"Foreign agents", the Internet, electric cars: what is prohibited and restricted in Crimea in 2025

 

 

In 2025, residents of Crimea increasingly faced problems with communication and the Internet. The Russian authorities regularly restrict access to messengers and other services. Experts believe that this is an attempt to isolate Russia and the territories it occupies from the outside world.

The Internet is also periodically completely turned off in Crimea. Residents of Crimea remain in an "information vacuum", as a rule, during military exercises and repelling attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian military facilities in Crimea.

This situation will continue until the end of the Russian Federation's full invasion of Ukraine, warned the Russian head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov.

"Turning off or slowing down the mobile Internet will be periodically carried out on the territory of Crimea until the end of SVO (that's how Russia calls its full invasion of Ukraine - KR). This is a coercive measure taken solely for security reasons. We cannot allow the enemy to use the Internet against us," said Aksyonov.

Russian telecommunication operators have also started turning off the Internet for citizens of this country for one day after returning from abroad. Russian authorities explained this as measures to increase protection against drones, since SIM cards can be inside drones and be used for their navigation.

 

 

In 2025, the Russian authorities simplified the procedure for prosecuting “foreign agents”. This status is used in Russia to persecute citizens of the Russian Federation and residents of the territories of Ukraine occupied by it, who do not agree with the position of its authorities, considering them “traitors to their country”.

According to the amendments to Russian legislation in 2025, if previously criminal proceedings against “foreign agents” could be initiated after two administrative fines for “non-compliance with the procedure for activities”, now one such case is enough.

The Crimean authorities, controlled by the Kremlin, for their part, have banned the public use of the creativity of persons with the status of “foreign agents”. In particular, their songs are prohibited from being performed by street musicians in the open spaces of the Crimean peninsula.

Crimean lawmakers are also demanding a complete ban on the public use of all types of creativity of “foreign agents”. They want to establish administrative responsibility for this.

In 2025, the first court case of childfree "propaganda" appeared in Crimea after it was banned in the Russian Federation. In Russia, it is forbidden to openly express a conscious refusal to have children (this phenomenon was given the English name "childfree"). This ban also applies to the annexed Crimea, while it is de facto under the control of Russia. In 2025, a resident of annexed Sevastopol appeared in court for this. The case was initiated by local Russian security forces.

She was persecuted for "misanthropic posts" with statements "about the appeal of refusing to have children in favor of a carefree lifestyle." This is how the local security forces described the offense, assessing the posts of the resident of Crimea on social networks. Among them was a quote from the American director and actor Quentin Tarantino: "To hell with the arrogant little bastards, I want to have fun."

The security forces admitted that these posts were made before the ban on childfree "propaganda". Moreover, the resident was fined 50,000 rubles for them. Her position on the case is unknown. This case showed that in Crimea one can suffer from Russian bans, even for words spoken or written before their appearance.

 

 

In Crimea, during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, any pro-Ukrainian manifestations are being fought. In 2025, in Sevastopol, the Russian authorities “nationalized” the restaurant of Ukrainian and European cuisine “Glechik”, which had been operating there for many years. The owners and users of the establishment live in London and allegedly support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, claims the Russian mayor of the city, Mikhail Razvozhayev.

Previously, Glechik served Ukrainian borscht in bread and dumplings, Lviv flatbreads and cheesecakes, as well as Hungarian Esterházy cake. After the “nationalization”, this restaurant has not yet had time to radically change the menu and design of the establishment with towels. They offer dishes from the Russian stove and “Cossack snacks”.

The restaurant owners have no public stance on its "nationalization".

In 2025, Sevastopol fought against "unpatriotic" sweets. A local resident complained live on television about a bakery that makes cakes with Ukrainian names: "Shlaketny", "Starokyivskyi" and "Khreshchatyk".

According to the woman, the Russian city authorities, to whom she complained, assured her that the factory's products "stimulate the economy". But she threatened to turn to the FSB, because she considers these cakes "unpatriotic" in the context of the ongoing hostilities of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

After this story became public, the names "Shlaketnyi" and "Khreshchatyk" disappeared from the factory's catalog. And the factory sells the "Starokyivskyi" cake under the name "Dialogue". They continue to fight against Ukrainian music in Crimea. There is already a whole hit parade of "repressed songs" for which local authorities and the Z-community persecute Crimeans.

 

A total ban on filming and broadcasting the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ strikes on Russian military facilities was announced in Crimea in 2025. Initially, the corresponding decree was signed by the Russian head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, in order to “ensure public safety, protect military and other important facilities.”

 

Subsequently, the Russian parliament of Crimea increased the penalties for this. Thus, the Russian authorities of Crimea are trying to limit the appearance in public of information about the negative consequences for the Russian army of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to the amendments, fines of three to five thousand rubles have been established for individuals for filming and broadcasting “arrivals” in Crimea, for officials - from 20,000 to 50,000 rubles, and for legal entities (enterprises and organizations) - from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles. There is no criminal liability for this either in the Russian Federation or in Crimea. But this is what the Z-community demands.

 

 

This year, the Russian authorities introduced a new restriction on the Kerch Bridge after an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Electric cars and hybrids are no longer allowed on the bridge.

"This measure was introduced based on the recommendations of security and law enforcement agencies and aims to ensure the safety of road traffic and transport infrastructure facilities," Russian authorities claim.

Owners of such cars who want to get from Russia to Crimea are offered a trip along the "land corridor" through the territories of the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops. This route includes a major detour: the distance from Russian Taganrog to Dzhankoy is about 400 kilometers.

Many complain about the lack of complete infrastructure on this road: gas stations, cafes, service stations and other service facilities. The main challenge for electric cars on this route is the lack of charging stations.

This is not the first ban on the Kerch Bridge in the context of a full Russian invasion of Ukraine. See what else is not allowed here.