At the same time, a malfunctioning Internet does not mean only slower page loading. In a number of cases, normal services that people are used to stop working – from navigation to taxi applications to payment terminals. Situations where people cannot pay for basic things are no exception.
“Why the hell is Sberbank not working? I don’t understand why… Why some stupid messenger is working and why the bank’s app is not available. I need to pay for food!” a visibly upset woman from Russia shared her experience, whose video was shared by the Nexta agency.
According to available information, the outages do not only concern Moscow. They are also reported by other large cities, including St. Petersburg, and in some regions they have been repeating for almost a year. The problems affect not only ordinary users, but also companies that depend on online services – from restaurants to courier services, the Guardian server pointed out.
It is about security, the Kremlin claims
Russian authorities explain the situation with security reasons, for example protection against drone attacks. But critics point out that the restrictions are also appearing in areas far from the front and may be part of a wider strategy to strengthen control over the Internet and limit access to information.
This corresponds to the long-term trend. In recent years, Russia has been blocking foreign platforms, restricting the use of VPNs and promoting its own digital services. There are also concerns about the future of the so-called “sovereign Internet”, which would be more isolated from the rest of the world.
Outages also have significant economic impacts. According to estimates, they cause losses in the order of millions per day and complicate the functioning of even state institutions. But for ordinary people, they primarily mean going back a few years.
Frustration is growing
Some help themselves by improvising – they reach for offline solutions or even outdated technologies. Others react more with sarcasm and resignation. However, it is evident that the frustration of Russians is growing, especially among the young.
“I’ll probably start using a carrier pigeon. I pay for the Internet, but I don’t get anything for it. I feel like I’m being robbed every month, I can’t use the basic achievements of modern civilization,” another young Russian did not hide his indignation.
The authenticity of the footage published by Nexta agency could not be independently verified. However, it is evident that repeated outages mean only one thing for many people – the uncertainty of whether they will be able to rely on the Internet tomorrow, the CNN server emphasized.
How can states block parts of the internet?
Popular services such as Twitter or Facebook, but also private e-mail boxes, or even the entire content of the Internet can be blocked practically at any time.
“The Internet is a huge network connecting computers all over the world. When someone wanted to block selected websites or services, they would have to force the largest central Internet providers to do so,” computer expert Václav Vaněček told Novinkám.
Internet providers in countries such as China or Iran will receive an order from the state to which sites they should prevent people from accessing. They must enter commands into their routers – devices that take care of connecting individual parts of the Internet – that will prevent people from accessing this.
VPN services that create virtual tunnels across the Internet can also be blocked in the same way.
