Overview
- The restrictions, in place since early March, have repeatedly cut or slowed mobile service in Moscow with reports of spillover in St. Petersburg as officials say they are countering drones, rockets and sabotage.
- Daily routines have broken down as ride-hailing, maps and card payments fail, with Russian media citing business losses of more than €50 million in the first five days and even some public toilets stuck shut when cashless locks cannot connect.
- Authorities have leaned on security justifications to curb dissent, with opposition figure Boris Nadezhdin reporting permit revocations and arrests in cities like Perm and Krasnodar, and warning of protests over a possible April 1 block of the Telegram app.
- People are shifting back to cash and analog tools, with sales of paper city maps up 170 percent and walkie-talkies and pagers also rising, while lawmakers even debate reviving public phone booths with internet access.
- Coverage splits on motive as the Kremlin frames the cuts as protection, critics like Dmitry Gudkov and Bill Browder tie them to fears of tracking after Iran’s Khamenei was killed, and one unverified security-source claim alleges insider plots against Putin.