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The Bell reports that Vladislav Minakov, a former employee of a Russian agency involved in blocking websites, wrote nearly 90% of the code in AIVPN’s latest release. AIVPN creator Oleg Kirichenko and Minakov confirmed they work together, while experts cited by The Bell raised questions about the developer’s background and the service’s effectiveness. A quick review found nothing suspicious, but it is not a full security audit.
Former Russian website-blocking official Vladislav Minakov wrote nearly 90% of the code in the latest release of AIVPN, a service marketed as a way to get around government internet blocks, according to an investigation by The Bell. The report identifies Minakov as a former employee of the Main Radio Frequency Center, an agency linked to Roskomnadzor, Russia’s internet regulator.
The Bell’s Maria Kolomychenko examined AIVPN’s GitHub commit history, which records changes to the project. It shows that a user with the handle vminakov joined in June 2026 and made several hundred changes affecting hundreds of thousands of lines of code. The Bell used the AI model Claude to estimate that this contributor wrote nearly 90% of the source code in AIVPN’s latest release and developed most of its key components.
AIVPN creator Oleg Kirichenko, an IT entrepreneur originally from Rostov-on-Don who now lives in Turkey, told The Bell he met Minakov through GitHub after Minakov submitted a proposed code change. Kirichenko said he checked Minakov’s former employment before they began working together. Minakov also confirmed to The Bell that he helps develop the service.
AIVPN’s online advertising appeared in spring 2026. The service is presented as a way to disguise VPN traffic so it resembles ordinary internet traffic and can evade detection by deep packet inspection systems. Kirichenko told The Bell he made it to help people in countries where access to information is restricted. Minakov said he became interested in the project because of difficulties transmitting data reliably, and described bypassing blocks as one possible use rather than the project’s sole purpose.
Why Minakov’s Role Matters
The report places a former official involved in implementing Russian website restrictions in a leading role on a tool marketed to circumvent them. That history is relevant to people considering whether to trust software that may handle their internet traffic, even though the reporting does not establish that AIVPN contains malicious code or that Minakov has used his position to compromise it.
The service’s claims also matter to users seeking access to blocked sites. A tool’s ability to disguise traffic does not by itself show that it can reliably bypass restrictions, protect users from surveillance, or work when providers and hosting services are blocked. The experts quoted by The Bell raised concerns about both the developer’s background and whether the technical approach can work in practice.
For open-source projects, a public code history can help identify who contributes, but it is not the same as an independent, complete security assessment. The Bell reported that specialists conducting a quick review found nothing suspicious. That finding offers limited reassurance, not a guarantee about the code, the service’s operation, or future updates.
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From Website Blocking to VPN Code
Minakov previously worked at the Main Radio Frequency Center, which has responsibilities related to enforcing Russian website blocks. According to The Bell, his work included the Revizor system, which checks whether internet service providers in Russia are blocking sites on Roskomnadzor’s prohibited lists. The report says he rose to become a technical adviser to the center’s director and left for another job in 2023.
Minakov’s LinkedIn profile says he now heads software development at GlavNIVTs, an organization overseen by the Russian Presidential Property Management Directorate that develops and deploys information systems for government agencies. Minakov told The Bell that AIVPN is separate from his main employment and has no political or commercial dimension. The report does not independently establish whether his current employer is involved in the project.
AIVPN’s stated focus is disguising VPN traffic, a technique intended to make it harder for network systems to identify and block a connection. The report’s experts cautioned that technical design is only part of the challenge: a user may still need access to hosting providers and infrastructure that remain reachable. The article does not provide independent performance testing or a complete security audit of the service.
“I checked everything very carefully, then we started working together, and he made some pretty useful changes.”
— Oleg Kirichenko, AIVPN’s creator, speaking to The Bell
Security and Performance Questions
The Bell’s report does not establish whether AIVPN is safe to install, whether its traffic-disguising claims have been independently tested, or whether it can consistently bypass blocks. The specialists’ review was described as quick; the source material does not say it was a full audit of every component, the service’s infrastructure, or its later code changes.
Minakov and Kirichenko gave their accounts of the project’s purpose and their collaboration, but the report does not independently verify every aspect of their motives or whether AIVPN has any connection to Minakov’s government-sector work. It also remains unclear how the service performs against restrictions on hosting providers and other network infrastructure. The reported estimate that Minakov wrote nearly 90% of the latest release comes from an analysis of the commit history using Claude, not from a published, line-by-line independent authorship audit.
Further Review Could Clarify Risks
The source report does not identify a scheduled security audit, product update, or response from Russian authorities. Any stronger assessment of AIVPN would require further examination of its source code and how the service handles user traffic, alongside testing of its performance under network restrictions.
For now, the confirmed development is that Minakov acknowledged contributing to AIVPN and that The Bell’s review of the project history attributes most of the latest release’s code to his account. Users and researchers will have to rely on further technical scrutiny and disclosures from the developers to clarify the service’s security, effectiveness, and operational arrangements.
Key Questions
Who wrote most of AIVPN’s latest release?
Vladislav Minakov, using the GitHub handle vminakov, wrote nearly 90% of the code in the latest release, according to The Bell’s analysis of the project’s commit history.
What is Minakov’s connection to Russia’s internet censorship system?
The Bell reports that Minakov formerly worked at the Main Radio Frequency Center, a Roskomnadzor-linked agency, where his work included the Revizor system that checks whether providers block prohibited sites.
What does AIVPN claim to do?
AIVPN is marketed as a service that disguises VPN traffic to make it resemble ordinary traffic and evade detection by deep packet inspection systems. The report does not provide independent testing confirming how well it works.
Has AIVPN been found to contain suspicious code?
Not in the quick review described by The Bell: RKS Global specialists reportedly found nothing suspicious. That review was not described as a full security audit, so it does not establish that the service is safe.
What remains unknown about the project?
The report does not establish AIVPN’s overall security, its effectiveness against blocks, or whether its infrastructure can remain accessible when hosting providers are restricted. Minakov said the project is separate from his main job and has no political or commercial dimension.
Source: meduza.io
