MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Russia’s telecom watchdog, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has demanded that Google, the owner of the YouTube video hosting platform, restore access to the accounts of Russia’s Federation Council (the upper house of parliament), the watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Roskomnadzor has demanded the US-based Google LLC, the owner of the YouTube platform, immediately restore access to the Russian Federation Council’s official channels," the statement reads.

The watchdog also stressed that it considered YouTube’s move to be "an unprecedented act of censorship and a blatant attempt to restrict the information work of a Russian government body."

The Federation Council said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that its YouTube accounts had been blocked due to sanctions and all videos had been deleted. The accounts had over 200,000 subscribers and contained 20,000 videos, including live streams of meetings at the Federation Council, its committees and various forums, as well as senators’ remarks on pressing issues and educational programs about the history of the Russian state.