A complaint by members of the SVO about a land conflict in Dagestan has attracted the attention of authorities.

Residents of the village of Ashaga-Yarak are facing pressure and fear losing their lands for transhumance, according to participants in a video message to the head of Dagestan. The Ministry of Property advised the villagers to contact law enforcement.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in January, members of the SVO complained in a video message to the head of Dagestan that residents of the village of Ashaga-Yarak in the Khivsky District have no place to graze their livestock as a result of the sale of their transhumance lands. The head of Yarak LLC, which has leased a plot of land for transhumance since 2006, has not changed, the terms of the land lease remain unchanged, and the agreement was concluded legally, the Ministry of Property of Dagestan subsequently assured.

On April 5, the Ministry of Property of Dagestan responded to a new appeal from SVO participants regarding a plot of land in the village of Ashaga-Yarak.

"In connection with the appeal of SVO participants, published on social media regarding a plot of land in the village of Ashaga-Yarak in the Khivsky District, the Ministry of Property of Dagestan reports the following. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Zaur Eminov held a meeting with an initiative group of residents of the village of Ashaga-Yarak. During the discussion, it was noted that the 320-hectare land plot was leased to Yarak LLC in 2006. Since the conclusion of the "Until now, the plot has not been alienated or transferred to third parties," the ministry reported on its Telegram channel.

In 2025, only a change in the company's founder occurred, the Ministry of Property emphasized. "The applicants were informed that this circumstance does not indicate a sale or other illegal disposal of the property. Furthermore, during the dialogue, the village residents outlined their position and presented documents, which were thoroughly reviewed by ministry specialists," the publication stated.

Regarding the applicants' arguments about the forgery of the minutes of the general meeting, the representatives of the initiative group were advised to contact law enforcement agencies, the ministry added.

The appeal to the head of Dagestan was published earlier that day on the Telegram channel of the Chernovik newspaper. "We, members of the SVO from the Khivsky District of Dagestan, appeal to the head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, to protect our land rights! We ask that the inspection materials be confiscated from the district and transferred to the FSB in Makhachkala, and that protection be ensured for those who are currently being subjected to violent pressure and intimidation," the publication reads.

The publication is accompanied by a video recording of the appeal. The footage shows five armed fighters, and one of them is reading a message to Melikov from a smartphone screen.

"Having returned home, we were confronted with land lawlessness. This concerns the illegal transfer of 320 hectares from our shared 1,207-hectare plot, which our families have legally used since 1956. These lands were withdrawn from use in favor of a private entity," the authors of the appeal stated.

They noted that "key witnesses" to the alleged forgery of the meeting minutes, on the basis of which the land of the agricultural production cooperative (SPC) was transferred to a private company in 2005, are being subjected to "severe forceful pressure."

"People are being intimidated into silence. The lease agreement for the remaining lands with our SPC expires at the end of this year. We seriously fear that those involved in this scheme are using their connections, "They will create obstacles to the extension of the treaty in order to completely liquidate our economy and seize the remaining lands," the military stated.

13:53 November 28, 2025

Melikov's Direct Line Disappoints Dagestan Residents

During the direct line, Dagestan Head Sergei Melikov sidestepped pressing issues and provided only vague, convenient answers to the questions raised, residents of the republic noted, noting that they were expecting clarification on the constant power and water outages, burning landfills, and rising utility and transportation costs.

As a reminder, SVO participants from Dagestan have repeatedly appealed to the republic's authorities to resolve various social and everyday issues. In particular, on March 5, 2025, participants in a special military operation from the Tsuntinsky District of Dagestan published a video message complaining about inflated prices for school meals and corruption in the purchase of housing for orphans. At the end of September 2025, participants in the special military operation complained to Melikov about the lack of sewage in Khasavyurt. Sergei Melikov promised in March 2025 that those attempting to manipulate participants in the military operation by sending them messages asking them to record a video message to the authorities will be harshly suppressed. Appeals by participants in the special military operation to the authorities are prompted by numerous problems in Dagestan and remain one of the ways to gain the attention of officials. Despite Melikov's claim that combatants are recording messages as a result of "manipulation," he will have to respond to them, analysts noted.

The problem of settlements located on transhumance lands remains pressing in Dagestan. In July 2022, the republic's Constitutional Court deemed it necessary to reclassify inhabited transhumance lands as settlements and legalize the settlements that spontaneously formed on them. Following this, more than 100 residents of the lowland districts (Kayakent, Babayurt, Kumtorkalin, Kizilyurt, and Karabudakhkent) held a meeting in Makhachkala. They demanded the resolution be rescinded, believing it to be "legalizing the expropriation of lands."

Lands for transhumance are the property of Dagestan, have a special status, and are not subject to privatization, as stated in the law "On the Status of Lands for Transhumance in the Republic of Dagestan."