Moscow To Be Cut from Mobile Internet For Victory Day Parade

Russia experienced a widespread mobile network outage on Monday, May 5.

Photo: Flickr by Christoph Scholz, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

5G Station

More than 2,000 complaints were registered about issues with Beeline mobile operator, while over 1,500 users reported problems with Tele2. MegaFon also received over 600 complaints, along with reports involving other operators.

According to Sboy.RF portal that monitors interruptions in the work of electronic communication systems, cellular communication and Internet services crashed mostly in Moscow.

Mobile internet was not available for over an hour, users complained.

Beeline told TASS that mobile service in Moscow may experience disruptions due to reasons beyond the operators' control.

Internet Blackout in Moscow During Victory Day

This morning’s widespread mobile network disruptions reportedly stem from the implementation of emergency civil defense measures aimed at ensuring public safety during the holiday period in May and could be linked to preparations held for Victory Day Parade.

Details

The Moscow Victory Day Parade is an annual military parade of the Russian Armed Forces on Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the Victory Day celebrations. The most important parade of those being held on May 9 is the one held on Moscow's Red Square, with the President of Russia as the guest of honor and keynote speaker in virtue of his constitutional mandate as Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces. The parade is a commemoration of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Red Army, marking the end of the Eastern Front of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. According to anthropologist Sergey Ushakin, modern victory parades are intended to demonstrate the direct and immediate connection of the present with the past and to materialize the connection between generations. Long time parade commander Oleg Salyukov described them as a "celebration for people, not show of militarism" referring to accusations of the parade being used as show of Russian military might.