russia Is Deploying a Network of Total Surveillance: from the Metro to Bank Correspondence

russia is continuing its large-scale development of a digital surveillance system for citizens, covering transport, streets, and even small settlements.

The moscow metro (underground railway – Transl.) has begun installing a new generation of turnstiles with facial recognition technology. The equipment is fully integrated with biometric payment – cameras for identifying passengers are built into the turnstiles. By the end of 2031, it is planned to install more than 4,500 such systems.

At the same time, cameras with recognition functions are also being installed on motorways. More than 1,500 “smart” devices have been installed on the Moscow Ring Road and other highways. New tenders for the expansion of the system have already been announced.

In Voronezh, a similar system will be created by the end of 2025 for 57 million rubles, which will track suspects in crimes and “extremism”.

While in 2020 such technologies were used only in 14 regions, in September 2025, they were already in use in at least 68 regions. Currently, there are over a million surveillance cameras operating in russia, a third of which have facial recognition functions. By 2030, the government plans to increase their number to five million, spending about 12 billion rubles.

The authorities are also tightening control over the online space and plan to expand the technical network used to block Internet traffic and track users. The main radio frequency center of roskomnadzor is purchasing additional sets of technical means to counter threats – devices that telecom operators are required to install under the law on the “sovereign runet”. These filters will enable more precise and discreet blocking, as well as tighter control over private correspondence and increased searches for people “seeking extremist materials”.

The fsb also has to “take under control” citizens’ communications with banks. According to the new order, credit institutions are introducing systems of operational and investigative measures which will allow special services to analyze customers’ correspondence and the content they send. Banks will be required to store voice messages, video recordings, and other user materials. This requirement must be met by 2027.

Traditionally, the authorities hide behind “security concerns”. In reality, russia is creating a “digital GULAG” – an infrastructure for total control over the population. And instead of providing gas to villages, it prefers to install cameras.