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Russians face increasing digital restrictions amid government control of internet, the year 2025 may be remembered as a turning point when the Russian government significantly tightened its grip on the internet, creating widespread disruptions to daily life.
Credit cards failing during transit payments, ATMs disconnected from networks, messaging apps experiencing outages, and mobile phones losing service after international travel have become common occurrences. Even mothers of diabetic children report alarming situations where they cannot monitor their children’s blood glucose levels during internet blackouts.
Cellphone internet shutdowns, ostensibly implemented to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, have affected dozens of Russian regions for months. While broadband and Wi-Fi connections remain functional, mobile internet disruptions have created significant challenges for ordinary citizens.
The widespread mobile internet blackouts began in May and have continued through summer and into fall. According to Na Svyazi, an activist group tracking these disruptions, an average of 57 Russian regions reported daily cellular network interruptions in November alone.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has defended these measures as “absolutely justified and necessary” to prevent Ukrainian drones from using mobile networks for navigation. However, Kateryna Stepanenko, an analyst at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, questions their effectiveness, noting that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have continued unabated despite these measures.
During connectivity blackouts, only government-approved Russian websites and online services—designated on “white lists”—remain accessible. These lists vary by provider but typically include official websites, email services, social media platforms, two online markets, and Yandex with its various services. While some providers offer access to certain banking apps, others don’t.
“For me, this is the scariest thing,” said Marina from Vladivostok. “The loss of information, the loss of freedom, essentially, is the most depressing thing for me.”
The impact extends beyond mere inconvenience. In Ulyanovsk, a resident described being unable to pay for public transportation when his credit card wouldn’t work during an outage. Parents of diabetic children have expressed particular concern about being unable to monitor their children’s glucose levels remotely when mobile internet is down—a potentially dangerous situation.
Russian authorities have attempted to reframe these disruptions positively. The internet regulatory agency Roskomnadzor posted a cartoon suggesting that going offline “doesn’t mean losing touch. Sometimes it means getting in touch with yourself.” This messaging was met primarily with angry and sarcastic comments from frustrated citizens.
Recent anti-drone measures include 24-hour “cooling periods” during which data and texts are blocked on SIM cards that have been taken abroad or inactive for 72 hours. While users can unblock their service via text message verification, this creates problems for SIM-enabled devices without text interfaces, such as portable Wi-Fi routers, cars, and utility meters.
Russian lawmaker Andrei Svintsov highlighted this issue, noting, “Russia has many electricity meters with SIM cards that transmit readings once a month. Does this mean they’ll all die? All the heating boilers will shut down, and all the Chinese cars will stop working? This is a massive problem.”
Popular messaging apps have also become targets. WhatsApp (96 million monthly users) and Telegram (91 million users) have faced increasing restrictions since August, with authorities claiming the measures are intended to prevent phone scams. Neither app appears on government “white lists.”
Instead, authorities are aggressively promoting the Russian messaging service MAX, which must be preinstalled on all smartphones sold in Russia since September. Critics view MAX as a potential surveillance tool, as it openly states it will share user data with authorities upon request and reportedly lacks end-to-end encryption.
Despite official claims of MAX having 50 million registered users, data from Mediascope shows a significant gap between registration and actual usage. While 48 million monthly users were recorded in October, only 18.9 million were daily active users—far behind WhatsApp’s 81 million and Telegram’s 68 million daily users.
Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, Russia’s leading independent pollster, suggests many Russians have resigned themselves to these restrictions, comparing their attitude to how people feel about the weather—something beyond their control.
“The authorities’ strategy appears to be to make it difficult for average users to access ‘alternative content’ so that they eventually stop seeking it,” Volkov explained.
Mikhail Klimarev, executive director of the Internet Protection Society activist group, believes total internet shutdown is unlikely due to economic dependencies but predicts further stifling of websites, VPN services, and messaging platforms.
“Honestly, I’m watching it all with raised eyebrows,” Klimarev said. “They seem to have come up with everything already, and they’re still coming up with something more.”
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8 Comments
This is a stark example of how authoritarian governments can use technology to exert control over their citizens. While the stated rationale may be security-related, the widespread and persistent nature of these outages suggests a broader effort to limit digital freedoms. The impact on ordinary people’s lives is deeply concerning.
This is a concerning situation for Russian citizens, who are facing increasing digital restrictions due to the government’s tightening grip on the internet. The disruptions to daily life, from failing credit card payments to disconnected ATMs, are clearly causing significant challenges.
It’s troubling to hear about the impact on people with medical conditions like diabetes, who rely on mobile connectivity to monitor their health. These widespread outages appear to be a heavy-handed attempt at control.
While the government claims these cellphone internet shutdowns are for security reasons, the widespread and persistent nature of the disruptions suggests a broader agenda of digital control. It will be interesting to see how Russian citizens and businesses adapt to these challenges in the long run.
The sheer number of regions affected on a daily basis is staggering. This level of disruption must be taking a significant toll on the economy and daily life. One wonders how long the public will tolerate these inconveniences.
It’s concerning to see how the Russian government is leveraging internet restrictions to exert control over its citizens. While security may be a factor, the scale and duration of these outages point to a more systemic effort to limit digital freedoms. The impact on ordinary people’s lives is truly troubling.
The disruptions to mobile payments, ATM access, and communication tools must be extremely frustrating for Russian citizens. This level of digital control, while presented as a security measure, seems to be having a significant negative impact on daily life and the economy.
I wonder if there are any workarounds or alternative technologies that people are using to circumvent these outages. It would be interesting to see how resourceful citizens are in adapting to these challenges.