Million losses in an hour. The Russians begging for help. “They don't care about us”
Only in June 655 cases of failure were recorded – then the number of breaks in access was larger than all over the world in all of 2024. In July, the number exceeded 2,000 and reached by August almost 3 thousand In 12 regions, communication was completely lost.
From August, failures have become particularly long -lasting. In the rescue, in the Republic of Komi, the mobile internet did not operate for 11 days in a row, and in the NiżnonowoGrodzkie region some cities have been without connectivity for over two months.
The cuttings are translated Fears of the punch of dronesbut in fact it is sometimes only worse. During the attack of Ukrainian drones, the Alarm did not work on the Iżewski Electromechanical Department “Kupol”: poorly working internet did not allow employees to quickly receive a warning. As a result, three people were killed.
According to expert estimates Economic losses caused by disconnections reach 748 million rubles (at the current exchange rate PLN 33 million) per hour. Such failures cause not only discomfort, but also serious problems: without the Internet, emergency services, logistics and banking operations are not available. All work coordinated online has become slower and its efficiency dropped.
“If something happens, there is no one to call”
Wiktor, freelancer from Tuła, says that he suffers the most not because of life inconvenience, but because of inability to communicate with loved ones. His mother works at daily duty near the military factory. – For two weeks of my absence I saw my mother only for two seconds in video calls. He calls every time, but I hardly hear her – he says.
Due to the blockade of messengers, a woman cannot configure the Signal application – the son rarely visits her mother. There is Wi-Fi at home, but it doesn't make much sense. Wiktor's mother is difficult to write messages, she can't record voice messages, and written instructions are not fully understandable to her. – He is a restless person, has asthma and hypertension. As soon as he feels bad, he must call me, otherwise he starts to panic – explains the man. Now the mother often remains without communication, especially during the duty.
Wiktor is also worried about grandma. – If something happens, there is nobody to call. At night you can hear raids: you wake up in the dark from explosions, and there is nowhere to find out what happened. This is such a hopeless situation – admits the man.
On a plot where you can't stay long, the family planted only squasts: they do not require care.
Everyday matters also become a challenge. Wiktor recalls how he tried to call a taxi: the driver could not find a house, went in a different direction, and then they got lost in the yards together because of the excavated roads. The taxi driver had a map loaded, but the navigation did not work. – It would seem that the city is small, 10 minutes of driving, and as a result it took almost half an hour – he says.
Problems also appear with money. ATMs often act only in paying payments. If you can withdraw from them, queues are formed. It is not always possible to pay by card at the pharmacy or at the market. – You can't check on Google where the nearest ATM is. You had to ask people. Once I came home without shopping to check via Wi-Fi, and then I went again-says Wiktor.
The lack of mobile internet and Wi-Fi constantly spoils plans. The man remembers how he went to the notary public to draw up a power of attorney, and the documents needed were at the e -mail. – I asked to share the internet, but he [prawnik] has wired internet! This means that it is not possible. I had to postpone the meeting and go home – he recalls.
Local stores adapt in their own way: they install wired internet so that the terminals work. “Even the beer house installed it,” says Wiktor. – The owner said he did it right after the blockades began, He doesn't believe it will end quickly.
Without communication for a week
– At the beginning my mobile operator left me and my son without communication for a week – says Svetlana from Niżny Nowogrod. – You couldn't call anywhere, I had to go to the gasworks personally to call the service home instead of calling. I had to buy an additional number to just be in contact. For me it was a shocking week. I changed the operator, with a tariff to two gigabytes, but I still have nowhere to use them.
The woman says that now she uses a mobile phone outside the home only to make calls and show QR codes when collecting orders. – The worst thing is that There are no warnings about unmanned aerial vehicles. It would seem obvious, but no, this is the concern about us: we were simply deprived of mobile internet. In fact, they do not care about us – I live near the arms factory – but for a factory as a weapon producer.
Svetlana also complains about difficulties with transport. Earlier she could use maps and order taxis if necessary. Now All this became almost inaccessible. – Ordering taxis has become difficult: it is difficult to order [samochód] From the application at home, last time it was only on the phone. Now you have to wait a whole hour. The announced Wi-Fi at intelligent stops does not work everywhere, it is impossible to remember all routes in the big city. Now, if you have to go somewhere, first read the routes at home, remember or save which buses to change to. It is all very uncomfortable. The offline map for some reason has not opened without the internet, now you have to deal with it.
Problem with Internet access in Russia, Moscow, May 7, 2025.
The woman says that it is much more difficult for her to communicate with relatives. You can only call the internet from home, but you need to take into account the difference of time zones: women's relatives live in different regions.
Difficult everyday life
Ekatryna, a large mother from Izen, complains that Her hard -worked routine fell apart related to work, children and domestic responsibilities. First of all, without mobile internet you can't listen to music that put a woman in a good mood for the whole day. This little thing still annoys her.
– The option of downloading everything on the phone is not an option, because downloading over 800 songs after one is a very bad solution – he says.
On the second day of disconnecting the internet, Jekatryin had to pick up her daughter from a summer camp and take her to the doctor for a small surgery. The woman could not contact the girl because of the messenger failure. Also with the tutors: everyone exchanged contacts on the telegram, and the woman did not have mobile phone numbers. – The daughter's camp was near the arms plant – there was no coverage within the radius of two stops – says Jekatryna. – Then the daughter's bracelet does not work: you cannot determine where it is or call.
Ekatryna came to the camp with a taxi, but she couldn't come back: The car has already left, and to order a new one, the Internet was needed. As a result, my mother and daughter got to the hospital by public transport and were late for a visit. – It's good that the clinic was paid and they called themselves. I signed up online and did not note the number – he says.
– After visiting the doctor, it turned out that no one could sell us water or ice cream, because there are mobile cash registers in kiosks and they don't work. The daughter is crying: removing the wart is not terrible, but the leg hurts, and the taxi cannot be called. I could not comfort her with a treat because she has no cash, and kiosks are unable to sell anything. I felt terrible anger and helplessness – he says.
After the first disconnection of the Internet, there was an air attack on the “Kupol” factory. Then the woman thought that “the city authorities knew something and prepared, but as always nobody warned.” However, the internet was still cutting off.
– It's terrible when the sirens are done and my apartment is located at the intersection of the airport and two arms plants, there is no communication. Older children are alone at home either they went to friends or walk – you can neither call or write. They did not turn on the mobile internet, and connectivity at such times is also turned off in our area. It remains only to monitor the messages where they fly [drony] And where they have arrived – complains jekatryin.
Russian on the street in Moscow, July 30, 2025 (Review)
A woman is very difficult to adapt to a new reality in which constant contact is an exception, not a rule. Problems appear completely unexpectedly.
– In July my son was to go to the duty kindergarten. In the evening, I calculated roughly how much time it would take him to get to the kindergarten, and calmed down. In the morning I turned off the electricity. The kettle, fridge and router stopped working with it, and there was no Wi-Fi either. I couldn't take my son to a new kindergarten, because I only remembered more or less where he was, the maps did not work, and no one responded to SMSs.
In the end, Jekatryin found a solution: she called a friend in another city who searched for an ambulance number on Google and sent him to a friend. – We had to look for kindergartens using the trial and error method, which is why we were late everywhere – he says.
“We can't communicate normally”
Vladimir, the administrator in the Saratów online store Yandex Market, has already got used to internet delivery breaks, but they disturb him very much. He says that life “without the Internet is possible but very difficult.”
In such conditions Couriers cannot normally deliver goods: GPS is turned off in some places, and even the maps do not help to find out where what is located. – He explains to them on the phone where to go. If the couriers had previously arrived at home at ten in the evening, now at two in the morning – says Vladimir.
Without mobile internet, ordinary daily activities cease to be feasible. For example, paying for the journey becomes a problem: you have to go to the gap or pay in cash.
Vladimir's father deals with the transport of goods and often meets the situation that he cannot see orders and accept them. According to him, the family's income did not fall, but it was necessary to change the way of working: now his mother, who cannot leave the house because of this.
In fact, according to a man, cutting off connectivity does not help.
– When the factory was bombarded, it didn't help. And we can't communicate normally – says Vladimir.
