Officials in court refused to answer a Volgograd resident's questions about the internet shutdown.

At the first court hearing in human rights activist Ivan Ivanov's lawsuit against the administration and regulatory authorities over internet shutdowns in Volgograd, no witness was given the floor, and officials refused to answer the plaintiff's questions.

"Caucasian Knot" reported that residents of the Volgograd region have repeatedly expressed doubts about the usefulness of mobile internet shutdowns in countering drone attacks. The attacks themselves, and the resulting destruction, continue, despite authorities calling the shutdowns necessary for security, Volgograd residents indicated.

On November 27, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Volgograd held the first hearing in the administrative case regarding internet blocking and shutdowns. Human rights activist and lawyer Ivan Ivanov filed a lawsuit against the Volgograd Region administration and its oversight agencies—the regional offices of Roskomnadzor and Rospotrebnadzor, as well as the regional prosecutor's office.

Ivanov alleged illegal communications outages that have been ongoing in Volgograd and the region since early September 2025. In his complaint, he claimed that the defendants are concealing information about possible crimes related to the communications restrictions, are not investigating his inquiries, and are responding to his formal complaints with formal replies.

Representatives of the regional administration, Roskomnadzor, and Rospotrebnadzor were present at the court hearing; a representative of the prosecutor's office did not appear. Although the hearing was open to the public, there were no support groups or journalists in the courtroom. After the recess was announced, Ivan Ivanov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that representatives of the defendants—Roskomnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor, and the Volgograd Regional Administration—"refused to explain who is restricting communications for Volgograd residents, on what grounds, and why all these agencies have refused to investigate the legality of such restrictions for three months now."

"Regional administration representative Marina Ananyeva stated that she is not obligated to explain or clarify anything. The Volgograd Regional Prosecutor's Office did not even appear in court," the plaintiff complained.

A witness, Volgograd resident Evgeny Prozhilov, attended the hearing. "I wanted to show the court the information on my phone about the communication restrictions – it said 'no access, no internet.' I'd really like to know when this outrage will end," Prozhilov explained on camera.

In addition to appeals to regulatory authorities and the regional administration, Ivan Ivanov filed a criminal complaint with the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs. Ivanov reported "sabotage actions by unidentified individuals aimed at restricting communications." "But the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs forwarded this report to the Volgograd Department of Internal Affairs, which then forwarded it to the Dzerzhinsky Police Department. The latter simply wrote off my report as a bureaucratic case without any investigation," Ivanov added.

The human rights activist said he had filed a second complaint with the prosecutor's office regarding Roskomnadzor's inaction. In his demands against the defendants, Ivan Ivanov cited Federal Law No. 59-FZ of May 2, 2006, "On the Procedure for Considering Appeals from Citizens of the Russian Federation," which requires that each appeal be considered on its merits. "And my appeals have not been considered on their merits for three months now," he said.

At the end of the hearing, the judge ordered the additional participation of several government officials in the case. The next hearing is scheduled for 3:00 PM Moscow time on December 12.

Lawyer Sergei Ivashchenko agreed with plaintiff Ivanov's demands and called them justified. He also believes that periodic disconnections of consumer communications are signs of a violation of the Federal Law "On Communications" (No. 126-FZ of July 7, 2003).

"According to Article 68 of the law, a communications operator or other responsible party bears both financial and criminal liability for violating Russian communications legislation. The penalty is determined by a prosecutor's office or other supervisory review. As we see, in Ivanov's case, supervisory authorities respond to all his statements with either formal replies or a complete disregard," Ivashchenko told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At the same time, Sergei Ivashchenko considers Ivanov's lawsuit "a surefire loser." Ivashchenko reminded the correspondent that the government recently proposed a measure to absolve communications operators of liability for internet disconnections. The State Duma is also currently considering a bill to penalize website owners who allow consumers to log in through foreign services. The proposed fine is quite large, up to 700,000 rubles.

“I have no doubt that all these initiatives will be implemented soon, and the courts will deny Ivanov’s claims, citing decisions at the highest levels. But this doesn’t mean his human rights work is useless,” noted Sergei Ivaschenko.

“Caucasian Knot” also reported that Volgograd resident Maxim Konobeevskikh filed a lawsuit against the mobile operator, demanding monetary compensation for poor service due to regular mobile internet outages.