The sanctions imposed on Russia have not only directly hit its economy (and by extension the global economy), but are now also threatening Russian citizens\u2019 access to the internet.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s expected the nation will limit its reliance on the global internet very soon. Although a complete disconnection<\/em> isn\u2019t yet confirmed, even a partial disconnection would be a difficult task. And the repercussions of Russia\u2019s growing digital isolation for its citizens will be immense.<\/p>\n More than 85% of Russians use the internet<\/a>. Since the Ukraine invasion began, people in Russia have found themselves increasingly deprived of online services such as Facebook, Twitter, and even Netflix \u2013 with Russia either limiting access to sites or providers withdrawing services.<\/p>\n Russia itself has also introduced a digital divide with the rest of the world<\/a>, despite the fact this may further cripple its economy. It is expected to start withdrawing from the global internet by March 11<\/a>, according to Kremlin documents. Major financial players have pulled out too, including Apple Pay<\/a>, Google Pay, and most major credit card providers<\/a>, significantly impacting e-commerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n Russia has long-imposed control over state-run media but tolerated a level of free access to content and services through the internet. While such freedoms have been progressively diminished, citizens have still been able to stay connected to the wider web.<\/p>\n This open-access is now being revoked. Russia will assert dominance over internet services and impose strict censorship<\/a> on local media organizations in an attempt to control information<\/a> and reinforce Kremlin propaganda.<\/p>\n As part of this plan, the Russian government<\/a> has directed businesses to move their web hosting and business services to Russian servers.<\/p>\n While it may be assumed a \u201c.ru\u201d website is located in Russia, this isn\u2019t always the case. Large organizations will often host their services in remote regions\u2019 servers. This may be to gain access to enhanced technologies, increase the resilience of the service, or benefit from reduced service costs.<\/p>\n A good example would be a content delivery network<\/a>, where content is hosted on multiple servers around the world. This ensures fast access for users and resilience to outages and malicious attacks.<\/p>\n Relocating an individual website to a new server is relatively easy, but doing this on a national scale is a huge logistical challenge. It\u2019s unknown whether Russia even has the capacity and capability to deliver the required resources.<\/p>\n With mounting pressure from the West, Russia may create its own version<\/a> of the \u201cgreat firewall of China<\/a>\u201d. With this, the Chinese government implemented a number of measures allowing it to regulate and censor the domestic internet as it sees fit.<\/p>\n Although the current demands from the Kremlin relate to service availability \u2013 and migrating websites and services to Russian territories \u2013 this could<\/em> be the first stage of a national disconnection from the global internet.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting, however, even if Russia adopts a domestic internet, it will still need to keep some bridges with the global internet to communicate with other countries.<\/p>\n In 2019, Russia tested disconnecting the country from the internet<\/a>. There are few details relating to how long this test ran.<\/p>\n The test was reportedly successful, but not adopted. It could be the Kremlin stopped short of a full disconnection due to Russia\u2019s reliance on global services, such as social media and financial gateways.<\/p>\n With Russia now becoming increasingly isolated from global networks, it\u2019s potentially easier to implement network changes that would grant the Kremlin full control of Russia\u2019s internet.<\/p>\n Disconnecting from the global internet and imposing censorship will inevitably slow down democratic progress in Russia.<\/p>\n It will also impact the country\u2019s technological development. Russia is already facing significant chip shortages<\/a> and a loss of access to advanced telecommunication technologies<\/a>, including deliveries from Ericsson and Nokia.<\/p>\n Even if Russia successfully creates its own separate internet, this would be challenging for citizens to accept.<\/p>\n Until recently, Russian citizens have enjoyed the benefits of the global internet, and they will likely be concerned about its disappearance. The social impact would be incredibly difficult to manage.<\/p>\n And while virtual private networks have previously been used within Russia to maintain anonymity, or access censored sources, a properly implemented set of controls could effectively block the use of such techniques.<\/p>\nRussia\u2019s increasing digital isolation<\/h2>\n
The Kremlin\u2019s orders<\/h2>\n
Not the first attempt at disconnection<\/h2>\n
The repercussions<\/h2>\n
Is the internet safer without Russia?<\/h2>\n
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