ChatGPT and Gemini not working in Russia: why, and what you can do

ChatGPT is not working in Russia, and it is not a random outage: OpenAI does not include the country in the list from which it supports access to its chatbot, and Google treats Gemini the same way. On the evening of October 10, 2026, we checked what visitors on Russian networks see and collected both companies’ official rules on sign-up, phone numbers, payment and the risk to your account.

Why ChatGPT and Gemini don’t work in Russia

OpenAI has a page called “ChatGPT Supported Countries,” a list of the countries and territories from which the company supports access to ChatGPT. Russia and Belarus are not on it: we checked against a Wayback Machine copy of the page from October 7, 2026. A separate list is kept for the API, and Russia is not there either. Back in June 2024, OpenAI emailed developers that from July 9 it would take additional measures to block API traffic from unsupported regions, as The Register reported.

Google has its own page, “Where you can use the Gemini web app,” and Russia is not among the countries where Gemini works. It is also missing from the list of regions for the Gemini API and Google AI Studio, updated on April 28, 2026. Among the reasons why AI Studio does not open, Google lists “Google AI Studio is not available in your region.”

The restrictions are set by the companies themselves, but network outages happen too. On September 7, 2026, the Russian outlet Kod Durova reported that in the morning chatgpt.com did not load from Russia at all, while by midday the connection was back and OpenAI’s usual block page reappeared. The report contains no statements from Roskomnadzor, Russia’s internet regulator, or from OpenAI about that episode.

What we checked on October 10, 2026

We requested the home pages of chatgpt.com and gemini.google.com through the Globalping probe network and, separately, directly from our server abroad, without connecting to a VPN. The measuring tool does not run JavaScript and does not sign in, so we only see the site’s first response.

The difference shows in the text of the response. To Russian probes, chatgpt.com immediately returns the block page and suggests turning off a VPN. To foreign ones, it returns a browser check that needs JavaScript and cookies, which the measuring tool does not have. That is not a refusal based on country, but it is not proof that the chat will work either: we did not get past the check page. We have no Gemini response for Russian addresses.

Sign-up and phone number

• ChatGPT. According to OpenAI’s help center (a copy from July 13, 2026), phone verification is no longer required to create an account or use ChatGPT. A number is required on platform.openai.com when you generate your first API key.
• Gemini. You need a Google account. In September 2024, Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development confirmed that Google had restricted creating new accounts with Russian phone numbers; according to the outlet Snob, signing in with SMS confirmation still worked for already registered users at the time. We have not checked how things stand now.

Paying for ChatGPT and Gemini from Russia

The free version of ChatGPT, OpenAI says on its pricing page, is available to everyone in supported countries, and the paid Go, Plus, Business and Enterprise plans are priced per month. Paying from Russia runs into three obstacles.

• Country and card. OpenAI’s help center says purchases are only available in supported countries and regions, and the card must be issued by a bank located in one of them.
• Russian cards abroad. On March 5, 2022, Visa announced that transactions with its cards issued in Russia would stop working outside the country.
• Google Play and Google AI plans. Since March 10, 2022, Google Play has paused its billing system for users in Russia: subscriptions and in-app purchases through it are unavailable. And some Google AI plans, according to Gemini’s help center, are only available in certain countries.

The services’ rules: your account can be restricted

This is the main risk, and it is worth saying plainly. On its country list page, OpenAI warns that accessing its services outside the listed countries and territories may result in your account being blocked or suspended. The rule is about the country you use the service from, so a foreign IP address does not make access from Russia allowed under OpenAI’s rules.

The Gemini API terms state directly that you may only access the services within an available region. We found no separate warning like that for the regular Gemini app, but Google publishes a list of countries where the Gemini web app can be used, so availability depends on where you are. And Google’s general terms allow it to suspend access or delete an account if a user materially or repeatedly breaches the terms.

What you can do

• Use it in a supported country. ChatGPT is officially available in, for example, Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan, and Gemini in Georgia, the Netherlands and Germany. If you travel abroad, check the country against the OpenAI and Google lists.
• Russian AI services. For example, Alice AI from Yandex is a free AI chat that writes texts and creates images; to keep your chat history, you need to sign in.
• Be careful with free VPN apps. If you still decide to test a foreign address, remember that free apps carry risks of their own: we covered them in the article why a free VPN is risky.

A Liberum VPN location abroad: how to test it without paying

If you understand the risk to your account and still want to see how the sites respond to a foreign address, you can try one of the foreign Liberum VPN locations for free: the Dutch, German or Georgian one. All three countries are on the OpenAI and Google lists, but both companies’ rules look at where you are, not at the address you connect from, so access from Russia remains unsupported. We did not open these sites through the Liberum VPN connection itself this time, so we do not guarantee the result.

How to test it: open the Liberum VPS bot, start the trial (7 days, no card needed), choose a foreign location, add the subscription link to an app such as Happ, connect, and open chatgpt.com or gemini.google.com. The location’s address is shared by all customers. Plans and locations are described on the home page, and whether using a VPN in Russia is legal is covered in a separate article.

What we don’t promise

• That ChatGPT or Gemini will open. We have not opened them with the Liberum VPN turned on, and chatgpt.com first answers foreign addresses with a browser check that our test did not get past.
• That your account won’t be blocked. OpenAI says plainly that access from an unsupported country may end with the account being blocked or suspended, and Google may suspend access if its terms are breached.
• That you will be able to pay for a subscription. An address does not change the country of the bank that issued your card, and OpenAI requires a card from a supported country.
• That the address will be yours alone. The address of each location is shared by all customers.
• That a Russian address will help. Kod Durova tested the site through a VPN with a Russian IP and got the same OpenAI block page.

Key takeaways

• Russia is not on the lists of countries where OpenAI and Google offer ChatGPT and Gemini.
• On October 10, 2026, chatgpt.com answered Russian probes with the “Unable to load site” page and foreign ones with a browser check.
• ChatGPT no longer needs a phone number, while a Google account with a Russian number may run into problems.
• You cannot pay for a subscription with a Russian card: OpenAI requires a card from a bank in a supported country.
• A foreign address can be tested during a 7-day free trial, but that does not cancel OpenAI’s rule on access from unsupported countries.