I really like yep.com, as per https://www.searchenginemap.com/ it's one of only four search engines that run their own web crawlers. Results are slow but incredibly high-quality.

Yandex is also yellow on that map. It lists five search engines that run their own crawlers -- Google, Bing, Yandex, Mojeek, and Yep

Brave Search has an independept index (https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/28/brave-search-doesnt-use-bi...) and Qwant and Ecosia recently announced that they would be working on an independent European search index too (https://blog.ecosia.org/eusp/)

its crazy that russian search engine is more "open" compared to US search engine

On this one particular issue. There are certainly things blocked by Russian search engines which have to comply with a rather lengthy list of banned sites since about 2012.

That's not the case.

https://ft.com/content/8a71052d-d26d-4d71-95d8-c8886ca4fdea

Paywall

Oops, sorry about that!

mirror: https://archive.ph/GTnS3

Just realized "archive.ph" is inappropriate for this topic...

https://hackread.com/fbi-wants-to-know-who-runs-archive-ph

Today is not my day.

It’s most definitely not.

There are countless websites and topics removed from Google. It’s impossible to say.

If by more open you mean not easily censored by anybody but Putin. But it's hard to imagine that it's actually more open by any reasonable definition of that word.

By open, they mean fewer results censored. The west censors more results overall than Russia, kind of like how more UK citizens are arrested for speech crimes than Russians, or kind of like how abortion is more legal in Russia than it is in half of the USA.

Which isn't to say Russia is a bastion of free speech, it's not, you still can't go hold an LGBTQIA2s+ pride parade or publicly march demanding you be given the right to hold the parade in the future without being thrown in prison, but they're a poor case study for authoritarianism when the west is rapidly turning more authoritarian than Russia is, while Russia hasn't really changed much in that regard in the last quarter century or so.

“Practical freedom” is a very important measure of freedom. If you are generally more free to do what you want, how much does it matter that you live in a dictatorship? If I live in a democracy with 10,000 laws I can’t meaningful affect with 1 vote, am I free?

Get off it, Russia is arresting people for a single web search: https://zona.media/news/2025/12/10/glukhikh

If you think the West is becoming more authoritarian than Russia, you're either misinformed or lying.

When did a 3,000₽ ($37) fine for searching for nazi symbols turn into an arrest? Your source doesn't say anything about this.

> Sergei Glukhikh, 20, was arrested in September under a law that had come into force earlier that month, and which raised concerns about expanded surveillance and potential abuse by law enforcement.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/10/first-russian-fine...

Hope that clarifies it for you.

The Moscow Times has the same relationship to Moscow as the RFA has to Chinese news. This is a propaganda mouthpiece, thepurpose the purpose of which is to engage in cherrypicking, finding isolated cases and making a big deal out of a molehill.

If it's also going to be against Russia, it would be great.

>"found Glukhikh guilty and imposed a fine of 3,000 rubles ($38)."

"Glukhikh, who did not attend his sentencing hearing, has denied his guilt."

And also:

"FSB officer noticed Glukhikh searching for extremist content while riding next to him on the bus"

  That is, an employee of the services saw a search for a banned organization engaged in the murder of Russians and the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine and reported it. 

  You must admit that this is not the same as just looking for information on Yandex.

  And the parental comment refers specifically to the Yandex search, and not to isolated cases when an FSB agent suddenly stands behind you.

 Keep in mind that millions of Russians search for information about VPN and the rest every day, openly discuss it on social networks and do not receive any punishment for it.

I'm sure you're experienced enough at using Yandex/Rambler/whatever to find other sources. What are those, btw? Соловьёв Live?

> You must admit that this is not the same as just looking for information on Yandex.

I must do no such thing. The other week I searched for the fascist Ivan Ilyin because I wanted to see what kind of ideas Putin built his ideology on. I've also read about the Russian Nazi paramilitary unit Rusich Group, responsible for the murder of Ukrainians. I've googled Maria Lvova-Belova, wanted by the International Criminal Court for kidnapping children. Do you think I should have been arrested for those?

I'm happy you guys can still search for VPNs, enjoy it while you can. Truly the pinnacle of democracy.

Isn't the comment you're responding to using the source that you provided?

Yes, and? I'm perfectly fine with discussing it based on The Moscow Times article, it's the other commenter who disregarded it for being "against Russia" (I wish!). Since there are other sources that have reported on this, I suggested they search the runet for an officially-sanctioned outlet if that's what they prefer.

I did not ignore it, my comments are really based on the material of this article, I only pointed out that such a source is Russian news, in which RFA is Chinese news.

Unfortunately, from your next comment (you've collected a whole bingo there) I realized that I might have wasted my time on you.

This level of concern is corrected only if you want it yourself, no one from the outside can help you.

My statement that you can safely search for the necessary information on Yandex remains valid.

Hope they feed you well over there.

>its crazy that russian search engine is more "open" compared to US search engine

It's crazy that you think there's only one search engine in the US.

Try this one: https://www.bing.com/search?q=sci-hub

>There are alternative search engines to Google,

..and of those, I really wouldn't be giving the one under the direct control of Russia's FSB as my top recommendation.

A little-known American search engine known as Bing[1] lists Sci-Hub just fine though.

[1] https://www.bing.com/search?q=sci-hub

You are recommending a search engine that is operating from Russia under one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. The Russian state monitors usage and is definitely censoring all sorts of stuff on it.

Of course Sci Hub was developed by a Russian, which is probably why Yandex is not censoring it. Also, I don't think the Russian government cares much for intellectual property rights of companies in NATO countries, for obvious reasons. But they are definitely censoring a wide range of other topics.

Check this reports for some details on the types of things that Yandex censors: https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/07/30/disrupted-throttled-an...

If I was looking for something that is against the interests of Russian oligarchs I wouldn't use yandex.

In the same way it has become obvious that you should not use Google if you are looking for something that is against the interests of American oligarchs.

Jeez, gimme a break. The US is rounding up people on the streets, the UK throwing terrorism legislation at pensioners, don't get me started on Israel.

Russia is an oppressive and dangerous regime, sure, but in 2025, there's nothing particularly special about it on human rights and censorship.

In the context of Western censorship of a global resource, Yandex makes a load of sense.

You don't have to go too far to see such similar censorship in action. It's not just "them over there". Hacker News conducts stealth censorship, shadow banning, and manipulations of all kinds to push artificial narratives, etc...

Its about unchecked corruption, abuse, and the misuse of power. It's a mistake to believe such things are only done by "them" in a different country.

Can you elaborate further? Sounds very conspiratorial.

The context is that corporate entity A is usually no more "pure" than corporate entity B in another country. When at the end of the day, they're corporate entities that will do whatever in service of profits, interests, or goals. What is allowed to be seen or promoted, including not seen, can be what aligns to their interests and profits.

What users or readers might perceive as popular or best, may not be, because of manipulation. Most would have no idea of the situation, unless stumbling upon it or exposed, and many could care less even if aware. If they make too much of a direct fuss about it, their account or even the person might cease functioning. Users will not usually even know what's banned, vice versa, nor know what's promoted by hand or via algorithm.