WILL INTERNET RESTRICTIONS BECOME THE LAST STRAW FOR RUSSIANS?

Russian authorities have increasingly restricted access to messaging applications, disrupted mobile internet services, and promoted state-approved online platforms. The Kremlin argues that these measures are necessary for national security and for countering threats connected to the war in Ukraine. (Source: BBC)

Sanctions on Russia have evidently not succeeded in forcing Moscow to abandon the war in Ukraine. However, the Russian government’s increasing restrictions on internet access may prove to be a pivotal development. In the modern world, internet connectivity has become nearly as essential as water, electricity, or food. Without stable internet access, large parts of a modern economy begin to slow down or stop functioning altogether. It is possible that what sanctions failed to achieve externally, internal digital restrictions may eventually produce from within.