Russia has restricted access to popular websites and messengers in regions with a Muslim population as part of testing the national analogue of the global Internet.
In the North Caucasus, including Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, access to popular platforms such as YouTube, Google, Telegram and WhatsApp was restricted. In Dagestan, restrictions lasted up to 24 hours, according to NetBlocks. Restrictions also extended to Russian services such as Yandex, even when using a VPN.
Roskomnadzor has confirmed that it conducts “scheduled” checks that disconnect the Russian Internet (RuNet) from the global network. These measures are aimed at checking the readiness of key infrastructure for autonomous operation. However, the tests are mainly concentrated only in Muslim areas.
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