Disconnected Realities: How Internet Blackouts Shape Life in Russias Regions

Welcome to Regions Calling, your informative source for news from outside Moscow, brought to you by The Moscow Times.

In this edition, we explore the impacts of frequent and sometimes permanent mobile internet disruptions on the daily lives of people living in Russia’s regions.

First, let’s take a look at the most recent updates:

Due to budgetary limitations, authorities in the Siberian republics of Khakassia and Sakha (Yakutia) have reduced financial assistance to soldiers fighting in Ukraine and their families.

Regions in Russia provide one-time financial support from local budgets for military contract signings, when soldiers are injured in battle, and in case of a serviceman’s death.

While officials in Sakha did not clarify which payments would be discontinued, Khakassia has announced that it will no longer offer a one-time payment of 1.1 million rubles (approximately $14,000) to the families of fallen soldiers, as reported by RFE/RL’s Siberian bureau, Sibir.Realii.

The leader of the Republic of Buryatia has called for the removal of cormorants, a large aquatic bird, from Lake Baikal, citing concerns about their excessive numbers.

«Opinions among scientists vary, with some suggesting cormorants are not harmful and should exist, while others believe they are detrimental. Personally, I firmly believe they are problematic, and we need to take action… not through regulation, but through elimination,» Tsydenov stated.

In the past few weeks, residents of at least two isolated communities have expressed concern over ongoing food supply shortages, which officials attribute to weather-related disruptions.

The village of Nikolskoe, the lone inhabited area on the Far East Commander Islands, has run out of fresh food and essential items, leaving stores nearly bare. Local media reported that the first shipment of 50 tons of food in over three months arrived on Thursday.

In Surinda, a reindeer herding village in the Krasnoyarsk region, locals shared images of nearly empty shelves earlier this week, stating that the only items still available were spices, tea, cereals, and pasta.

**Extended Internet Blackouts Have Been a Long-standing Reality in Russia’s Regions**

This month, authorities in the Ulyanovsk region implemented mobile internet access restrictions that will remain in place until the conclusion of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Initially intended to affect only regions surrounding sensitive governmental and military sites, entire suburbs in Ulyanovsk were left without mobile internet, according to local sources from The Moscow Times.

Despite being the first area nationwide to establish a constant mobile internet blackout, residents have reported that interruptions to cellular internet access have become a routine part of life in numerous regions over the past several months.

“It’s incredibly inconvenient. The disruptions are steady. Some parts of the city never have internet access. Sometimes I lose GPS while driving and am suddenly unsure of my direction,» shared a woman from Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan in the Ural Mountains, who requested anonymity.

A significant oil-refinery facility in Ufa, owned by Bashneft, has frequently been a target for Ukrainian drones, resulting in extensive areas of the city and the only airport being cut off from mobile internet due to security concerns.

Residents near the refinery report that interruptions to mobile calls are also quite common.

“I always order taxis through WiFi at home. If not, I rely on the bus or walk,” said another Ufa local who also wished to remain anonymous.

Residents in other regional capitals across Russia are facing similar difficulties, with some individuals describing their internet-deprived neighborhoods as “exclusion zones” compared to city centers where connectivity tends to be more stable.

«This is a systemic issue in Russia… We must accept it and recognize that the special military operation is not occurring 2,000 kilometers away and that we are also involved in these events,” stated Radiy Khabirov, Bashkortostan’s leader, regarding the outages earlier this month, using the Kremlin-approved term for the conflict in Ukraine.

Ufa residents told The Moscow Times that the outages have compelled them to keep more cash on hand and rely less on taxi applications. Many businesses are increasingly utilizing SMS messages to schedule appointments and interact with clients as well.

According to data from the Central Bank, cash circulation in Russia has increased by 659 billion rubles ($8 billion) from July to September this year, five times the amount from the same period last year.

Analysts attribute this trend directly to frequent internet disruptions that hinder digital payment options.

The internet blackouts are costing the Russian economy roughly $295 million per day, as per the independent watchdog Internet Defense Society, with Bashkortostan alone incurring losses of $3.9 million daily.

While numerous regional administrations have committed to including banking apps in the so-called “white list” of services meant to remain operational during shutdowns, users reported to The Moscow Times that they often struggle to connect to these applications.

In addition to banking services and the Mir payment system, the “white lists” include governmental service provider Gosuslugi, the Russian tech platform Yandex, social networks Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki, and online marketplaces Ozon and Wildberries.

However, users have claimed that even these services are unreliable during outages.

The North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, the smallest ethnic republic in Russia, has been grappling with mobile internet shutdowns since July, and these disruptions have persisted, according to local reports.

This month, Ingushetia’s head Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov revealed that he has largely resorted to using a landline phone because of frequent jamming.

“It is more reliable [for communication]. You can’t take it with you, of course, but in the evening, you can return home and connect with everyone you need,” Kalimatov commented during his annual televised Q&A session.

Further east in Dagestan, mobile internet disruptions have also been nearly relentless since August.

“I’ve lived in Moscow for ten years. When I arrived in Dagestan, it felt like I had stepped into some kind of reservation,” a Dagestani native expressed in a message to local news source Chernovik.

“There is no functioning internet, no electricity, no water or gas, the roads are riddled with potholes, and the healthcare system is facing challenges,” they continued.

Mobile internet disruptions have been recorded almost daily in at least half of Russia’s regions throughout November, as per the open-source analytical project Russian Internet Monitor.

“I get the impression that people have become accustomed to feeling despair and helplessness, although everyone is eager to help when it’s necessary,” said a woman in her twenties from Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan.

The woman, who also preferred to remain anonymous, recounted her repeated experiences of searching for a Wi-Fi connection in various places throughout the city, from hookah lounges to hospitals.

“[Internet outages] erode the sense of certainty and security, particularly for the older generation… They stop responding to messages, and it becomes unclear how to communicate with them — they can no longer do things the usual way, and they completely lose the desire to keep trying,” she told The Moscow Times.

“I believe this is how generations grow apart,” she added.

St. Petersburg activist Lena Patyayeva was arrested for organizing a solitary protest outside a police station in solidarity with her missing friend, Seda Suleimanova.

“You turned her over to die. Now live with that. Where is Seda Suleimanova?” read the sign Patyayeva was holding.

The activist has been searching for Suleimanova since August 2023, when the Chechen woman was forcibly returned from St. Petersburg to her home republic by Russian authorities.

Some individuals fear that Suleimanova may have fallen victim to a so-called “honor killing,” a practice in which a woman is murdered by a family member, typically a man, for allegedly bringing dishonor to the family.