Russia's Quest for Digital Sovereignty: Ambitions, Realities, and Its Place in the World

Abstract

Russia's leadership strives for digital sovereignty with two main goals: technological independence and information control. In the face of growing conflicts with "the West" and an ongoing crisis of legitimacy at home, the regime aims to secure its stability by subjugating the IT sector. The consequences of its securitization of the internet and IT market are fatal for innovation and the digital economy. Germany and the EU need to assess their conditional interest in Russia’s rapidly changing IT market and communicate their proposals for its regulation.