Russia is introducing more restrictions on the internet as the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine approaches. Sergei Kovalchenko, a St. Petersburg journalist who has lived in Estonia for four years, says the reason is the upcoming elections.

"In September, elections to the Russian State Duma will take place. In the fall of 2025, the opposition based abroad announced that it would organize a campaign 'Enough of Putin and the war.' That campaign can only take place on Telegram, WhatsApp and other social media channels," he told Saturday's "Aktuaalne kaamera."

Unlike Iran, Russia is capable of shutting down the internet and replacing it with its own domestic internet. IT entrepreneur and Codeborne co-founder Anton Keks said the difference is significant.

"This is very different from Iran, where they had to shut down the entire internet in January, including internal services. Russia has been preparing for this for several years. They have centralized internet services, which otherwise are meant to be decentralized," Keks said.

It is possible to live without the internet, but it makes people angry. Women are upset that they cannot access the latest recipes or fashion trends, Kovalchenko said. Nevertheless, Russians grit their teeth and endure it.

"There will be no direct outrage. The security apparatus is too powerful. In the past couple of months, it has become clear that anyone who opens their mouth — even if they do not directly call the war a crime or question the legality of Putin's elections or insult United Russia — already ends up in prison," he said.

A centralized domestic internet allows the state to exercise full control over people's internet usage. But the repression is nothing new and also occurred during the Soviet era. Just as then, today people walk around with a fist in their pocket.

"People are largely fed up with the war. There is fear. The authorities instill fear. Essentially Soviet power — people who grew up in the 1970s intimidate the public, put them behind bars, instill terror. The problem is that 30 years have passed. And the suppressed outrage remains," Kovalchenko told the show.

Russian authorities are not yet completely shutting down the internet, Keks said. They do not want to throw society off balance with a sudden move.

"So that people would not start leaving en masse and protesting even more. I think that is their current choice. And they are not yet taking the path of a complete shutdown," he said.

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