Since its invention, the internet has been seen by some as a potential tool to bring democracy to authoritarian nations. That hope has become increasingly thin as authoritarian regimes block their citizens from accessing the web. Since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Russia has joined China and Iran as a walled-off digital state.
The digital blockade has been constructed from both sides. Most recently, Russian authorities have blocked Facebook access and restricted Twitter access, but efforts to restrict speech by Russian citizens have been ongoing for years.
On the other side of the wall, tech giants like Nokia
Meanwhile, platforms like Netflix
While the companies involved claim to have no choice but to leave Russia due to the invasion and sanctions and Ukraine has called on the world at large to stop working with the country, analysts say that the digital wall surrounding Russia will only help Putin.
Lack of internet access means that citizens in the country can no longer view independent information or express political dissent, marking an end to the hope that the internet could be a gateway to increased freedoms.
Brian Fishman, Facebook's former director of counterterrorism and senior fellow at New America told The New York Times (NYT), "the vision of a free and open internet that runs all over the world doesn't really exist anymore."
"Now the internet is lumpy. It has choke points," Fishman continued.
Unlike China, Russia doesn't have a robust system of domestic internet companies to take over, meaning access to even basic services could be lost for businesses, citizens, and the government alike.
Even domestic tech companies like Yandex, Russia's largest internet company and most popular search engine, have begun expressing concerns over their ability to survive the blockade. Yandex previously relied on support from Cogent Communications.
"The whole IT, hardware and software market that Russia relies on is gravely damaged right now," democracy and technology researcher at the University of Oxford told NYT.
Blocked internet access isn't the only thing that's been hurting Russia's tech sector. The world's financial systems have also been closed to the country, including Visa and Mastercard blocking transactions, and foreign airlines are no longer traveling to Russia. Russia itself closed off access to its oil and natural gas reserves.
The blockade has also driven up demand for virtual private networks in Russia by 600%, allowing users to mask their location. However, those same users are struggling to find ways to purchase these services without access to payment processors like Visa.
"That move only helps the Kremlin in my view, unfortunately," Aleksei Pivovarov, a Russian Youtuber reporting on issues not covered by state media, told NYT.
