The ongoing slowdown, reportedly implemented by Russian regulators to restrict access to the service, has made the platform nearly unusable in the country.Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, began throttling YouTube speeds in July, initially blaming technical issues caused by wear and tear on Google’s servers.Google dismissed the claim, while Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein later confirmed the slowdowns were intentional.Khinshtein, head of the State Duma's Information Policy Committee, said the measure targets YouTube’s administration for allegedly ignoring Russian legislation.  By September, YouTube's loading speeds in Russia had dropped significantly, with the average video start time for fixed networks increasing nearly tenfold, from 1.21 seconds in June to 11.01 seconds, the Moscow Times claims.In December, operators extended the slowdowns to the mobile version of the platform, further hindering access.