Overview of Instagram After Blocking in Russia. Key Trends, Ratings, and Promotion Formats

On 14th March 2022, Instagram was blocked in Russia upon request by the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation. This made targeted advertising on Instagram from Russia impossible, resulting in significant losses for advertisers. Russian users were also affected, as access to the social network was only possible via VPN. 

Nevertheless, the traffic is there and it is quite large. How can Instagram be an effective tool for brand promotion in Russia? Let's talk about it in detail.

Instagram Statistics in Russia

Despite being banned in Russia, Instagram retains second place in the number of bloggers and third place in terms of content volume. In 2024, the number of authors decreased to 62%. However, the average number of posts reached 4.6 per month, which is twice as much compared to 2 posts the year before last.

It is worth noting that the majority of Instagram's audience is female. Users are aged between 25-34 and 35-44 years old.

In 2024, Livedune, a social media management service, conducted a study on user engagement on Instagram since its ban. The main findings were as follows: 

• In 2024, the average number of Stories views for bloggers reached 97% of the figures recorded for the same period in 2022. For major bloggers with an audience of over 100,000 followers, the situation with Stories views was the worst. By the end of 2023, their views had dropped to 42% of the level recorded before the ban.

• There is a trend — the fewer followers a blogger has, the higher the engagement. This highlights the global trend of micro-influencers, which has been apparent in many countries for several years.

• Last year, the average Reach Rate (the ratio of post reach to the number of followers) for bloggers was 68% of the January 2022 level. The highest figures were recorded among major influencers with an audience of over 100,000 followers. Their Reach Rate achieved 126% compared to the pre-ban level.

• Despite the drop in viewers, engagement was up, with more comments, likes, and saved posts.

Instagram in Russia, despite being banned, remains a functional tool for attracting clients. Stories views have hardly changed, staying at 97% of the pre-ban level. However, the number of reactions to posts has dropped to 51%, which only indicates that people have become more selective and pay more attention to their content choices.

Who are the leaders of Russian Instagram* at the moment?

Top Russian Instagram Bloggers 2024

The top-ranked Instagram influencers include blogger Oksana Samoylova, TV host Ksenia Borodina, Olga Buzova, makeup artist Goar Avetisyan, Karina Kross, and others.
 

Oksana Samoylova is a blogger, the wife of the popular rap singer Dzhigan, and a mother of four children. She runs several businesses, including an adult clothing brand, a children's clothing brand, and her own line of cosmetics.

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Samoylova Oxana (@samoylovaoxana)

 

Kseniya Borodina is a TV presenter and blogger who has been involved in business for several years: she has launched a clothing brand, opened beauty salons and a children's club, and sold an online course. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Ксения Бородина (@borodylia)

 

Olga Buzova is a TV presenter and singer who actively manages her Instagram account. Olga writes motivational and inspiring messages, sharing moments from her personal life. For example, she shared a post dedicated to her birthday. She also keeps her followers informed about new projects, performances, and premieres.

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Olga Buzova (@buzova86)

 

Goar Avetisyan creates educational and informative beauty-related videos. She began her career in makeup at the young age of 16 and later studied cosmetology and makeup artistry. She opened a studio where she provided makeup lessons and services for women. She developed her Instagram blog and now earns millions by teaching make-up.

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Goar Avetisyan (@goar_avetisyan)

 

Karina Cross (real name — Karina Lazarants) is a Russian blogger, singer, actress, and presenter. She actively blogs on social media and creates musical content. On her Instagram page, she shares real-life events, promotes her music tracks, and enjoys posting motivational and psychological content.

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Карина Лазарьянц (@karinakross)

 

Another popular Instagram blogger, TV host, and singer is Ida Galich. She started with KVN and then spent years refining her style on social media, creating sincere and humorous content.

Her Reels featuring funny everyday situations regularly go viral. At the end of 2024, she entered Russia’s top 20 bloggers for the first time, ranking 9th— a result of years of hard work and the development of original content. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от ИДА ГАЛИЧ (@galichida)

 

The top 20 bloggers on Instagram are a diverse group, including influencers, musical performers, and show hosts. They share a variety of content, from entertaining posts to personal stories, and promote a range of values, including family, personal development, and travel. 

These bloggers are highly sought after by brands for collaborations, either directly or through advertising agencies, as targeted advertising on Instagram is no longer effective in Russia. 

RMAA managers have a proven track record of working with bloggers on Russia's leading social platforms and are ready to offer comprehensive, responsive solutions for launching influencer campaigns in Russia and the CIS.

Key Instagram Promo Trends

In the current digital landscape, bloggers must devise innovative methods to promote themselves and capture attention. Let's explore the most common options.

Popular Reels

Reels are now one of the most effective ways to promote your page. They're also free. Many bloggers have few posts on their accounts, and almost all their content consists of vertical videos. These videos are usually educational and entertaining. Some bloggers even make entire series of reels to motivate their viewers to subscribe. The more views a reel has, the more likely it is to maximize the organic reach of its content and find new audiences. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от катя смоленцева| твой тимлид (@kattsmol)

 

In the example given, the blogger discusses his life, promotes his channel and brand goods through his text, and interacts with followers through the comments section. Thus, a single publication employs several methods to attract an audience. 

Reels not only aim to attract new followers. Many bloggers utilize them to market their services, sell products, or redirect users to other social media platforms where they are more active. Additionally, reels are used to promote brands. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Не украшения, а ЦАЦКИ

 

Attracting attention to the Viva la Vika jewelry brand with the support of Alexey Zhidkovsky, a popular Instagram blogger in Russia

 

To attract and retain followers' attention for as long as possible, the approach to creating Reels is evolving in 2025. For example:

1. Adding creative text before subtitles and animating them to enhance video comprehension.

2. Producing content in a "cinematic" style using filters that mimic film aesthetics and adding old-film effects.

3. Using collage techniques and unconventional angles.

4. Applying artificial intelligence in short video creation. This year, as promised by CEO Adam Mosseri, an AI model will be integrated directly into the social network to generate creative clips.

5. The trend of using stickers with questions, quizzes, and polls—where viewers choose between two options (THIS or THAT)—remains popular.

 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Наташа Панфилова (@panfil_)

 

Long-term Cooperation

There are brands that work with bloggers on a long-term basis, for example, if the blogger has the right audience. Beauty blogger Ksenia often advertises PUSY products, both directly with a mention of the brand's account and through the Lamoda online store.

 

 

 

 

 

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Despite the limitations, there are quite a few formats for integrating with bloggers and media in Russian Instagram. Plus, one of the most promising tools is cooperation with micro-influencers who have learned to create high-quality content that is not inferior to millionaire bloggers for several years. However, there's one nuance.

Ad labeling and Foreign Agents in Instagram

New provisions on labeling internet ads have been introduced into advertising legislation in Russia since 2022, including for bloggers. We created a detailed guide with examples on this topic. 

In a nutshell, this has had an impact on advertising integrations between bloggers and brands on Instagram. 

Despite Instagram being a banned social network in Russia, labeling advertising here has also become necessary. In the past year, there has been much debate regarding the tagging of internet advertisements shown to Russian residents. However, both FAS and RKN (legislative bodies in Russia) have unequivocally decided that such ads must be labeled. 

Any concerns expressed by bloggers that distributing advertising posts on Instagram could be viewed as sponsoring an extremist organization are unfounded. The government has made it clear that advertising content for brands does not amount to sponsorship of the social network itself, as the influencer is paid for placing the ads. 

A new law was introduced in early 2024 that affects media personalities who openly oppose the current Russian political system. Russian companies are required to completely cease cooperation with foreign agents. The list of them includes popular journalist Yuri Dud, singer Boris Grebenshchikov, Morgenstern, humourist Maxim Galkin, and others. 

However, this law does not limit cooperation with foreign brands, as they may be interested in promoting Russian-speaking audiences not only in Russia but also outside of it. It is important to note that the percentage of the audience of Russian bloggers outside the Russian Federation is significant. Having less competition for integration with foreign bloggers is a significant advantage. However, it is important to note that many of the personalities on this list still have a high reach and are promising for cooperation. 

In short, there are many aspects to working with influencers in Russia. 

Brand promotion on Russian Instagram is a tempting, promising, and effective strategy. But there are certain difficulties both on the legal and on the marketing sides. First, you need to find a suitable blogger (note - we know from our experience that one blogger is not enough, you need a selection of influencers), analyze him, make an agreement with him, calculate the effectiveness of advertising, and account for the advertising to the state. For foreign companies, this process can be challenging, and mistakes can result in fines or poor advertising results. 

To achieve the best results in promoting your brand on Instagram in Russia and the CIS, it is essential to entrust the task to experts with deep expertise in this matter. Contact the RMAA team by filling out the application form below. Our prompt feedback and optimal solutions will guarantee the success of your brand promotion.

 

 

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* SM Influence is a social media influence index developed by Medialogy