Major banks across Russia on Friday reported major service breakdowns. Their apps crashed, ATMs stopped working, and other capabilities collapsed. The outages caused major complications in everyday life and the economy: Public transport had to stop collecting fares, while some businesses switched to cash-only operations.

The culprit? Not Ukrainian drones or a major cyberattack — rather, the Russian government’s own attempt to block the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs.

The Kremlin has long been striving for greater control over the internet, and navigating an ever-tightening web of censorship has become a fact of life. However, the clumsiness and incompetence of this latest attempt shows how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move may backfire. In trying to silence dissent, the state may instead provoke it.

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At the end of March, the Russian Ministry for Digital Development announced a new crackdown on VPNs, aimed at making them prohibitively expensive for users. On Thursday, the Ministry for Digital Development ordered internet platforms to start blocking VPN usage by April 15 or face sanctions. These measures would force internet providers to charge high rates for international data. Alternatively, they target tech firms that allow VPNs to operate, taking away valuable tax breaks or even threatening their employees with conscription into the military.

These measures build on previous efforts to........

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