ChatGPT in Russia broke in a new way: it seems that for the first time blocked not in OpenAI, and on the side of the Russian Federation

On the evening of September 6, 2026, the chatgpt.com domain ceased to open from Russian users, and this is not an ordinary failure. Access to ChatGPT in Russia has been closed since June 2024, but the restriction has always stood on the side of OpenAI. Now the nature of the blocking has changed, and this indicates that the Russian side has joined the case for the first time. We understand what happened and why it is important.

## How it was before and what changed

Until now, the scheme worked as follows: a request from a Russian user flew to OpenAI servers, the company determined by the IP address that he was from Russia, and responded with a refusal - the code 403 with a message about the inaccessibility of the service in the region. That’s why a regular VPN solved the problem: it simply replaced the visible OpenAI geolocation.

Now everything is different: the connection is terminated ** even before it reaches the OpenAI servers ** at the stage of **TLS handshake **, that is, at the moment when the browser is just trying to establish a secure connection to the site. Technically, this looks like the result of the work of TSPU – “technical means of countering threats”, equipment for DPI (deep traffic analysis), which is legally required to install Russian telecom operators. Previously, in Russia, Twitter/X, some VPN protocols and a number of other foreign services were blocked in a similar way.

## What the technical inspection showed

The Comss.one portal conducted its own test: it compared the TLS handshake with the chatgpt.com domain and with several other domains that lead to the same foreign IP address – that is, they are in the same network conditions. The result is indicative: 4 of the 5 domains opened normally, namely chatgpt.com – broke.

This means that the filter is not configured to the entire range of OpenAI addresses, but specifically to the line of the domain (via SNI - a field in the TLS handshake, where the browser explicitly transfers the name of the site to which it connects). It was the “showcase” that was blocked – the address through which people usually enter the service. ab.chatgpt.com, api.chatgpt.com, openai.com and auth.openai.com also appear to be affected.

## Mass complaints

DownDetector has seen a sharp increase in complaints about ChatGPT since the evening of September 6. By 10:00 Moscow time on September 7, the share of network failures when trying to reach the service reached 83%. Most often, users complained about a broken site (43% of messages), a general failure (13%) and problems with the mobile application (3%). Most complaints are from Windows users (about 40%), also noticeable complaints with Android (23.8%) and iOS (22.2%).

Depending on the browser, the error looks different: Firefox shows “Secure Connection Failed” with PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR code, browsers on Chromium – either freeze with ERR_TIMED_OUT, or immediately issue ERR_CONNECTION_RESET.

## No official confirmation yet

At the time of the news, neither Roskomnadzor nor other regulators have commented on the situation. This is not the first case when the RKN is silent or directly denies its involvement: in February 2026, when ChatGPT also had a large-scale failure, the agency told the media that there were no decisions to restrict access to the service.

At the same time, actions towards ChatGPT in Russia grew gradually and were no secret:

• at the end of February 2026, RKN restricted access to 469 blocking bypass services and began to purposefully cut protocols like SOCKS5, VLESS and L2TP;
• On March 17, 2026, the agency sent a request to large VPN providers operating in Russia to block access to ChatGPT, Claude and Midjourney – with a deadline of May 1, 2026.

A similar story happened almost simultaneously with the service VirusTotal - it also stopped opening in Russia around the same days, although formally these are not related services.

## In Short: What You Need to Know

• On September 6, 2026, ChatGPT in Russia for the first time changed the nature of the restriction: the connection is now broken at the stage of TLS handshake, even before the OpenAI servers – this is similar to blocking through the TSP on the side of Russian operators.
• Previously, the service answered itself with a 403 IP geolocation code – and this was easily bypassed by a conventional VPN. The new lock works differently and hits a specific domain at the network level.
• DownDetector recorded a sharp increase in complaints since the evening of September 6, the share of network failures reached 83%.
• There is no official confirmation of the blocking from Roskomnadzor at the time of publication - but the agency issued a requirement for VPN providers to block ChatGPT in March 2026.

The news develops - when there are official comments or new technical details, the material makes sense to supplement. *

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*Sources: Comss.one, Men Today, RBC, Habr. *