Russians have taken to social media to mock Vladimir Putin after internet services were cut in major cities, with locals putting their devices to use as table tennis paddles or to cut vegetables. Residents in Moscow and St Petersburg have been unable to communicate after internet outages swept the cities.
Clips online have shown Russians resorting to using walkie-talkies, pagers and paper maps to get by. Comedian Andrei Kaygorodov posted a clip on Instagram titled “How to use your mobile phone in the centre of Moscow,” showing him using his smartphone as a table tennis racket and a knife to chop a cucumber. In another clip, he is seen popping open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate when the internet is working.
Local media reported a surge in demand for printed atlases and travel guides as well as alternative communication devices. The outages come amid reports that Vladimir Putin blocked mobile internet across Moscow for nearly two weeks over concerns that his vast state surveillance apparatus may have been compromised. Unconfirmed theories suggest a potential coup plot from followers of senior security council official Sergei Shoigu.
Channel VChK-OGPU, which has links to the secret services, aired the theory that Shoigu's clan were plotting against Putin. Shoigu, 70, was defence minister before being fired in May 2024 and installed as secretary of the Kremlin’s security council. The channel said communication was jammed in the centre of Moscow and near law enforcement facilities, similar to when Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed coup bid in June 2023.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said disconnections were carried out in strict compliance with legislation and aimed at ensuring security. In February, Putin reportedly signed a law allowing the FSB to block electronic communications for security reasons without explanation.
