As Vladimir Putin comes under growing pressure, with the war in Ukraine spiralling out of control and increasingly taking place on Russian soil, the regime is escalating its war on the internet.
The Kremlin has ramped up restrictions on usage of the web since the invasion of February 2022, quashing spaces that could be used to spread dissent, such as Western apps and websites, alongside a crackdown on protests offline that can now carry years-long jail sentences.
Russian web users describe a baffling and frustrating experience as websites suddenly disappear, messaging apps freeze, and virtual private networks (VPNs) that offered an escape from censorship fail.
Experts warn that the next phase could mean the introduction of a North Korea-style system that offers users minimal access to information under sweeping state control.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said earlier this month that the Russian internet increasingly resembles the Hermit Kingdom’s “Kwangmyong” model that is isolated from the World Wide Web. A leak in 2016 showed the country had only 28 websites.
