Regions Calling: Life With No Internet Is the New Normal

Moscow residents are adapting to a new reality of intermittent mobile internet access, a situation that has expanded beyond the capital to encompass regions across Russia. What began as localized disruptions, initially attributed to security measures and, more recently, to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks, is increasingly becoming a widespread inconvenience—and a potential indicator of a broader shift in digital freedoms.

Moscow Grapples With Prolonged Outages

For nearly two weeks, large parts of Moscow’s city center have experienced intermittent or near-total mobile internet disruptions. Residents like Natalia, who requested her last name be withheld for security reasons, are adjusting their routines. “You now have to check locations, take screenshots of the details in advance, take some cash and be ready for any unexpected problems,” she explained to The Moscow Times. The Moscow Times.

The outages are impacting daily life, from simple tasks like ordering taxis and paying for goods to more complex business operations. Some residents report that even services on the “white list”—government websites, banking apps, and taxis—have been inaccessible during shutdowns. A resident in central Moscow described the frustration of ordering a taxi via Wi-Fi only to spend half an hour searching for the driver due to mobile internet connectivity issues. The Moscow Times.

Businesses are feeling the financial strain. Experts estimate that Moscow’s businesses lost between 3 billion to 5 billion rubles ($38-63 million) during the first five days of the disruption, with courier services, taxi and car-sharing companies, and retailers among the hardest hit. The Moscow Times.

A Nationwide Trend

Moscow is not alone. Regions across Russia have been experiencing mobile internet disruptions for months, particularly those bordering Ukraine. According to monitoring group Na Svyazi, restrictions have targeted at least 63 regions. The Moscow Times. Outages were frequently reported in September in the Belgorod region, as well as in Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Moscow, Stavropol, Novosibirsk, Perm and Orenburg regions. The Moscow Times.

Some regions, including the Ulyanovsk region and annexed Crimea, have imposed mobile internet restrictions “until the end of the war.” The Moscow Times.

Russia ranked first globally for the number of internet disruptions in 2025, according to estimates by research and analytics group Top10VPN. The Moscow Times.

Kremlin Response and Potential Implications

The Kremlin attributes the outages to “security measures” in response to the increasing sophistication of Ukrainian attacks. France 24. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that the presidential administration has switched to using landline phones. The Moscow Times. Even the State Duma experienced an internet and mobile outage, leaving lawmakers unable to access Wi-Fi or messaging apps. The Moscow Times.

The disruptions have fueled speculation about a potential clampdown on digital freedoms and a testing of Russia’s “sovereign internet,” a system designed to isolate the country from the World Wide Web. A source from the Digital Development Ministry suggested the outages in Moscow were a test of the ability to block access to sites not on the “white list.” The Moscow Times.

In February, President Vladimir Putin signed a law requiring telecom operators to suspend services at the request of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to strengthen security and counterterrorism capabilities. The Moscow Times.

As one lawmaker stated, “As a state at war we must clearly…advise our citizens that sometimes they will have to put up with inconveniences.” The Moscow Times.