<\/p>\n
Regular mobile Internet shutdowns<\/a> have become a new reality for millions across Russia. While the authorities usually present these local blackouts as responses to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks<\/a>, their timing and duration often don\u2019t correspond<\/a> to any actual strikes. More often, they\u2019re the result of preemptive security measures \u2014 such as during Moscow\u2019s Victory Day celebrations<\/a> or the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. One way or another, people in Russia are having to adjust to being offline in public spaces and out on the street, and to finding workarounds for mobile Internet access. Last week, we asked<\/a> Meduza\u2019s Russian readers how they\u2019re coping with this new normal. Below, we\u2019ve translated some of the most notable responses into English.<\/p>\n How much does your everyday life depend on mobile Internet access?<\/strong>Oleg, Ivanovo region<\/strong><\/p>\n Very much. I work in IT and live in a suburb where there\u2019s almost no wired Internet. When mobile Internet goes down, I basically lose a whole workday \u2014\u00a0and if a server freezes, I can\u2019t fix it. I also can\u2019t order a taxi anymore, so I have to call up cab drivers I used to know. And if I\u2019m out of town, there\u2019s no way to check the security cameras at home. I can\u2019t quickly look things up or Google everyday problems. At first, it honestly felt like I\u2019d been thrown into the past; I\u2019ve never in my adult life been completely cut off from the Internet, but now it\u2019s just gone, and my smartphone has turned into a useless toy. The only way to reach the outside world is through calls and SMS messages \u2014\u00a0which I hadn\u2019t sent in years. I even started calling relatives in the city just to find out what was going on and hear the latest news. So, the Soviet nostalgists wanted the USSR back? Well, here you go!<\/p>\n Gamzat, Saratov<\/strong><\/p>\n I work off the books as a loader, taking jobs directly on the street through messaging apps, so I constantly need to be connected. The connection started going out in mid-June, and it\u2019s hit my income hard. It\u2019s depressing \u2014\u00a0I\u2019m losing money and clients. I also rely on navigation apps to get around the city, and without Internet, I can\u2019t even find the right address. I can\u2019t call a taxi \u2014 I can\u2019t do anything, really.<\/p>\n Alexander, Moscow<\/strong><\/p>\n I work at a major fintech company. I have access to internal systems and can see Internet outages in real time across Russia\u2019s regions. There are a lot of them every day.\u00a0Sometimes three regions go dark at once; sometimes it\u2019s 10.<\/p>\n Alexey, Rostov-on-Don<\/strong><\/p>\n Almost totally. I work remotely as a web developer, and obviously, the job is incredibly difficult without constant Internet access. At the very least, I lose all contact with my colleagues.<\/p>\n On top of that, last year we had rolling blackouts due to heat and overloaded power grids, which meant even our regular wired Internet went out. I can hook up a generator, power the router from a battery, work on a laptop \u2014\u00a0but what\u2019s the point if there\u2019s no signal?<\/p>\n Even though we\u2019re outlawed in Russia, we continue to deliver exclusive reporting and analysis from inside the country.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Our journalists on the ground take risks to keep you informed about changes in Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.\u00a0Support<\/a>\u00a0Meduza\u2019s work today.<\/p>\n Anonymous reader, Tambov region<\/strong><\/p>\n They\u2019ve been jamming mobile Internet here nonstop in recent days. You can\u2019t call a Yandex taxi (even from home, because the drivers don\u2019t have Internet either), and you can\u2019t pay at the market by card. A lot of ATMs don\u2019t work, either. We\u2019re back to good old phone calls.<\/p>\n Adri, Voronezh<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m a tech support specialist for IT infrastructure at one of Russia\u2019s largest software companies. Both my job and daily life depend entirely on having constant, uninterrupted Internet access wherever I am. Plus, my wife and I are expecting a baby, which makes staying connected even more important in case anything urgent happens with the pregnancy.<\/p>\n Vadim, St. Petersburg<\/strong><\/p>\n I sometimes work as an online psychologist, though I mostly see clients in person. I don\u2019t like online sessions partly because of connection issues. Even when the Internet is up, speeds drop, and the call freezes, which creates stress for both me and the client.<\/p>\n Maria, Kursk<\/strong><\/p>\n I work as a social media marketing specialist, so losing Internet access hits my work directly. I\u2019m already afraid that clients in regions\u00a0where this isn\u2019t a problem will just drop me.<\/p>\n How did you feel when the authorities started restricting mobile Internet?<\/strong>Tatyana, Kaluga region<\/strong><\/p>\n Since there\u2019s a military base near my house, mobile Internet gets shut off all the time \u2014\u00a0especially since spring 2025. Sometimes it\u2019s just for a couple of hours, other times for several days. All providers are affected. It depends on what\u2019s happening \u201cin the sky.\u201d Funny thing is, about a year ago, they finally upgraded the towers or something, and the mobile Internet signal got way better for the first time in years.<\/p>\n Sergey, Kursk<\/strong><\/p>\n It feels like we\u2019re back in the early 2000s. Internet only works from home. A lot of my friends have VoLTE enabled on their phones, so I can\u2019t even call them anymore. Not everyone understands how this technology works.<\/p>\n Mikhail, Naberezhnye Chelny<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s been a total mess. People were really angry. It honestly feels less like a response to drone threats and more like a \u201cdress rehearsal\u201d for a full shutdown. Because when there are actual attacks, the airports \u2014\u00a0Begishevo and Kazan \u2014 suspend flights, but over the past three weeks mobile Internet has been getting cut every day (usually early morning to lunchtime, then again from evening to late at night). Meanwhile, the airports were only closed two or three times. I used to work a lot at my dacha, but now I can\u2019t go there at all because there\u2019s no Internet and I can\u2019t do my job.<\/p>\n Ahead of Moscow\u2019s Victory Day parade, Internet is cut, shops close, and services stall as authorities scramble to prevent drone attacks<\/a>Ahead of Moscow\u2019s Victory Day parade, Internet is cut, shops close, and services stall as authorities scramble to prevent drone attacks<\/a>Alexey, Voronezh<\/strong><\/p>\n I felt negatively about it, plain and simple. For three years, nothing disrupted our Internet at work \u2014 drones were getting shot down, and everything kept running. But now something\u2019s changed, and they\u2019ve started turning it off \u201cfor our safety.\u201d But how am I supposed to know there\u2019s a drone alert when I\u2019m in my car or walking down the street? Emergency alerts come an hour or more late. What kind of safety is that? People can\u2019t get a taxi at night, so they either walk home or drive drunk. Fights break out because people can\u2019t pay for things or send money. In a month of shutdowns, more people will probably get hurt than in three years of drone strikes.<\/p>\n Yevgenia, Dzerzhinsk<\/strong><\/p>\n I read on your [Meduza\u2019s] Telegram channel that some places are just now having their Internet cut for the first time,\u00a0or that people are even getting warnings. Here, we\u2019ve had no Internet every morning (sometimes the emergency \u201cE\u201d network is the only one working for the entire day) for about six months now. But go 30 km (19 miles) over to Nizhny Novgorod and it\u2019s all fine \u2014\u00a04G with no issues. And no one ever tells us in advance. Now everyone just jokes, \u201cOh wow, they\u2019ve turned the Internet on \u2014\u00a0just like the hot water!\u201d<\/p>\n Roman,<\/strong> Moscow region<\/strong><\/p>\n First it reminded me of 2007, back when I had a PDA and would walk past a building or two with Wi-Fi scanning on until I found an open network. Then I remembered it\u2019s not 2007 anymore.<\/p>\n I have a Yota modem with a signal booster and downloaded a map of local base stations. I haven\u2019t had to use it \u2014 yet.<\/p>\n Nikita, Tula<\/strong><\/p>\n At first, they said the restrictions were only for Victory Day, so I hoped it would all end after May 9. But already during the holiday weekend, things crashed: no mobile Internet in the city. Most store payment terminals and some ATMs rely on mobile networks, so you couldn\u2019t pay by card. You\u2019d type a message, and it wouldn\u2019t send. At first, I had no idea what to do. I started carrying cash just in case and told my family I might not respond on WhatsApp or Telegram. To this day, it hasn\u2019t gotten any better. Over the last two weeks, mobile Internet has been unstable at best. One-time passwords via SMS might arrive all at once the next day \u2014 like 17 messages in a row. GPS relies on the Internet too, so maps don\u2019t work. And if your home Internet goes out, you\u2019re basically cut off from the world. It\u2019s like being forced into a digital detox.<\/p>\n Chats and punishment Journalists and rights groups accuse Telegram of FSB ties and exposing user data \u2014 just how worried should users be?<\/a>Chats and punishment Journalists and rights groups accuse Telegram of FSB ties and exposing user data \u2014 just how worried should users be?<\/a>Anonymous reader, Tambov region<\/strong><\/p>\n Locals suspect this has nothing to do with drones. They think the authorities are using it as cover to build out the \u201cCheburnet\u201d (Russia\u2019s domestic intranet). That\u2019s what it looks like \u2014\u00a0VPNs of all kinds barely work, and Telegram has issues too. Coincidence? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n Adri, Voronezh<\/strong><\/p>\n I haven\u2019t had any emotional response to governmental decisions since 2014 that weren\u2019t negative. But this one has especially disrupted my routine. I used to visit my parents, walk the dog, sit in the park, see a doctor, or take a trip into nature \u2014\u00a0all while staying connected and managing work remotely. I could switch between personal and professional tasks wherever I was. Now, I\u2019m tied to either the office or home, where there\u2019s fast, stable Internet. Public Wi-Fi isn\u2019t good enough \u2014\u00a0especially now, when it\u2019s overloaded. And that\u2019s not even counting how deliveries, taxis, card payments in shops or public transport all stop working. I can\u2019t even start my car remotely to warm it up \u2014 not via the Internet, not even by SMS.<\/p>\n Oleg, Ivanovo region<\/strong><\/p>\n My reaction? They do whatever they want \u2014 this is a damn dictatorship that doesn\u2019t care about people. No warnings before shutdowns. And once it\u2019s off, nobody tells you when it\u2019ll be back. They just cut off the whole region, whenever they feel like it, for however long they want. Try complaining \u2014\u00a0you\u2019ll get locked up. That\u2019s the reality.<\/p>\n Alexander, Moscow<\/strong><\/p>\n The first thought I had was that we\u2019re under total surveillance. Then came the fear that they could cut us off from the global Internet entirely \u2014\u00a0and that\u2019s terrifying. I don\u2019t want to lose touch with my loved ones abroad.<\/p>\n What\u2019s been the most surprising or notable consequence of the outages for you?<\/strong>Maria, Kursk<\/strong><\/p>\n I bought a coffee on credit from a barista \u2014\u00a0I told her I\u2019d transfer the money once I got home. A small thing, sure, but while we\u2019re adjusting to these little inconveniences, the screws are tightening. And that\u2019s scary. Meanwhile, my parents keep losing both mobile Internet and Wi-Fi. People just sit around for hours waiting for the connection to come back so they can get work done or finish a presentation for university. Bosses and professors don\u2019t care \u2014 they expect results either way.<\/p>\n Tatyana, Kaluga region<\/strong><\/p>\n The biggest issue is that card payments stop working in many stores. I\u2019d already half-forgotten what cash even looked like, so that was a surprise at first. Now I always carry cash, just in case.<\/p>\n Dina, St. Petersburg<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s summer break, and my 11-year-old son is on his own while I\u2019m at work. I need to be able to track his location. When the Internet goes down and I can\u2019t see his location, it makes me incredibly anxious.<\/p>\n Sign up for\u00a0The\u00a0Beet<\/p>\n Underreported\u00a0stories. Fresh\u00a0perspectives. From\u00a0Budapest to\u00a0Bishkek.<\/p>\n Artyom, Kazan<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been in a tough financial spot and decided to try courier work on weekends. But with the constant shutdowns, that plan fell apart completely.<\/p>\n Sergey, Kursk<\/strong><\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t call a taxi while we were celebrating a birthday at our dacha. None of the cars showed up when we tried to call from landlines, either. So I ended up driving a moped while drunk. The police stopped me, wrote me up, and now I\u2019m awaiting a court hearing that could cost me my license.<\/p>\n Nikita, Tula<\/strong><\/p>\n One time there was an air raid siren for a missile threat, and the Internet was down. I was outside, panicking. I couldn\u2019t check the map, I didn\u2019t get any emergency SMS alerts from the Emergency Ministry, and I had no idea where to run.<\/p>\n Thankfully, everything turned out okay. But ever since, when I\u2019m walking around, I make a mental note of where the nearest shelters are \u2014\u00a0just in case.<\/p>\n Polina, Stavropol<\/strong><\/p>\n I live in Stavropol and work remotely. Just yesterday, I arrived in Rostov-on-Don for a business trip. I\u2019d only been there once before, years ago, just passing through.<\/p>\n The Internet was spotty along the highway, but I was even able to stream music in places. But as I got close to the city, the connection dropped completely.<\/p>\n I had no idea about the wider outages and didn\u2019t think it was anything serious \u2014\u00a0I figured it was just a momentary glitch. But then I lost cellular service too. When it came back, I got a message saying the entire Rostov region was under a drone threat alert. Not exactly comforting.<\/p>\n So there I was, standing by the train station at night in an unfamiliar city, no Internet, no maps, no idea where anything was. I found a street sign and vaguely remembered I needed to head toward the city center, so I started walking \u2014 with a heavy bag, along a construction site for a new high-rise.<\/p>\n Eventually, I reached a big building with an address. I called the woman whose apartment I\u2019d rented and asked her to call me a taxi. She answered quickly \u2014 even though it was late \u2014\u00a0and about seven minutes later I was in a car on the way to the apartment.<\/p>\n The driver said it had been like this for about a week. So yeah \u2014\u00a0fun times.<\/p>\n Sign up for Meduza\u2019s daily newsletter<\/p>\n A digest of Russia\u2019s investigative reports and news analysis. If it matters, we summarize it.<\/p>\n Adri, Voronezh<\/strong><\/p>\n On top of the mobile Internet blackouts, my main provider also has issues with regular calls and text messages during those periods. One time, my pregnant wife couldn\u2019t reach me at all \u2014\u00a0when it really mattered. Thankfully, everything turned out okay, but what if something serious happens and there\u2019s no way to call for help?<\/p>\n You can\u2019t count on ambulances \u2014 they take their time, assuming you can even get through. After that incident, I got a second phone and bought SIM cards from all the operators I could, just to have at least some chance of accessing functional Internet.<\/p>\n Anonymous reader, Russia<\/strong><\/p>\n In our city, it wasn\u2019t just Internet that stopped working, but all phone service in general. On the day it happened, the news was reporting a major fire at the facility where my dad works. It was an hour-and-a-half-long nightmare, not knowing whether he was alive, since it was impossible to call anyone or find anything out.<\/p>\n Sasha, Moscow<\/strong><\/p>\n I went to Kazan for one day. I wanted to get from the train station to my home as soon as possible. The Internet wasn\u2019t working at all, so you couldn\u2019t order a taxi. We made it by bus to the nearest stop to our home, which felt like a miracle. Then the Internet started working again. I was in a big hurry, so I took an electric scooter to get there even faster.<\/p>\n As soon as my trip started, the Internet went out. The scooter app wouldn\u2019t work without it, so it was impossible for me to mark the trip as complete.<\/p>\n In the end, I had to leave the scooter in the parking lot, photograph everything, go home where I had Wi-Fi, and write to the app\u2019s tech support to ask them to return the money for the extra minutes (when I wasn\u2019t using the scooter anymore). Fortunately, they agreed.<\/p>\n An App Store ultimatum New legislation will require Apple to open iPhones and iPads to Russia\u2019s state-backed marketplace<\/a>An App Store ultimatum New legislation will require Apple to open iPhones and iPads to Russia\u2019s state-backed marketplace<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regular mobile Internet shutdowns have become a new reality for millions across Russia. 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