Introduction

Accessing Claude from Russia might seem like a daunting task due to the service's regional restrictions. In this article, I will explain in detail how to register for the web version and API of Claude, what tools are needed to bypass the restrictions, and how to use the service safely in the future. This guide is based on personal experience and includes registration methods that are current as of late 2024 and have been tested in practice.

After searching Russian-language resources, I realized that there is very little practically useful information, or it might not account for changes in the service's operation. Ordinary users have to gather information piece by piece—from various YouTube videos, forums, or superficial articles.

Therefore, I decided to create an up-to-date guide based on my personal experience and knowledge, taking into account all the pitfalls that an inexperienced Claude user might encounter.

Why Claude and not ChatGPT?

For those who stumbled upon this article by chance, or who want to switch from using ChatGPT to Claude, it's perfectly normal to ask, why switch? Well... to be frank, it's hard to call Claude a "ChatGPT killer," as many bloggers or information sources claim. It's more of a magnificent competitor/analogue that has carved out a niche where ChatGPT has weaknesses or performs somewhat worse.

But for clarity, I'd like to highlight the general points on why Claude is a good language model:

Context Memory Size:Claude can hold 200K tokens of information in its dialogue memory (approximately ~150,000 words). This allows you to upload entire books, documentation, or large code snippets from your project.
High-Quality Russian Language:From personal experience, I've noticed that Claude understands and responds in Russian very naturally, unlike ChatGPT (whose text sometimes resembles a machine translation).
Advanced Programming:Claude demonstrates a high level of proficiency in writing code using various programming languages and frameworks, significantly outperforming ChatGPT-4 in benchmarks. Thanks to its developed creative abilities, it is particularly good at frontend development tasks.
Emotional Intelligence:Claude is surprisingly insightful in its communication with the user. It not only generates emotionally rich and deep responses but is also capable of reading the user's mood during a dialogue and taking it into account in its answers. It feels like communicating with a person, not a machine.
Creative Abilities:Claude possesses impressive creative capabilities. It is effective not only in technical tasks but also in creative ones: it helps with application design, generating unconventional ideas, and their critical analysis. For example, one Twitter user is experimenting with using neural networks for construction in Minecraft, and the latest versions of Claude show visually stunning results compared to other models.
Artifacts System:Artifacts in Claude are a kind of code interpreter provided in a separate pop-up window on the website. This allows you to create prototypes of functions or applications and immediately see the results of their work. The functionality also extends to creating diagrams, graphs, images, animations, and formatted text.
Flexible User Limits:Unlike ChatGPT with its fixed limits (e.g., 25–30 requests per certain period), Claude uses a dynamic system to determine the available number of messages. It considers both the overall system load and the intensity of your work, which usually depends on the amount of context memory used.

Of course, many more distinctive points could be added here... but I don't want to clutter the article too much. I'm sure you've grasped the general concept of Claude's strengths.

Preparing for Registration

To start working with Claude, you need to create an account on the claude.ai website. However, the registration process has some nuances. Here's what you'll need:

VPN.To use Claude, you need to connect from one of the "allowed countries." The easiest way to bypass this restriction is to use a VPN service.
Gmail account.During registration, you can only specify an email address in the Gmail.com domain. Other services (Mail.ru, Yandex, less-known foreign email providers) will not work. If you don't have a suitable email, you'll have to create a new one.
Virtual foreign number.To confirm your registration, you need to enter a phone number. Russian numbers will not work, so use any foreign virtual number. You will only need it once.

UPD: Some services have become available for Claude over time. Considering the issues with Google accounts (duplicate accounts are blocked in Russia), I recommend using "protonmail"—it's free, available for Claude, and not subject to blocking.

Security Recommendations

However, there is a chance that while using your account, you might unexpectedly face the unpleasant situation of being blocked for "suspicious activity." Moreover, this can happen abruptly, without any apparent reason or warning.

Therefore, to reduce the risk of your account being blocked, I advise following a few rules:

Use a reliable VPN.Try to ensure that all requests to the chatbot's website come from the same IP address. For this, it's better to use a paid VPN service (ideally a personal one) rather than free public proxies.
Don't forget the VPN.Every time you visit the chatbot's website, check that the VPN is enabled. Even a single connection from a Russian IP address can lead to a block later on.
Work in a separate browser.To avoid data leaks that could identify you (cookies/cache, etc.), dedicate a separate browser for working with Claude and use it only for this purpose. The most convenient option is Chrome, as it allows you to save multiple different profiles.
Be careful with your prompts.Try not to overload Claude with overly provocative or unethical prompts. Despite the bot's high tolerance, excessive abuse can lead to a block after some time.

Getting Access to the Claude Web Version

It is assumed that you already have a Google account and a working VPN. Otherwise, I recommend you look for articles from other users about the latter.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Website Authorization

Go to the website claude.ai
Click the "Continue with Google" button
Confirm authorization through your Google account

After this, the site will require you to enter your details: phone number (for SMS confirmation), date of birth, and agreement to the user terms.

By the way, Claude itself is quite picky, so some services that provide virtual numbers may simply not work.

Please do not consider the option I'm suggesting as an advertisement. It has been tested through personal experience and has stood the test of time. Other services either didn't work perfectly, had high rates, or were rejected by Claude with the reason "this number is not suitable for verification."

2. Preparing a Virtual Number

Register on the 365sms service
Top up your balance with the required amount
On the main page, select one of the recommended countries: England, France, Canada.
In the service's search bar, enter "Claude"
Select and pay for a suitable number (cost is about 24 rubles)

Note: These countries have shown the best results during registration, and they work.

3. Claude Account Registration

Fill out the registration form: - Enter the virtual phone number you received - Specify your date of birth (it is advisable to indicate an age of at least 21) - Accept the license agreement
Click "Send verification code"
Wait for the SMS with the confirmation code (it may take a few minutes)
Enter the received code into the form on the Claude website

If you did everything correctly, your registration will be approved after entering the confirmation code. Next, you will only be asked to enter your name and promise to use the provided capabilities "responsibly."

This is approximately what the website page will look like after your registration.

A prompt for the model to tell more about itself, for users who are just starting their journey with AI.

Important Notes

Anthropic carefully checks phone numbers. Not all virtual numbers are suitable for registration
The 365sms.ru service is recommended based on successful personal experience
When choosing a country for a virtual number, Western European and North American regions are preferred
The waiting time for the SMS with the code can vary, but it usually does not exceed a few minutes

Getting Access to the Claude API Version

Now let's try to get access to the API version of Claude.

Please note:Claude Web and Claude API (Anthropic) accounts are essentially independent services. Registration and payments made on one platform do not apply to the other.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Creating an Anthropic Account

Go to the website console.anthropic.com
Click "Continue with Google"
Confirm authorization through your Google account

2. Setting up the Organization

On the "Create your organization" page:
- Enter the organization name (can be anything)
- In the "Industry" field, select a suitable category (e.g., "Other")
Click "Create Account"

As a result, the basic authorized account will look like this.

Главное меню API Anthropic — Anthropic API Main Menu

Панель вашего баланса на API Anthropic — Your Anthropic API balance panel

3. Account Verification

To start using the API version of Claude, you will need to top up your balance and verify your account via SMS confirmation with a foreign phone number.

To top up your balance, I strongly recommend contacting trusted intermediaries. Anthropic accepts a limited list of cards for payment, and many payments may be declined. Intermediaries have significant experience working with the platform and can ensure a successful payment, as well as help with setting up access.

If there are changes on the Anthropic website in the future (requiring confirmation of a virtual phone number via SMS), 365sms.ru may not be suitable in this situation. Unfortunately, it does not have the "Anthropic" service (although it did until recently).

Therefore, I recommend you use another service—onlinesim.io. In the bottom item among all services, you can select "other," and consequently request confirmation from other sites.

As a rule, for verification with Anthropic, I recommend choosing phone numbers from the USA or Canada. In any case, only those worked for me.

Purchasing Claude Subscriptions

If the current functionality of Claude is not enough for you: request limits, limited dialogue memory, and other features—then you should consider purchasing a subscription. The standard functionality of Claude can be expanded with the PRO version for $20 per month for the web version.

A paid subscription provides the following benefits:

Access to the full family of models:Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, and Claude 3 Haiku
Increased context:full 200K tokens (free users have less than 60 KB of plain text)
Increased request limits:an increase of about 5 times, allowing for more than 30 requests with proper use (each model has its own counter)
Additional features:ability to create projects with uploaded texts and instructions (similar to GPTs), access to alpha features
Priority service:during high load, paid accounts are less subject to restrictions

The payment process for Claude is significantly different from the ChatGPT experience. Payment is made directly on the Anthropic website (not in Stripe), which creates certain difficulties due to the use of a VPN. In addition, the service accepts a limited list of payment cards for unknown reasons.

My attempts to use other payment methods through Telegram channels (intermediaries for foreign payments) or virtual US cards from Telegram bots turned out to be simply unworkable for Anthropic services. Therefore, I do not recommend experimenting with payment on your own if you are not confident in the reliability of your method.

The most reliable payment method is to contact specialized intermediaries, who can be found on marketplaces like plati.ru and avito.ru. Simply search for "Anthropic," "Claude AI," or "Claude API."

When choosing an offer, pay attention to the description to ensure that you are purchasing a personal subscription to claude.ai, and not access to a shared account or a third-party service with a set of AI models.

Note: these intermediaries also help with topping up the balance of Anthropic API accounts.

Пример поиска посредников для оплаты подписки на plati.ru — Example of searching for intermediaries to pay for a subscription on plati.ru

Example of searching for intermediaries to pay for a subscription on plati.ru

Пример поиска посредников для оплаты подписки на avito.ru — Example of searching for intermediaries to pay for a subscription on avito.ru

Example of searching for intermediaries to pay for a subscription on avito.ru

Important Recommendations

When purchasing a subscription, the intermediary will get temporary access to your account via a code or authorization link. Keep in mind that this access can last for about two weeks (if the seller chooses not to log out), as Claude does not have a "log out from all devices" function.
It is preferable to work with sellers who offer remote activation via remote desktop access. This allows you to:
- Maintain full control over the account
- Avoid suspicious logins from other IP addresses
If the auto-renewal function is not disabled by the seller after activating the subscription, Anthropic will try to make a payment from the now-invalid card for 10 days. During this time, the subscription will remain on your account. (Not all sellers do this).
If you wish to renew your subscription, it is recommended to create a new account. Advantages:
- No accumulated restrictions in the censorship filters
- Increased model performance (possibly a way to attract new customers)
- Prevention of possible account blocks (which can be spread out over time)

Conclusion

Over the past few months, I have tried various ways to access Claude and its API, experimenting with subscriptions and payment methods. Based on this experience, I have tried to create a detailed and informative guide that will help you avoid common mistakes and save time and money.

It's important to understand that the Anthropic ecosystem is constantly evolving. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Therefore, I recommend always having a backup plan—alternative access and payment methods, spare accounts, and reliable contacts for intermediaries.

I want to separately note that despite some difficulties in gaining access, Claude is truly worth the effort. It is one of the most powerful and flexible artificial intelligence tools available today, especially if you work with texts, analytics, or programming.

I hope this article helps you successfully start working with Claude and use its capabilities as effectively as possible. If you have any questions or find inaccuracies in this article, please write in the comments; I'm ready to discuss.

How to access Claude (web/api) from Russia in 2024?