Muscovites have been turning to walkie-talkies and pagers amid unexplained disruptions to internet services in the capital, as the Kremlin appears to tighten control over online activity in Russia.
Users in central Moscow, as well as St. Petersburg, first reported difficulties accessing mobile Internet about a week ago. Many said they couldn’t load websites or apps, while some lost service entirely, preventing them from making phone calls.
The Kremlin said this week that the cuts were being introduced to “ensure security” and would remain in place “as long as additional measures are necessary”, without providing further details on the reasons behind the restrictions.
For months, users across Russia have complained about widespread mobile Internet outages, although the outages have drawn far less scrutiny than those now affecting central Moscow, the country’s political and economic hub.
The cuts were a “big headache,” said Dmitry, a 31-year-old consultant in Moscow. “I have trouble hailing a taxi, sending work emails, or even just texting my family.”
Human rights activists said the closure could be related to Moscow testing a new system called “whitelisting,” under which only a limited number of government-approved websites and essential online services would remain accessible to Russians.
Moscow officials previously said the “white list” of available websites would include “all resources necessary for life,” including marketplaces, delivery services and online pharmacies. But observers say the system would drastically censor Russians’ access to the network.
Internet outages have become increasingly common in Russia since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2025, the country ranked first globally for the number of Internet outages, according to estimates by research group Top10VPN.
Russian officials have previously claimed that the internet shutdowns were an effort to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, although experts say such measures are unlikely to be effective.
The latest disruptions have hit courier services, taxi apps and retail businesses especially hard. The Russian business daily Kommersant estimated that losses from the Internet shutdown in Moscow could reach around one billion rubles ($12.6 million) per day.
The outages also reached Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, where lawmakers complained Thursday that mobile and Wi-Fi networks were not working inside the building, leaving deputies effectively cut off from the outside world and unable to access the Internet.
In the face of disruption, many have turned to older forms of communication. Russians have started buying more walkie-talkies and pagers, according to data from the e-commerce platform Wildberries & Russ cited by Russian media.
Sales of walkie-talkies increased by 27%, while pagers used to communicate with customers and staff increased by 73%. Demand for paper maps of Moscow has almost tripled.
The shutdown comes amid a renewed crackdown on Russia’s online space. Authorities have already blocked WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube, and there are growing rumors that the widely used messaging app Telegram could face restrictions starting next month.
A Russian lawmaker said Thursday that the country’s security services could have the ability to limit VPN traffic in the next six months, potentially cutting off one of the last ways many Russians can access blocked websites.
At the same time, officials have been pressuring Russians to join a state-backed “super app” called Max, modeled on China’s WeChat, which is widely believed to be controlled by Russia’s security services.
