Tor in Belarus - Protect Yourself During Protests

Belarus's internet censorship escalated dramatically following the August 2020 presidential election. During the election and subsequent protests, the government imposed a near-total internet shutdown lasting three days - one of the most complete internet blackouts ever imposed in Europe. When connectivity was restored, dozens of independent news websites, Telegram channels, and social media platforms remained blocked.

The Operational Analytical Center (OAC) under the president manages internet censorship, working with Beltelecom (the state telecom monopoly that controls all international internet gateways). Blocked content includes the independent news outlets Tut.by, Nasha Niva, and Zerkalo.io, opposition Telegram channels, VPN provider websites, and human rights organization sites. The government has also blocked specific Tor relay IP addresses.

The crackdown extends beyond censorship to prosecution. Over 1,500 people have faced criminal charges related to online activities since 2020, including for subscribing to opposition Telegram channels (which was criminalized in 2021), sharing protest videos, and criticizing the government online. Digital forensics on seized devices have been used as evidence, making device security and anonymous communication tools critically important.

Belarus blocks Tor relay IP addresses and monitors for circumvention tool usage. Pluggable transports are essential:

Snowflake: The most reliable transport for Belarus. Snowflake's WebRTC connections bypass Beltelecom's IP-based blocking and DPI filtering. Belarus's DPI capabilities, while improved since 2020 (reportedly with Russian assistance), are not sophisticated enough to reliably detect Snowflake traffic. Enable Snowflake in Tor Browser's connection settings.

obfs4 Bridges: Private obfs4 bridges work well in Belarus. Request them from bridges.torproject.org or via Telegram (@GetBridgesBot). Given the legal risks of Tor usage in Belarus, keeping bridges private is especially important - do not share them publicly or in group chats that may be monitored.

Downloading Tor Browser: If torproject.org is blocked, use the GetTor service (email gettor@torproject.org) or download from GitHub mirrors. Verify the download signature to ensure it has not been tampered with - the Belarusian government has been suspected of serving modified software through intercepted downloads.

Using a VPN before Tor is strongly recommended in Belarus, both for circumvention and for hiding your Tor usage. The government actively monitors for circumvention tool usage, and evidence of Tor connections logged by Beltelecom could be used against you. A VPN ensures Beltelecom sees only VPN traffic, not Tor.

Choose a VPN provider based outside Belarus and Russia (which cooperates closely with the Lukashenko government). Avoid VPNs with servers in Belarus, Russia, or other CIS countries. Providers based in EU countries, Switzerland, or Iceland are preferred. Pay with cryptocurrency to avoid financial records that could be traced.

For maximum security - especially for activists, journalists, and opposition members - use Tails OS for all sensitive online activities. Tails runs from a USB drive, routes all traffic through Tor, and leaves no traces on the host computer. This is critical in Belarus where device seizure and forensic examination are routine parts of the government's prosecution of dissidents. Enable full-disk encryption on all devices and use strong, unique passwords.

For independent Belarusian media, opposition organizations, and human rights groups, AnubizHost's Tor hosting provides censorship-resistant infrastructure hosted far from the Lukashenko regime's reach. Our offshore servers in Iceland, Romania, and Finland are in countries that actively support Belarusian civil society and will not cooperate with Belarusian censorship demands.

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Deploy a .onion mirror of your news outlet, an anonymous communication platform, or a secure document submission system. AnubizHost provides reliable Tor hosting with NVMe storage, automated monitoring, and encrypted backups. Keep information flowing to the Belarusian public - deploy your .onion service with AnubizHost and help preserve digital freedom in Belarus.