Mobile internet and voice communications have been restricted in the capital since March 6.
Since March 6, mobile internet has been restricted in certain areas of Moscow, and the outages have also affected voice communications. According to a Kommersant source in the IT market, the total damage to Moscow businesses over the past five days could have amounted to between 3 billion and 5 billion rubles. The restrictions have had the most significant impact on courier services, taxis, car sharing, and retail.
According to Kommersant, mobile internet was out in central Moscow and on certain metro lines. In some areas, users were only able to access websites from the "white list" approved by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media in the fall of 2025. In other locations, both mobile internet and mobile phone service were down. According to the newspaper, mobile internet outages also occurred in St. Petersburg on the morning of March 10.
Telecom market sources attributed the outages on March 6 to "external restrictions." According to the newspaper's sources, operators were ordered to restrict mobile internet in certain areas of Moscow, which could also have caused problems with voice communications. The operators themselves, as the newspaper notes, stated that their networks were operating normally, and that the outages were caused by external restrictions.
On March 10, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov attributed internet outages in Moscow and other major cities to "security." Roskomnadzor referred questions about the outages to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media. The ministry did not respond to the publication's request.
The Association of Internet Trade Companies, which represents over 80 market participants, stated that the proper functioning of the "whitelist" is critical for businesses. The association believes that all legally operating Russian services providing services to the public must maintain access. Otherwise, according to AKIT, this could lead to a competitive imbalance, whereby some major platforms would continue to operate while others would lose access.
The previous mass mobile internet shutdowns in Moscow occurred in early May 2025. Back then, authorities also cited security concerns for the restrictions. Meanwhile, as Kommersant reports, mobile internet shutdowns have been occurring regularly in Russia's regions since the beginning of 2025, and in some areas, service may be out for weeks.
Strategy Partners believes that restrictions are primarily affecting small and medium-sized businesses. Large companies, which have already faced such measures in their regions, have managed to establish backup communication channels and adapt their processes. Meanwhile, mobile devices account for 50-70% of internet traffic in Russia, so courier services, taxis, car-sharing services, and retailers with mobile POS terminals are being hit the hardest.
Market participants also reported problems. Chibis reported that the restrictions affected the pickup segment: the share of such orders dropped to 2%, compared to the usual 5-6%. Flowwow noted that communication outages complicated the work of couriers: in some cases, they needed more time to clarify the route or reach the customer.
Meanwhile, marketplace representatives stated that the operation of their pickup points was not affected. Ozon told Kommersant that they have not observed any widespread delays or complaints regarding order pickup, as most pickup points use wired internet. Wildberries stated that they have not recorded a decrease in the number of mobile app orders in Moscow. The taxi service Maxim also reported no significant disruptions.
Amid the restrictions, business interest in wired internet has grown. Rostelecom reported a surge in requests from companies for broadband access.
Since March 6, mobile internet has been restricted in certain areas of Moscow, and the outages have also affected voice communications. According to a Kommersant source in the IT market, the total damage to Moscow businesses over the past five days could have amounted to between 3 billion and 5 billion rubles. The restrictions have had the most significant impact on courier services, taxis, car sharing, and retail.
According to Kommersant, mobile internet was out in central Moscow and on certain metro lines. In some areas, users were only able to access websites from the "white list" approved by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media in the fall of 2025. In other locations, both mobile internet and mobile phone service were down. According to the newspaper, mobile internet outages also occurred in St. Petersburg on the morning of March 10.
Telecom market sources attributed the outages on March 6 to "external restrictions." According to the newspaper's sources, operators were ordered to restrict mobile internet in certain areas of Moscow, which could also have caused problems with voice communications. The operators themselves, as the newspaper notes, stated that their networks were operating normally, and that the outages were caused by external restrictions.
On March 10, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov attributed internet outages in Moscow and other major cities to "security." Roskomnadzor referred questions about the outages to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media. The ministry did not respond to the publication's request.
The Association of Internet Trade Companies, which represents over 80 market participants, stated that the proper functioning of the "whitelist" is critical for businesses. The association believes that all legally operating Russian services providing services to the public must maintain access. Otherwise, according to AKIT, this could lead to a competitive imbalance, whereby some major platforms would continue to operate while others would lose access.
The previous mass mobile internet shutdowns in Moscow occurred in early May 2025. Back then, authorities also cited security concerns for the restrictions. Meanwhile, as Kommersant reports, mobile internet shutdowns have been occurring regularly in Russia's regions since the beginning of 2025, and in some areas, service may be out for weeks.
Strategy Partners believes that restrictions are primarily affecting small and medium-sized businesses. Large companies, which have already faced such measures in their regions, have managed to establish backup communication channels and adapt their processes. Meanwhile, mobile devices account for 50-70% of internet traffic in Russia, so courier services, taxis, car-sharing services, and retailers with mobile POS terminals are being hit the hardest.
Market participants also reported problems. Chibis reported that the restrictions affected the pickup segment: the share of such orders dropped to 2%, compared to the usual 5-6%. Flowwow noted that communication outages complicated the work of couriers: in some cases, they needed more time to clarify the route or reach the customer.
Meanwhile, marketplace representatives stated that the operation of their pickup points was not affected. Ozon told Kommersant that they have not observed any widespread delays or complaints regarding order pickup, as most pickup points use wired internet. Wildberries stated that they have not recorded a decrease in the number of mobile app orders in Moscow. The taxi service Maxim also reported no significant disruptions.
Amid the restrictions, business interest in wired internet has grown. Rostelecom reported a surge in requests from companies for broadband access.
