Shutdowns of cellphone internet links sweep Russia, further limiting already-stifled net freedom

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) – A fast melody of a blogger that regularly laibes the bad internet connection in the South Russian city Rostov-On-Don In two weeks, he received more than half a million views on Instagram.

Nasıl How do you tell you that you are from Rostov without a word? “We have internet up to 12 o’clock and there was no connection lately. No need to get angry, just getting used to it.”

Osipyan’s complaints-cannot pay for electronically for yiyiya or is not isolated Rostov-on-Don, which has to use paper maps during driving-Ukraine and hosts Russia’s southern military zone.

In the last two months, the mobile phone internet closure, which the authorities say it is necessary Foil Ukrainian dronesHe hit dozens of Russian zones from the war from close to Siberia and even to the Far East. Some Wi-Fi deductions have also been reported.

The Russians contacted by the Associated Press, without passing card payments, taxi and driving sharing applications do not work properly, sometimes spoke about ATMs who failed.

Experts point to the unprecedented nature of measures and warn extensive results in a country where the Kremlin has already had significant extent. limited online freedom.

In the Access Now Digital Rights Group, Anastasiya Zhyrmont, Eastern European and Central Asian Policy Manager, said that such closes legitimized them to the public and opened the door of the authorities who abuse the restrictions.

A signal for regional authorities

Experts say the trend started in May. Russia celebrated its 80th anniversary Nazi Germany II. During World War II, the defeat and foreign dignity flocked to Moscow for a great military parade.

Capital was subjected to serious deterioration of mobile phone connection to the Internet for days, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that they were deliberate restrictions due to regular Ukrainian drone attacks. When asked how long they will last, “This will be done when necessary.”

Russia has previously limited its smartphone connection, with examples of isolated during protests and in areas surrounding Ukraine.

However, the closure of the capital, the founder of the Russian internet freedom group Roskomsvoboda’nın lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan, said that a useful tool to the authorities in the large country, he said.

Ukraine’s “Spider Network Operation” Darbinyan, trucks of trucks from trucks released from trucks attacked the airports in the depths of Russia, the authorities made more willing, he said.

“They are really afraid that Drones can now look like a jack in any Russian region, EP said the AP said.

In mid -July, Na Svyazi, an activist group following the availability of internet, has spread to most of the country.

On Tuesday, the group reported the closing of mobile phone internet in 73 of more than 80 regions. 41 of them also had reports of large band network cuts, while restrictions on the wide band on the internet in six regions, mobile phone connections were good.

Some regional authorities confirmed that the mobile phone internet is restricted for security reasons. Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Gleb Nikitin said this month that the measure will remain in place as long as the threat remains in the region of Moscow.

On Thursday, when asked whether such mass closures were right, Peskov said, “Everything, everything is right and everything is a priority,” he said.

Unpredictable interruptions

Russians from the affected areas say that the outages can last for hours or days; The patterns are difficult to distinguish, the service works in a part of a city, but disappears elsewhere.

In Voronezh, a resident near Ukraine and a frequently targeted by his plane, a resident, said he felt that he was in a “cave an without a mobile phone internet or Wi-Fi in his home in early July. Speaking with the AP with the EP due to security concerns, the woman said that the next day could only be online at work.

The mobile phone internet in the southwest Samara city, “the most unpredictable moments,” he said, at the same time, the surname is kept for security reasons Natalia speaking. His house Wi-Fi said that he had stayed around 23.00 in this way for a few hours.

Viktor Shkurenko, who has retail stores and other businesses there, has recently developed in Omsk, Siberia. However, mobile phone internet service remained in its office for a week. He said that a few of the small stores based on mobile phone nets were having disruptions, but there was nothing critical.

“I don’t feel a super -strong discomfort, Gr Grigori Khromov, a fifth largest city of Nizhny Novgorod, where Russia’s regular and widespread closing is reported. “I have an office job and I work at home or in the office, and there’s Wire Internet or Wi-Fi.”

In rural areas, in small towns and villages, where mobile phone internet is often the only way to be online, it was more difficult to measure.

According to the Russian media, pharmacies in such regions fought and confirmed to the AP, the Independent Pharmacies Association. Association President Viktoria Presnyakova said in a statement, prescriptions should be recorded in a special software, but these weeks have become impossible without internet connection, he said.

A social media user Belgorod region surrounding Ukraine Vyacheslav Gladkov complained that the village inhabitants had to explode on a railway to warn their neighbors without a mobile phone internet and a working alarm system. Authorities promised to improve the connection in the region.

Officials from other places also opened Wi-Fi points and explained the steps to minimize disruptions. In addition, according to Izvestia, a Kremlin -backed newspaper referring to unidentified government resources, they are reported to be planning to establish an agency to coordinate closing. Peskov said he wasn’t aware of the plan.

Russia’s efforts to internet control

The Russian Analyst at the Washington -based War Institute is using mobile phone internet networks to operate Russian and Ukrainian drones, so the closure of the authorities said they are trying to resist attacks.

But it is also part of the Kremlin’s resting efforts on the Internet. In the last decade, the authorities actively censored the online content and blocked thousands of independent media, opposition groups and human rights organizations.

After Russia’s full -scale Ukraine invasion in 2022, The government blocked the great social media Twitter, facebook and Instagram encrypted Messenger platform signal and a few other messaging applications.

Access to Youtube, which is a crazy popular popular in Russia, was called the deliberate abbreviation of experts last year by the authorities. The Kremlin blamed Google owner Google for not properly protecting its hardware in Russia.

The State Internet Watchdogs routinely prevents virtual private network services that help survive restrictions and plans to present a national Messenger application that is expected to replace foreign ones.

With the closing, they are part of a larger campaign that krem Kremlin cannot do 20 years ago at the level of China to establish control on the internet ”.

Access Now’s Zhyrmont says that the Russians are accustomed to living with growing internet restrictions, including closing.

“This modern should not be real,” he said.