Russia to Conduct Nationwide “Sovereign Internet” Test on Victory Day, ISW Warns
The Russian authorities are expected to use the May 9 Victory Day celebrations as a pretext to carry out a large-scale test of the country’s “sovereign internet” capabilities. This initiative would involve temporarily isolating entire regions from the global internet under the guise of national security.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to the Institute for the Study of War.
Officials in Chuvashia, Tatarstan, and the Voronezh and Tver regions have already warned of possible mobile network disruptions on May 9. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Moscow and the surrounding area may experience mobile internet restrictions during the Victory Day events, citing “obvious reasons” for such measures and urging the public to show understanding.
Major Russian companies, including Yandex and several banks, have alerted customers that such outages could disrupt access to transportation, delivery, and financial services, especially in Moscow.
ISW analysts suggest this test of the sovereign internet, designed to enable Russia to disconnect from the global network and impose stricter domestic censorship, is part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to control information flows. They noted that internet disruptions have become more frequent in early 2025, and that Victory Day offers a low-resistance moment to test the system on a broad scale.
The Kremlin may also be seeking to prevent the spread of photos and videos documenting possible Ukrainian long-range strikes during the holiday. This move, analysts say, aims to preserve the illusion of military success in Ukraine despite a lack of tangible progress on the battlefield.
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