The closure of mobile internet links swept Russia, further limiting the already stated net freedom

Tallinn, Estonia (AP) – A blogger’s keen tune teased his poor internet connection in the Russian city of Rostov-on in southern Russia, garnering more than 500,000 views on Instagram in two weeks.

“How do you say what you’re talking from Rostov? Show a cell phone service,” Pavel Osipyan spoke as she walked around the city, holding a smartphone in her hand. “The internet wasn’t there until 12 o’clock, and there was no contact at all lately. You’re used to it without being angry.”

Osipyan’s complaint (cannot pay for groceries electronically, or have to use paper maps while driving – not quarantine to Rostov-on-Don, which borders Ukraine, and as the location of the southern Russian military zone, drones are often targeted.

Over the past two months, officials said the shutdown of mobile phones needed to foil Ukrainian drones has hit dozens of Russian regions – from close combat to parts of Siberia and even the Far East. Some Wi-Fi interruptions have also been reported.

The Russian contacted by the Associated Press talked about the ATM where payment failed, taxi and ride-sharing apps didn’t work properly, and sometimes failed.

Experts point out that in countries where the Kremlin has greatly restricted online freedom, measures and warning of far-reaching consequences are unprecedented.

Anastasiya Zhyrmont, policy manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said legalizing it to the public in the name of security and opening the door to authorities who abuse restrictions.

Signals to regional authorities

Experts say the trend began in May, when Russia celebrated the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II, with foreign VIPs flocking to Moscow for a large military parade.

The capital suffered severe damage to the internet connection within a few days, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that it was intentional restriction due to conventional Ukrainian drone attacks. When asked how long they lasted, he replied: “This will be done as needed.”

Russia has previously restricted smartphone connectivity and has conducted isolated instances during the protests and areas bordering Ukraine.

Sarkis Darbinyan, founder of Russian Internet Freedom Group Roskomsvoboda, said the closure of the capital signaled the entire country that it was a useful tool.

Dabinian said Ukraine’s “Operation Spider Web” hit the airport inside Russia in early June when containers from trucks hit the Russian airport, making officials more eager to take action.

“They are really scared that in any Russian region now, drones may appear now, like a box,” he told the Associated Press.

By mid-July, intentional closures spread to much of the country, a group of activists tracking internet availability, according to Na Svilazi, a Russian who “stays connected”.

On Tuesday, the team reported 73 mobile phones in more than 80 regions had their internet shutdowns. Among 41 of them, there are also reports of broadband network outages, and restrictions on broadband Internet occurred in six areas, and the mobile phone connection was not bad.

Officials in some areas confirmed that mobile Internet is restricted for security reasons. Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Gleb Nikitin said this month that the measure would stay in the area east of Moscow, “as long as the threat remains.”

Asked if such a massive closure was justified on Thursday, Peskov said: “Everything related to ensuring the safety of citizens is justified and everything is a priority.”

Unpredictable destruction

Russians from affected areas say power outages can last for hours or days. The pattern is also difficult to distinguish, and the service is part of the city but disappears elsewhere.

In Voronezh, near Ukraine, which often targets drones, one resident said she felt she was in “a cave” in early July and she had no cell phone internet or Wi-Fi at her home. She spoke with the AP anonymously due to concerns about security and said she could only go to work the next day.

Natalia said the mobile internet in the southwestern city of Samara “appeared at the most unpredictable moments.” She said her Wi-Fi home has also slowed down around 11 p.m. and stayed for hours recently.

Viktor Shkurenko, who owns retail stores and other businesses, said the Siberian city of OMSK has recently improved connectivity. But mobile internet service has been in his office for a whole week. He said some of his small stores have suffered interference on their cell phone networks, but nothing is critical.

“I don’t have any super intense discomfort,” said Grigori Khromov of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. “I have office work, I work at home or in the office and have wired internet or Wi-Fi.”

In rural areas, small towns and villages, mobile Internet is usually the only way to access the Internet, and the situation is difficult to measure.

Russian media reported that pharmacies in these areas were struggling, and the Independent Pharmacy Association confirmed to the AP. Viktoria Presnyakova, the director of the association, said in a statement that the prescription must be logged into special software, but that would become impossible without an internet connection for weeks.

Social media users in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine complained on Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov’s social media page that without a mobile internet and an effective alert system, rural residents would have to crash into the railway to warn neighbors of attack. Authorities have pledged to improve connectivity in the region.

Authorities elsewhere have also announced steps to minimize interference by turning on Wi-Fi attractions. According to Izvestia, a Kremlin-backed newspaper, they also reportedly plan to establish a coordinated closure agency that cites unidentified government information. Peskov said he didn’t know the plan.

Russia’s efforts in Internet control

Russian and Ukrainian drones operate using mobile internet networks, so shutdowns are a way authorities are trying to deal with the attack, said Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russian analyst at the Washington-based War Institute.

But that is also part of the Kremlin’s efforts on the Internet. Over the past decade, authorities have actively censored online content, blocking thousands of independent media, opposition groups and human rights groups’ websites.

After Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the encrypted Messenger Platform Signal and a number of other messaging apps.

Last year, the visit to authorities, which was deliberately restricted by experts called YouTube (which is widely popular in Russia) was destroyed. The Kremlin accuses YouTube owner Google of failing to properly maintain its hardware in Russia.

State Internet regulators often block virtual dedicated network services to help circumvent restrictions and plan to introduce a national messenger application that is expected to replace foreign countries.

Apart from the closure, these are part of a large-scale campaign to “build control of the internet, something the Kremlin hasn’t done on the same level as China,” said Stepanenko of ISW.

Access now Zhyrmont said Russians are used to growing internet restrictions, including closures, which is “very disturbing.”

“This shouldn’t be a modern reality,” she said.