Do I need a VPN to work as software developer from Russia and which one?

I plan to work from Russia for a few months for a US company, I need access to Github, Notion, Discord, Linear. Should I plan exclusively VPN access because not only is access with a Russian IP disabled, but accounts with Russian IPs in the log history are even closed. How best to plan this and which VPN to use if necessary?

If you need to hide your IP, then you’ll need a VPN. At some point, I was running my own, but stopped doing that. So I don’t know which public services are reliable. But you’ll certainly need one.

Particularly, Discord and Medium are blocked in Russia, and some other services (e. g. “AI” stuff, but also some shops, news outlets, etc.) block Russian IPs themselves.

If you have the ability I would highly recommend self-hosting a wireguard tunnel on some cheap VPS in the us. They blocked a lot of ips so you can get in a situation where your vpn won’t work

Don’t use public VPN for work. You should set up your own server. You can use outline, amnezia. Also it’s preferable to do so on your router rather than on your laptop. US companies restrict working from Russia nowadays and can block your access if your laptop loose VPN connection and connects to company’s resources directly.

To work in Russia where only VLESS is effective:
1. Rent a VPS abroad (e.g., DigitalOcean, Hetzner).
2. Install Xray/V2Ray with the VLESS protocol and enable TLS.
3. Use Domain Fronting (e.g., Cloudflare) to disguise traffic.
4. Set up the Xray/V2Ray client with your server config.

For simplicity, choose VPNs or proxies that support VLESS.

You might want to use remote desktop instead to the server outside of ru if possible.

Rent a VPS in a country other than Russia and deploy a self hosted AmneziaWG, and you should be good

Yes, you need. Because many sites are blocked by Russian Internet Providers plus many site-owners blocked access for Russian IP. For example mongodb.com, medium.com, linkedin.com, chatgpt and so

Be careful, a lot of western companies have very strict policies for working remotely, especially from countries like Russia. First, check if your company has a policy for this. Most likely it will be forbidden outright, but they might allow you with certain precautions like specific tools and protocols. If it’s forbidden, weigh in the risks, whether you should proceed with that at all. If you decide you do want to do it, be extra careful to not be caught by infosec of your company. Don’t use any public VPNs, especially well-known ones. Rent a VPS in the US, or set up a machine at your american home or at one of your friends. Tunnel to that VPS or machine with Wireguard or Amnesia. OpenVPN might work as well.

You definitely need a personal server. Maybe with some tinkering with protocols to make the best from Shadowsocks or XRay, but both works by default.

OpenVPN is blocked, Wireguard sometimes working fine, but mostly blocked as well.

Good try, officer. If you have a computer at home, set it up for remote control or VPN and just work through home for free.

A government can find out if you are using a VPN. They just can’t see what you are doing.

Just setup your own VPN.

яб уволил к хуям такого айтишника, который спрашивает как получить доступ к сайту блять на реддите

I suppose just Tor would be fine in most cases. I believe there is also a way to install it as a system service to launch certain programs and not flood your software with extensions. At least for now browser works fine for me if i want to reach YT or Notion. In Notion case it’s US laws which consider Russia region as prohibited

Github works well
Notion left
Discord blocked
Linear works well
If u use Apple techincs so it’s only VPN, u could find cheap ones in Telegram like Flexible VPN (~0.04$ per day)
If u use Windows OS u could install Zapret/Flow (Can get it on Git) and VPN (u’ll get mad on and off it everytime)
Zapret would give u access to blocked apps and sites, but won’t give access to app or sites who left by themseleves (Like Notion)

I use VPN called Бумага (not ads!)

Yes you need. I use app Swizzvpn -for IPhone and AppleTV (not advertisement)

You can use Zapret, GoodbyeDPI or ByeDPI to bypass restrictions for now.

But when you deal with sites that don’t allow Russian IPs you better use some VLESS VPNs because Wireguard and OpenVPN protocols can be banned. There are a number of services like VPN Generator, Blanc VPN, Capybara VPN, Red Shield VPN, Sven VPN and such

If you are one of IT guys you shouldn’t ask such a stupid question. You’ll know when you need it, you know where to find it.

Ask that VPN from you company. You can even ask them to turn on your local computer for you to work from it remotely.