“Russians face news about restrictions on Internet access They are returning to paper maps en masse. AST Publishing House records a record increase in interest in analog cartography – the increase in the “Atlases and road maps” category in all sales channels amounted to 55%. in monetary terms year-on-year,” we read in the release.
Representatives of the publishing house note that the tendency to return to paper media appeared several years ago. If in 2022 this niche shrank by 5%. in terms of amounts, in 2023 there was an increase by 31%, and in 2024 this segment gained another 16%. In 2025, the “Atlases and tourist guides” category increased by 41.4%, and the “Atlases and road maps” category – by 39.8%.
The most popular items in the period from April to May 2026 were “World Map / Map of Russia (in new borders) with flags”, “Road Atlas of Russia, CIS countries and Baltic countries (border areas, in new borders)”, “Political map of the world A0 (in new borders)”, “Saint Petersburg. Tourist map” and “Moscow. Center. Tourist map”.
“Basic goods”
— The more complex and sensitive the digital cartographic ecosystem becomes, the greater people's demand for tangible, reliable information. The paper map will not run out of power or lose the satellite signal on a complicated communication node. Today, a car atlas in the glove compartment of the car regains the status of an object of first need – said Julia Dannik, editorial manager at AST. She added that the increase in demand has highlighted the shortage of qualified cartographers.
The growing interest in paper media is taking place against the background regular restrictions on digital communications. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that radio remains the “most convenient, reliable and accessible” source of communication for Russians.
Previously, the use of radio receivers in the face of interruptions in the operation of the mobile Internet was also proposed in the state-owned company Rostiech, where interruptions in Internet access were called “a disaster, but not a misfortune”. According to data from the “In Touch” project, on May 5, internet outages were recorded in 70 regions, and the so-called whitelists of websites allowed by authorities. In Moscow and the Moscow Oblast, the delivery of SMS messages has been further restricted.
Massive shutdowns of mobile internet in Russia began last spring. According to Top10VPN calculations, at the end of 2025, the country was in first place in the world in terms of the number of internet outages: restrictions affected virtually the entire population. Authorities they justify such measures on security groundsclaiming that mobile internet can be used by Ukraine to guide drones.
