Kremlin’s assault on anime continues as Russian watchdog blocks popular Naruto fansite


Another popular anime fansite has been blocked in Russia as the assault on the Japanese-born genre continues.

“Well, congratulations, we are now one step closer to North Korea,” one user said on the popular Russian social media site VK.

This is in response to the popular Naruto fansite ‘Naruto Technical School’ (jut.su) being blocked in the country.

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Many Naruto fans were initially confused about why the site wasn’t working, while others questioned what Russia had come to.

Other users expressed their discontent with Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency that controls the country’s mass media.

One user posted an image of a search they did of jut.su and whether it was blocked. The search results (returned in Russian) seem to suggest that the Roskomnadzor placed the fansite on a registry for banned or blocked information sources.

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Anime wiped out in Russia

Historically, Russian agencies like Roskomnadzor seem to have had issues with the genre and have repeatedly tried blocking or banning certain animes.

In 2021, Vice reported that a Russian court ruled to ban various anime, including ‘Attack on Titan’ and ‘Akira,’ on the grounds that the content negatively impacts children's mental and moral development.

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According to The Moscow Times, which was deemed an undesirable organization in Russia, ‘Death Note,’ ‘Tokyo Ghoul,’ and ‘Inuyashiki’ were also banned due to fear that teenagers would replicate the violence within these series.