Russia goes offline Mobile Internet blackouts in the Nizhny Novgorod region leave residents questioning officials’ explanations and fearing lasting restrictions

In the spring of 2025, mobile Internet providers began disabling service in regions across Russia. The authorities argue that the measures are necessary to protect civilians and strategically important facilities from Ukrainian drone attacks. The shutdowns are generally localized and brief, lasting from a few hours to several days, but not around Nizhny Novgorod, where outages have been extensive and prolonged. Some districts in this region have been without mobile Internet access for more than two months. In fact, by August, all mobile services started disappearing in some parts of the region. Meduza examines this radical experiment and explores how locals have adapted to life without data streamed on the go.

Everything, everywhere, all at once?

Mobile Internet access didn’t disappear all at once in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Residents in the industrial city of Dzerzhinsk, 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) outside the regional capital, were among the first to face service disruptions. The mobile data blackouts that began in the spring were mostly overnight and not daily. Many people didn’t even notice, and those who did had few complaints, a woman in town told Meduza. People expressed understanding that “the jammers are working for our safety.” 

The Nizhny Novgorod region has no shortage of potential targets for Ukrainian drones. In Dzerzhinsk alone, for example, there’s the Sverdlov plant, which produces ammunition, and the Korund chemical plant, which manufactures materials for combat airplanes and helicopters. Ukraine has been launching UAVs at the region since last year, but attacks became much more frequent in the spring of 2025.

A turning point came on the night of June 9, 2025, when Ukrainian drones attacked the area around the Savasleyka military air base. Officials in Kyiv claimed to have disabled two Russian fighter jets in the strikes. Russia’s military didn’t comment on the incident, but mobile Internet service promptly began failing in towns surrounding the airfield. In Vyksa, Kulebaki, Navashino, and other areas, the blackouts weren’t just at night, but were around the clock and effectively permanent. A woman living in the region told Meduza that the service shutdown initially angered the public, but most people “more or less adapted” after a couple of months. 

According to 2021 census records, the combined population of Vyksa, Navashino, Kulebaki, and adjacent towns is roughly 100,000. Despite the large number of people affected by the mobile data outages, government officials, regional media outlets, and popular Telegram channels were silent for weeks. When the disruptions reached parts of Nizhny Novgorod itself, the city’s residents wondered if temporary precautions tied to major holiday celebrations were to blame. (Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko visited in late June for one of the festivities.) 

Finally, four days after Nizhny Novgorod lost mobile Internet service, the regional government acknowledged that it was “periodically reducing” local cellular towers’ signal levels to withhold data that enemy drones “could potentially use for navigation.” 

The first public statement from Governor Gleb Nikitin about the situation came on July 4 — almost a month after the mobile Internet shutdown in Vyksa and roughly a week after the service disruptions reached Nizhny Novgorod and Dzerzhinsk. “I’m dealing with the mobile outages myself. Yes, it’s rough, and it really makes it hard to get work done,” Nikitin wrote on social media, prompting skepticism from locals who immediately pointed out that the regional government’s office is on the side of the city where mobile data continues to work.

‘People couldn’t call an ambulance or reach utility services’

Speaking to residents in Dzerzhinsk and neighboring towns, Meduza heard stories about navigating life without mobile Internet, and, at times, without cellular service altogether. “People couldn’t call an ambulance or reach utility services. My neighbor had a pipe burst, and water leaked down several floors, but she couldn’t call emergency repair services,” one woman recalled. 

Mobile service was restored after a few days, but connections remain spotty and unreliable, complicating work for many businesses. For example, Meduza spoke to a remodeling contractor who described losing contact with both clients and family members while on job sites. One woman told Meduza that she doesn’t even have a physical bank card and has always relied on her smartphone for shopping. She now uses her home Internet connection to order goods online and transfers money to friends in exchange for cash.

Many stores in the Nizhny Novgorod region have fiber-optic service, but wired connections are less common in non-chain supermarkets and small retail outlets, which often rely on modems with SIM cards for Internet access. Without a data connection, it’s impossible to scan “Honest Sign” QR codes on products (Russia’s labeling system designed to combat the illegal circulation of goods), and vendors can’t sell cigarettes, alcohol, or certain beverages and dairy products. Staff at offices located inside residential buildings, such as Ozon delivery pickup points, have reportedly begun offering cash to residents in exchange for the passwords to their home Wi-Fi networks. On the storefronts of some shops, businesses now advertise their ability to accept QR-code payments even when mobile Internet access fails.

Map of Russian regions affected by shutdowns

In towns outside Nizhny Novgorod, many households that relied on mobile data have turned to fixed-line broadband providers, only to discover that local companies lack the resources to connect everyone quickly. Sources told Meduza that some providers are so overwhelmed and understaffed under current conditions that they can’t even provide an estimated installation date. Home Internet providers in Vyksa have advised prospective clients to submit an application and wait for a call “no earlier than late September.” On social media and job search sites, Meduza found numerous vacancies listed by broadband providers. 

The situation is better in Nizhny Novgorod, where a Meduza correspondent was told by a broadband provider that installing a new home Internet connection would take no more than a week. In some of the more remote towns, however, there isn’t a single residential broadband provider. In mid-July, regional authorities published a map of public Internet access points, often found at parks, shopping centers, banks, and government offices. In Nizhny Novgorod and Dzerzhinsk, people can also log online at some “smart” public transportation stops, where mounted smartscreens display route information and allow calls to emergency services. 

In reality, public Internet service has proven to be an unreliable stopgap. Governor Nikitin has pledged to expand the availability of public Wi-Fi, but each access point’s signal extends no more than 20 meters (66 feet), and just 20 people using a single node can tank transfer speeds.

Mobile Internet shutdowns have also affected public transportation passengers, making it harder for them to plan trips and track buses. Locals complain online that public transportation throughout the region has become unreliable as well. Multiple people say their last scheduled evening bus never arrives, and mobile Internet shutdowns make it impossible to order a taxi, forcing them to walk home.

Chart showing the growth in mobile Internet shutdowns in Russia

Meduza’s sources report that groups of teenagers now crowd public Wi-Fi points, but they’re not alone. The region’s taxi drivers have also been forced to cluster at these hotspots to receive ride requests when their mobile data fails. Two months into the service shutdowns, Yandex Taxi’s driver platform added free Wi-Fi locations to its Nizhny Novgorod map. The difficulties have led to fewer drivers on the roads, causing ride prices to increase two- to threefold in affected cities, Meduza learned.

Rates haven’t changed in Vyksa, but only because the town’s taxi drivers eschew aggregators that use dynamic pricing and instead operate “in a gray zone,” negotiating prices directly with clients in Telegram chats where they post their prices. Locals told Meduza that the process sometimes results in drivers and passengers who can’t find each other after agreeing on a trip. In a town of 45,000 people, waiting for a taxi can take up to an hour.

With children soon returning to the classroom, parents have expressed concerns in local social media groups that they won’t have reliable access to electronic grade books or chat groups with teachers. “Everyone’s already used to a different life, why go back to the Stone Age?” one woman in Vyksa told Meduza. Parents are even more worried about their children’s safety, afraid they’ll lose the tracking apps and video calls many use to stay in contact throughout the day.

‘The population gets dumber’

Meduza spoke to locals in Dzerzhinsk and Nizhny Novgorod who use mobile service from the operators T2 and Yota. One woman said she corresponded with T2 for days, demanding not to be charged when mobile data was unavailable. T2 insisted that the region’s Internet access problems are beyond the company’s control, and representatives initially offered her a complimentary 10 gigabytes of mobile data she couldn’t use. In the end, thanks to the woman’s persistence, T2 agreed to knock 20 percent off her bill.

Other residents told Meduza that they’ve either stopped paying their phone bills or removed mobile Internet from their plans. “My phone is just a dead brick now that only makes calls. I only used my phone for the Internet,” said another T2 customer. A Yota subscriber said he quit his mobile data plan not just to reduce his bill by 40 percent but also as a protest. “People have no way to pressure the authorities directly, so we have to pressure the cellular operators. Maybe [these businesses] will have some influence,” the man told Meduza.

Besides the inconvenience and cost of mobile Internet outages, some in the Nizhny Novgorod region suspect the authorities are lying about the reasons for the shutdowns. Sources told Meduza that Ukrainian drone attacks have continued, fueling fears that the authorities are staging a show of action rather than taking real safety measures. Locals note that GPS signals aren’t being jammed, and communications have remained active near some military installations in Dzerzhinsk. Residents told Meduza that they worry the real goal of the region’s mobile data shutdown is censorship. “They shut off the Internet, less information from opposition channels reaches the public, and [people watch] more television. The population gets dumber,” said one source.

A lack of transparency has exacerbated concerns. There are no publicly available records stating who is responsible for shutting off mobile Internet service, how the process works on a technical level, or how long the restrictions will last. People who spoke to Meduza said they don’t know who to blame: the mobile operators, the governor, the Federal Security Service, or some other agency. Locals also wonder if the dead zones are the work of jamming equipment or switches flipped in an office.

According to Governor Nikitin, the restrictions will remain in effect “as long as the threat persists.” Many of Meduza’s sources believe that mobile Internet access is a thing of the past, predicting that the authorities will herd people to public Wi-Fi, where users will need to authenticate their identities through government portals. 

Spokespeople for the Nizhny Novgorod regional government, Yandex, and Yota did not respond to Meduza’s inquiries. We were unable to reach T2‘s press service.

As of mid-August 2025, mobile Internet service remains unavailable in Dzerzhinsk, Vyksa, Navashino, and Kulebaki. In Nizhny Novgorod, mobile data is accessible only in the Upper City.

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