Imagine losing mobile internet for nearly three weeks. Not because of a hurricane or an infrastructure failure, but because your government’s spy agency decided to flip the switch. That’s the reality for millions of Russians right now.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, has been orchestrating targeted mobile internet shutdowns across the country since early 2026. Moscow and St. Petersburg, home to a combined population of roughly 18 million people, have been hit hardest. In Moscow alone, outages stretched up to 19 days in March 2026.

How Russia legalized going dark

The legal groundwork for these shutdowns was laid in February 2026, when President Vladimir Putin signed legislation granting the FSB authority to order mobile service shutdowns. The law also shields telecom operators from liability when they comply with these directives.

The official justification ties back to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Russian authorities have pointed to security threats, particularly concerns over drone attacks, as the reason mobile networks need to go dark. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reinforced this position on March 11, 2026, indicating that outages would persist as long as they were deemed necessary for public safety.

Russia already recorded the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2025. The 2026 legislation didn’t create a new practice. It just gave the FSB a cleaner legal framework to do what it was already doing. Wartime digital controls gained real traction starting around May 2025, evolving from sporadic, localized disruptions into something far more systematic.

Life without the internet looks exactly how you’d expect

The practical consequences for everyday Russians have been severe. In a country where digital payments had become deeply embedded in daily commerce, citizens have been forced back to cash transactions. Mobile navigation apps stopped working. People turned to printed maps.

The disruptions have also targeted what authorities call “white list” services, a curated set of approved digital platforms that are supposed to remain accessible even during restrictions. The fact that even these vetted services have been affected suggests the shutdowns are broader and blunter than any surgical security measure would require.

What this means for crypto and digital markets

Given the scale of these internet blackouts, you might expect ripple effects across digital asset markets. So far, that hasn’t materialized. No direct impact on cryptocurrency prices or specific tokens has been reported in connection with the Russian shutdowns.

If shutdowns intensify or expand to cover fixed-line broadband and enterprise connections, businesses operating in or dependent on Russian markets could face real operational disruptions. Mining operations, exchange services with Russian exposure, and OTC desks facilitating ruble-denominated trades would all be vulnerable.