Mobile internet goes down in St. Petersburg on opening day of Putin forum

In St. Petersburg, large-scale disruptions in mobile internet were recorded on the first day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation.

Local residents complain that they cannot open websites, use mobile applications, or work stably online. Even some services that continue to work during restrictions have been affected by outages.

According to the Central Communications Service, communication problems may be related to increased security measures ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival at the forum.

Residents of the city suggest that the restrictions may last for several more days while the main events of the forum are held in St. Petersburg.

The Center for Countering Disinformation notes that for many years the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has remained one of the Kremlin’s main image platforms for demonstrating Russia’s alleged economic stability and attracting foreign partners.

However, this year, as the CPD emphasizes, forum participants faced the consequences of enhanced security measures and restrictions introduced against the backdrop of the war against Ukraine.