The BBC's Russian language website hit a new record reach of 10.7 million people last week, according to figures released by the corporation.
The boost in traffic comes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the behest of Russian president Vladimir Putin - a move which is being falsely reported as a humanitarian effort by state-backed media in the country.
The volume of fake news in Russia has led to citizens seeking out more balanced coverage, although Russian authorities have begun to ban some outlets - including Twitter for some users - in an effort to shut down what they claim is false propaganda from the west.
The BBC's reach of 10.7m individuals in the week February 21-27 is more than triple its 3.1m average in the Russian language, with a live updates blog proving the most popular with 5.3m hits.
Meanwhile, Russian readers viewing the BBC's coverage in English rose 252% to 423,000, and the Ukrainian version of BBC News was boosted from a reach of 1.7m to 3.9m.
"It's often said truth is the first casualty of war," said BBC director-general Tim Davie. "In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda is rife, there is a clear need for factual and independent news people can trust – and in a significant development, millions more Russians are turning to the BBC.
"We will continue giving the Russian people access to the truth, however we can."
The BBC has also launched two new shortwave radio frequencies across the region which provide four hours of BBC World Service news a day.
Neil Wilkes
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