On Thursday evening, Russian media and Telegram channels reported that Globalcheck monitor found all Russian mobile providers had unrestricted access to YouTube. — AFP
MOSCOW: Russian media reported Thursday evening that many YouTube users were able to watch normally following months of slow video speeds in the country, after President Vladimir Putin promised to look into the issue.
Russians since the summer have experienced slow speeds or no access to YouTube, one of the most popular media platforms in the country, amid a dispute between the Russian government and YouTube owner Google.
The Kremlin has blamed the slowdown on "problems with Google's technical equipment", but it is widely believed that authorities are behind the move.
On Nov 14, Karen Shakhnazarov, the director general of Mosfilm, the country's largest film studio, told a TV talk show he had raised the issue with Putin.
Shakhnazarov, a Putin ally, said he told the president that "the slowing down of YouTube is not very expedient today".
"The president said there are all kinds of nasty stuff on there," he added.
Shakhnazarov said he told Putin that those who wanted to access such material would find ways around blockages, while many Russians watched films on YouTube.
Putin "heard me out and said 'I'll get to the bottom of it’”, the director said, after meeting Putin Wednesday.
On Thursday evening, Russian media and Telegram channels reported that Globalcheck monitor found all Russian mobile providers had unrestricted access to YouTube.
An AFP reporter in Moscow was able to access YouTube without a VPN and said it was working normally.
"Some users from Russia are saying on social media that videos have started to load for them. Some people write that problems remain," Dozhd independent TV channel posted on Telegram.
In an online poll of more than 43,000 respondents by Baza Telegram channel 34% said YouTube had started working again, while 66% said they were still experiencing glitches.
Russia has demanded that Google reinstate more than 200 Russian YouTube channels that the US company blocked for spreading pro-Kremlin content, including over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian courts have repeatedly fined Google in a bid to force the tech giant into compliance. – AFP
