Putting the Internet under a bell jar: How Vladimir Putin wants to cut Russia off from the rest of the world

Imagine a country that decides that the internet is no longer an open space, but an airtight bubble. Since 2019, Vladimir Putin has been actively working to transform the Russian web into “RuNet,” a sovereign internet isolated from the rest of the world. It’s as if Russia wanted to install an armored door between its citizens and everything that is said elsewhere. It is often believed that, even under authoritarian regimes, the internet always remains a window to the outside world, a means of circumventing power. But Putin wants to overturn this logic: he views total control over information as a matter of political survival. The goal is to stifle any independent voice, but above all to make Russia technically capable of cutting the cord at any time, like closing a jar. The face of this project is Vladimir Putin himself, who, since the 2014 Ukraine crisis, has developed an obsession with digital sovereignty. It is said that he was impacted by the Arab Spring and the way social media helped bring down regimes. One of his close associates, Igor Shuvalov, a former deputy prime minister, told the Russian press: “Information is the weapon of the 21st century.” This is not just a phrase: it is a political agenda. To understand how far this desire for isolation can go, we need only look at the tests conducted in 2019: Russia simulated a total disconnection from the internet to verify that its “RuNet” could continue to function even if the country were cut off from the rest of the world. Major Western platforms have been blocked, independent media outlets have been economically or administratively strangled, and VPNs have become nearly impossible for ordinary internet users to use. According to Roskomnadzor, the agency responsible for censorship, more than 13,000 websites have been blocked since 2022. But beyond the numbers, it is the individual stories that are striking. For example, Anna, a young developer from St. Petersburg, recounts that in March 2022, she saw her work tools—GitHub, Slack, Zoom—become inaccessible overnight. “I felt like I was locked in a room with no windows,” she says. For her, the cut-off affects not only politics, but also everyday life, and the very possibility of having a job that is open to the world. What makes this project unique is that Russia is not just trying to censor; it wants to transform the very concept of the Internet. RuNet would no longer be a global network, but a closed space, where every data packet passes through the filters of the state. One might think that resistance would come from within, but many Russians, weary or resigned, are adapting. Some are developing clandestine tools; others are giving up. There is a psychological dimension: when everyone around you gets used to isolation, you end up finding it normal. What few people realize is that the Russian model could inspire other countries tempted by the allure of total control, and that “RuNet” is not an accident, but a laboratory. Closing the internet is not just about hiding information; it is about changing the way a society connects with the world. If you were told tomorrow that your country could shut down the internet overnight, would you still believe that digital freedom is a given? On Lara Notes, if this scenario resonates with you, you can mark it with I'm In—it's your way of saying that the issue of a closed internet is no longer just a news story; it concerns you. And if you discuss it with those around you, you can record the person you talked to using Shared Offline, because some conversations are worth keeping in memory. This story comes from an article in Le Monde, and you’ve just saved over fifteen minutes compared to the original version.