In early 2026, the slow-motion crackdown on Russia’s internet finally reached its logical, rather chaotic conclusion. While the disconnection of Elon Musk’s Starlink in February dealt a severe blow to Russian military communications, the real story of the country’s digital isolation is far more complex—and far more revealing of the Kremlin’s internal power struggles. It is a story of technological warfare, an attempt to replace a popular platform with a state-controlled clone, and a censorship system so overloaded it started to collapse under its own weight.

The Durov Affair and the Beginning of the End

For many years, the Kremlin has been rapidly developing Russia’s internet infrastructure. As a result, internet service in major cities, especially Moscow, has reached world-class levels.

At the same time, the Kremlin was pursuing a two-pronged strategy: preserving Russia’s image as a “zone of free information” wherever possible, while quietly building the infrastructure needed to control it.
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