On Thursday, March 6, 2025, users faced significant difficulties accessing the websites of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) due to outages caused by technical issues related to power surges. Reports emerged from various sources, including Downdetector, indicating widespread access issues on both mobile and desktop platforms.
The peak of user complaints occurred around 11:30 AM Moscow time, as frustrated Russians tweeted and reported their inability to access several key online services offered by the MVD. According to data from Downdetector, around 97 complaints were registered within the hour, highlighting the concern from the public over the ministry’s online functionality.
Access to various services was particularly impacted. Users reported trouble with the online registry for controlled persons and issues with checking the status of documents like international passports. The official representative of the MVD, Irina Volk, addressed the situation, confirming, “Difficult access to MVD online services was due to technical work on the server platform. This disruption occurred between 11:00 and 12:00, and as of 12:07 PM, accessibility to the websites has been restored.”
Volk also highlighted the importance of the online services, especially considering the growing reliance on digital platforms for governmental functions. The outages drew immediate public attention, igniting discussions on the importance of reliable access to government services.
Notably, this incident is not isolated. Only recently, Russian citizens have expressed frustration with technical issues relating to the Federal Tax Service (FNS), facing challenges with tax refunds, website navigation, income declaration submissions, and document uploads. Over the past month, complaints about these online services reached their peak on February 25, 2025, indicating systemic issues within government-operated platforms.
The continuing technical problems raise significant concerns about the reliability of digital government services, especially as ever-growing portions of the population depend on these for their civic needs. Users expect seamless access, and outages such as those experienced on March 6 serve to undermine public trust.
According to TASS, the outage on March 6 was directly linked to power surges experienced by the server infrastructure supporting the MVD's web platforms. “Surcharges of power caused the failure on the MVD site,” reported TASS, confirming the technical failures experienced by users. The ministry's official confirmation came shortly after user reports began flowing, establishing accountability and transparency from the government’s side.
Following the restoration of the MVD services, Roskomnadzor confirmed, “Accessibility to the websites has been restored,” as of 12:00 PM. This prompt response marked the resolution of the earlier disruption and allowed users to re-establish access to the frequently used online portals.
Technical malfunctions within government websites can have far-reaching consequences, affecting not just individual users but potentially impacting the larger framework of services relied upon by citizens daily. The need for rigorous infrastructure safeguards becomes increasingly evident, especially as cyber threats continue to evolve across the digital spectrum.
The incidents of March 6 align with recent comments made by President Vladimir Putin at the annual meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB) board.