Russia Plans Underground Data Centers Amid Drone Strike Vulnerabilities
Kremlin mandates infrastructure reserves as wartime strikes force critical data center relocations.
1Subterranean Infrastructure Proposals
State-owned Rostelcom is currently negotiating with mining giant Norilsk to relocate data centers underground. Simultaneously, regional officials proposed utilizing open-pit coal mines for housing servers, suggesting green parks as camouflage. These initiatives reflect an urgent shift toward physical hardening of critical digital assets against ongoing aerial threats during the conflict.
2Mandatory Capacity Reserves
On November 2, President Putin signed a decree requiring data center operators to reserve 10 percent of their capacity for government use. This mandate ensures the state maintains priority access to computing resources during emergencies. The policy highlights Kremlin concerns regarding the stability of domestic cloud infrastructure under sustained wartime pressure.
3Policy Shift on Sovereignty
The government commission can now authorize the use of foreign data centers, provided they consult with the Federal Security Service. This marks a significant departure from the Sovereign Internet Law, which previously prohibited reliance on external cloud infrastructure. The change acknowledges the limitations of maintaining a strictly isolated digital ecosystem during warfare.
4Hyper-Centralization Risks
Russia's push for a sovereign internet resulted in a highly centralized system dominated by tech giants like Yandex. While this structure simplified state control, it created a single point of failure. Recent drone strikes demonstrated that this concentration makes essential services, including banking and e-commerce, highly susceptible to widespread operational disruptions.
5Impact on Digital Services
Ukrainian drone strikes have already caused significant outages across various sectors. Popular payment systems, digital banking applications, video streaming platforms, and ride-hailing services experienced widespread downtime following attacks on key facilities. These disruptions underscore the fragility of centralized digital infrastructure when physical sites are targeted by precision long-range aerial weaponry.
6Supercomputer Relocation Efforts
Yandex has been forced to relocate all three of its primary supercomputers to safer locations. These units were originally housed in AI-focused data centers that became targets for drone strikes. The necessity of moving such massive, specialized hardware highlights the extreme operational challenges faced by Russian tech firms under current conditions.
7Operational Continuity Challenges
The transition to underground facilities or repurposed mines presents significant engineering and logistical hurdles for Russian telecommunications firms. Maintaining cooling systems, power stability, and high-speed connectivity in subterranean environments requires specialized infrastructure. These projects will likely demand substantial capital investment and time, complicating efforts to restore full digital service reliability.
8Strategic Infrastructure Realignment
The shift toward hardened, decentralized, or underground data storage signals a fundamental change in Russian digital strategy. By moving away from hyper-centralized models, the state aims to preserve critical functionality despite ongoing security threats. This realignment demonstrates how geopolitical conflict forces rapid, reactive changes in national technology and data management policies.
Original article: Slashdot — Russia Plans Underground Data Centers Amid Drone Strike Vulnerabilities