Russia is trying to reduce contact with the outside world. It’s starting to look like a war-time Iran model: closed, controllable, security-first.
In early March, mobile internet in Moscow and St. Petersburg was blocked on FSB orders — almost 3 weeks, Economist. 1/
In Moscow, the social contract is: no civic freedom, but daily life works via apps.
Then suddenly parents can’t message kids, parking can’t be paid, couriers can’t deliver, taxis revert to phone calls. 2/
Price tag: up to 1B rubles a day ($12M) for business losses.
People started buying radios, pagers, paper maps. A payphone shows up at Patriarch’s Ponds like conceptual art: “Guess what they’re burying.” 3/
Kremlin’s bigger achievement since 2022 was war and business as usual.
Belgorod hears sirens, Moscow gets festivals and decorations. The blackout breaks that balance. Psychologists describe it as the “sense of emergency” finally entering Moscow life. 4/
Why now? Not Ukraine. The security services.
Two drivers:
- War feels stuck and unwinnable. Fatigue from war dominates mood in polling.
- Iran lesson: Israel-US used networks and cameras to target leaders. Moscow wants tighter control over anything exploitable. 5/
Next step: pressure Telegram.
Telegram reaches 94M people per month in Russia. State media starts floating “terrorism” investigations into Durov. Blocking begins early. VPNs also targeted.
To push users to “Max” — a national messenger built for surveillance. 6/
Telegram is embedded everywhere, including inside the regime.
Peskov complains it hurts propaganda. Regional officials say lack of info is an even bigger threat. Pro-war military bloggers: "One prominent account posts "Putin must resign" — then gets sent to a psych hospital." 7X
Source: economist.com/europe/2026/03…
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