The Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to organize internet access for Russians on the basis of “white lists” – which would restrict the open web with a narrowly defined set of approved online resources. This means that the state would not only filter out banned platforms, but allow only services that pass political and security vetting. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. While the officials claim the move would protect the country from “information threats” and foreign influence, it significantly narrows state control over what most users can see online. FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin were tasked with implementing the directive and must submit a report to Putin by July 1. According to The Moscow Times, Russian authorities began turning off mobile Internet from May 2025, which resulted in more than 60 regions of shutdowns occurring regularly. The services that should remain working even when the Internet is disconnected are medical care systems, banking applications, and the portal “Public Services.”The context of implementing such rules were explained as protection against Ukraine’s drone strikes and intelligence. During the outages, access could be retained to resources from the “white list”, which the Ministry of Digital Resources first introduced in September 2025.