Why Muscovites are being left without internet on “Victory Day”
Mobile internet restrictions have started in moscow. The russian authorities explain this as a security measure during the celebration of “victory day” and are asking people to “be patient for a while.”
▫️ russia is clearly afraid of Ukrainian drone strikes that could spoil the parade and other “sacred” events. However, security could also be a pretext for implementing large-scale communication restrictions.
The full-scale war against Ukraine and Western sanctions have had a significant impact on the living standards of ordinary russians. In addition, the kremlin is using the war to further “tighten the screws” and make any disloyalty to putin and his government impossible. Blocking mobile Internet is one of the ways to counteract the organization of protests.
Despite russian propaganda’s claims about the nation’s love for putin and support for “smo” the kremlin is clearly afraid of even isolated cases of resistance to the regime. So it is using the celebration of the “great victory” to test another technology to restrict the freedom of its own citizens.
