Russian initiative turns stray dogs into WiFi hotspots to keep people online during blackouts
A team of artists in Yekaterinburg has found a novel solution to Russia’s mobile Internet blackouts — outfitting stray dogs with WiFi routers and letting them wander the city as walking hotspots. The idea, they say, has two benefits: free Internet for residents and much-needed attention for the dogs, who are available for adoption. Animal welfare workers aren’t so sure. In conversations with the outlet Takie Dela, they called the project unethical, unsafe, and potentially dangerous for the animals involved. Meduza shares a summary of Takie Dela’s reporting.
In the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, a new “science-art” project called Lai-Fi (“Bark-Fi”) is turning stray dogs into WiFi hotspots. The initiative is a collaboration between the Stenograffia street art festival, the artist collective Hot Singles, the animal welfare organization ZOOzashchita, and the local mobile carrier Motiv.
The team designed a lightweight backpack fitted with a router that straps onto a dog’s back, allowing it to provide Internet access around the city even during blackouts. The dogs in question are also available for adoption through animal welfare workers, and Motiv promises one year of free home Internet to anyone who adopts a dog.
“Our science-art project aims to draw attention to stray dogs through the lens of collaboration,” said Anna Klets, who runs the Stenograffia festival. “Now a street dog is socialized and is doing something useful for society — providing fast, unlimited, free Internet.”
The organizers insist the custom backpacks don’t hinder the dogs’ movement or disrupt their natural body temperature; in winter, they say, the gear even provides warmth. The electronic components are arranged to distribute weight evenly so that each dog can move normally. On average, each pack weighs about 500 grams, roughly a pound.
Stenograffia street art festival
Each dog is assigned a rotating team of volunteers who monitor how well the animals adapt to life with the new device and how people engage with them, Klets said. “The dogs ‘serve’ in their backpacks during the day, and at night we remove the equipment for maintenance,” she added.
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But several animal-welfare organizations told Takie Dela that the supposed benefits for the dogs are far from clear-cut.
A senior lawmaker has raised similar concerns. Vladimir Burmatov, deputy chair of the State Duma’s committee on ecology, argues that instead of using stray dogs as Internet transmitters, authorities should focus on getting them off the streets. “Dogs need to be taken to shelters, and anyone who abandoned them should be fined 30,000 rubles [$390],” he said. “That’s what local officials should be working on.”
Animal charities say the issue isn’t just social optics — they consider the idea fundamentally unethical. They appreciate the push to draw attention to stray animals, but believe the approach is misguided.
“Volunteers and shelters are desperate for new ways to find these animals homes. But this one raises serious questions,” said Natalia Tsvetkova, a coordinator at the RAY Foundation for Homeless Animals. “It doesn’t treat the dog with the care and respect it deserves, nor does it promote the basics of its well-being.”
A dog, she added, is a living being worthy of love and care simply for existing — not because it can provide a service. “A dog isn’t a tool for profit; it’s a friend, deserving of love without any WiFi attached,” she said. “We’re against turning a dog into an object or a function. In the twenty-first century we have more than enough high-tech ways to get WiFi.”
The NIKA Charitable Foundation for Homeless Animals shares that stance. “Dogs aren’t advertising structures or signal carriers. They’re living beings who have already survived a lot,” said Karina Kononova, the foundation’s communications lead. “What they need first is care, medical treatment, socialization, and a home. That’s what the public should be focused on.”
Animal-welfare groups warn that “Li-Fi” could be not only unethical but dangerous. Carrying an unfamiliar device — and attracting increased attention from passersby — can be deeply stressful for the dogs themselves. And stress increases the risk that even a normally calm, socialized dog might react aggressively, in which case it would be the animal, not the humans, held responsible.
There’s another risk, a lawyer noted: theft. “I worry people will simply try to catch the dogs to steal the routers,” he said.