Podcast Summary: Click Here – “The Internet Putin Always Wanted”
Date: September 2, 2025
Host: Dena Temple-Raston, Recorded Future News
Guests: Katerina Stepanenko (Institute for the Study of War), Sarkis Darbinian (cybersecurity lawyer), Russian bloggers and IT professionals
Overview
This episode examines Vladimir Putin’s long campaign to bring Russia’s unruly internet under Kremlin control. Host Dena Temple-Raston and guests trace how the war in Ukraine provided the perfect pretext for Russia to push toward a “digital Iron Curtain,” silencing dissent and closing off cyberspace. The story highlights how Internet control has become essential to modern autocracies and how Russia’s evolving approach could serve as a blueprint for other regimes.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. May Day Parade & Sudden Internet Outages
- Setting: Moscow, May 9th Victory Day Parade (00:18).
- While the city celebrates, mobile internet suddenly vanishes, disabling ride-sharing, maps, and payments.
- The outage was not accidental but a planned move to restrict communications during national events.
“Phones stopped connecting. Rideshare apps froze. Maps refused to load. All because the mobile Internet in Moscow just vanished. This wasn’t a glitch. It was a plan.”
— Dena Temple-Raston (00:46)
- Katerina Stepanenko (ISW): Kremlin claimed outages protected citizens against Ukrainian attacks, but it signaled the start of wider repression (01:07–01:46).
2. China’s vs. Russia’s Approach to Internet Control
- Contrast with China:
- China built the “Great Firewall” early; comprehensive, top-down control via infrastructure ownership and apps like WeChat (03:35–04:40).
- In Russia, the Internet was left free—Putin focused on TV, assuming that would dominate information control.
“The Kremlin did not control the Internet. The Internet was a kind of wild west in Russia.”
— Katerina Stepanenko (04:59)
- Result: Ordinary Russians had near-Western online freedom, debating politics and consuming foreign media.
3. Turning Points: Prigozhin and Navalny
- Yevgeny Prigozhin (Wagner Group):
- Used Telegram and online platforms for real-time mutiny and influence during the Ukraine war—outflanking Kremlin messaging (05:58–07:17).
- Demonstrated the strategic threat to autocrats from uncontrolled platforms.
“Suddenly, the Russian president was trying to fight a 21st century information war with the equivalent of a musket.”
— Dena Temple-Raston (06:39)
- Alexei Navalny:
- Built an opposition movement on YouTube and social media, while being silenced on TV (08:04–08:50).
- His death marked the silencing of a key online threat.
4. The Kremlin’s New Digital Strategy
-
Post-Ukrainian Invasion:
- Recognizing the threat, the Kremlin began systematically tightening online space, especially after 2022 (09:15–09:53).
- Focus on “alleviating all of the areas in which similar criticism can emerge” (Katerina Stepanenko, 09:42).
-
Gradual Repression:
- Outright shutdown avoided—public accustomed to freedom; repression couched in security terms (protecting from Ukrainian drones) (11:14–12:10).
- Since May, over 2,000 mobile internet blackouts as “opening salvo”. Real effect: disables daily life, from ATMs to taxi apps (13:05).
5. Technological Tools of Control: The Great Russian Firewall
- Infrastructure Handover:
- Replacing core network hardware with state-controlled routers, increasing real-time surveillance and censorship capabilities (13:39).
- Launching a government-supervised “Max” app—an imitation of WeChat pre-installed on phones, covering messaging, payments, and more (13:39–14:56).
- Control extended by criminalizing even searches for “extremist” information.
“Once you’re on those routers, you’re on the Kremlin’s network. They can see what you see and decide what you don’t.”
— Dena Temple-Raston (13:39)
6. Voices from the Ground: Resistance, Resignation
- Ordinary Russians:
- Anxiety, practical challenges, and some anger—frequent limitations affecting daily communications and transactions (13:14, 14:56).
- Sarkis Darbinian (cybersecurity lawyer):
- Fights legal battles against censorship; now exiled and working on smuggling VPNs/mirrors into Russia (15:21–16:36).
- High VPN demand shows Russians are less docile than the Chinese under digital repression.
“They do not want to leave these services that they consider to be very convenient.”
— Sarkis Darbinian (15:43)
- Workarounds:
- People adapt—seeking WI-FI in cafes, using mirrors and coded links for messaging (17:02, 17:43).
- Attitudes divided: Some trust government’s “security” narrative; others see the measures as cynical overreach.
7. Public Reaction: Why No Backlash?
- Katerina Stepanenko:
- Surprised by the lack of mass protest; sees “quiet acceptance” rather than open rebellion (19:11).
"My first thought was, wow, the Kremlin was actually successful at this. Russian people are actually going to collaborate and accept some of the policy changes that might be harmful to them and their freedoms.”
— Katerina Stepanenko (19:11)
- Students and IT Professionals:
- Some call government measures “stupid” and “completely pointless,” especially the forced Max app (18:41–18:52).
- But the overall effect is acquiescence, not uprising.
8. Big Picture: Blueprint for Autocracies
- Centralization as a Long-term Project:
- Not just about Putin, but designing a system for successors; an “imperialist,” anti-West infrastructure (20:32).
“The Russians are re establishing a police state, a Soviet style Curtain, Iron Curtain style police state that is inherently anti West... and is going to be a lot more closed off than what it was.”
— Katerina Stepanenko (19:44)
- Exporting the Model:
- Warning: The method of using war or national security as a cover for digital repression can be replicated globally.
- Autocracies elsewhere are likely to follow Russia’s gradual, plausibly-deniable approach to shutting down digital spaces.
“If freedom is contagious, then limiting it is too. And what Putin is building in Moscow is unlikely to stay in Moscow.”
— Dena Temple-Raston (20:58)
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
“The Kremlin is reestablishing the curtain, the Iron Curtain. Only this time, it’s not concrete and barbed wire. It’s code.”
— Katerina Stepanenko, Dena Temple-Raston (02:48–02:54) -
“I do not transmit data or stay connected to the Internet, which I need for work... Without the Internet, how long will it last? What will happen next?”
— Russian blogger Daniil (13:14–13:26) -
“We use different mirrors and magic links. We still use Google Domain because it’s not being blocked yet... duplicates of our applications in the market with other names.”
— Sarkis Darbinian, on bypassing censorship (16:36)
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment | Content Summary | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Moscow internet shutdown | May parade, blackout, context | 00:18–02:54| | China vs Russia’s internet model | Firewall, infrastructure, historic differences | 03:35–04:53| | Prigozhin/Telegram/Mutiny | Info war, real-time digital threat to Putin | 05:58–07:56| | Navalny & opposition online | Social media organizing, crackdown | 08:04–08:50| | Post-invasion crackdown begins | Steps to control, pretext of Ukraine war | 09:15–10:13| | Outages, infrastructure changes | New routers, Russian “WeChat” (Max app), legal repression | 13:05–14:56| | VPNs and resistance | Sarkis Darbinian, mirrors, circumvention | 15:21–16:36| | Division, acceptance, frustration | Perspectives from bloggers, IT pros, students | 17:02–19:11| | Curtain closes, blueprint spreads | Future warning, implications for other autocracies | 19:44–20:58|
Conclusion
The episode paints a detailed portrait of how the Russian government is hardening its digital borders, innovating internet repression through gradual, technocratic measures while avoiding revolt. In narrating both the logic and lived experiences behind Russia’s new digital Iron Curtain, the podcast warns that the lessons learned here are set to echo across aspiring autocracies worldwide.