocked by Russian internet censors. Russian users attempting to visit the site and its associated domains now encounter error pages stating "Access to the Internet resource Blocked by decision of the public authorities," citing Roskomnadzor, the country's internet censorship agency.
Russian authorities confirmed the blocking of Archive.today's main domain (.is) on Monday, though the agency did not provide a specific reason for the restriction at the time of publication. The block appears to extend to several associated domains including .ph variations of the site.
TechCrunch was able to verify the blocking by accessing the sites from U.S. locations, where Russian error pages appeared in place of the normal Archive.today interface. However, the site remained accessible from various other international networks, and users could still successfully archive web pages despite the apparent Russian restrictions.
The extent and implementation of the block remains unclear. While some Archive.today domains show as restricted in Roskomnadzor's official listings, others including Archive.today itself do not appear on the blocked sites registry. Representatives from Roskomnadzor did not respond to inquiries about the blocking outside Moscow working hours.
Archive.today has faced mounting scrutiny in recent months beyond Russian borders. In a significant move, Wikipedia editors recently decided to remove hundreds of thousands of links to the service after discovering problematic behavior in its underlying code.
The Wikipedia investigation revealed that Archive.today's website code was secretly using visitors' browsers to generate excessive network traffic directed at a blogger who had criticized the service's operations. This discovery prompted the mass removal of Archive.today links from Wikipedia articles worldwide.
- Block affects multiple Archive.today domains including .is and .ph versions
- Site remains accessible from non-Russian networks and still functions for archiving
- Roskomnadzor has not provided public explanation for the restriction
- Comes amid broader Wikipedia controversy over Archive.today's practices
The blocking represents another instance of Russian internet restrictions, though the specific timing and rationale remain opaque. Archive.today's operators have not responded to requests for comment about either the Russian block or the broader Wikipedia controversy.
For Russian users, the restriction eliminates access to a tool that had become increasingly important for accessing international journalism and academic content often hidden behind paywalls. The block's technical implementation appears inconsistent across Archive.today's various domain extensions, suggesting either a partial rollout or varying enforcement mechanisms.
The development highlights the ongoing tensions between content preservation services and both government censors and content creators concerned about paywall circumvention. While Archive.today has positioned itself as a legitimate archival service, its use for bypassing paid content has drawn criticism from publishers and now regulatory action from at least one major government.