Residents of Makhachkala complained about prolonged power outages.

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In apartment buildings in Makhachkala, the electricity has been turned off for several hours daily for a month now, forcing people to go out for a protest, but the situation with regular power outages in the city remains unresolved.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 26, residents of Makhachkala faced prolonged power outages again. The Makhachkala administration asked citizens not to use powerful electrical appliances due to the overload of the power grid, which irritated the residents. On the evening of August 6, residents of houses on Kadyrov Street blocked the road due to prolonged outages, and after the protest, the power supply to their homes was restored. However, the next day, August 7, it became clear that about eight thousand residents of Makhachkala remained without electricity.

Residents of the houses located on Akhmat Kadyrov Street in Makhachkala told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" on August 7 about the problems with electricity in their homes.

"Power outages in the houses have been observed for a month, the electricity is turned off daily until noon and late in the evening," said Mariam.

"Electric stoves do not work, we sit hungry. It is especially hard for those living on the upper floors, as the elevators do not work. There have been cases where people got stuck in them for several hours," said a resident of the house.

"We constantly have food spoilage in the refrigerator, our neighbors' washing machine broke down. Elderly people have to walk up to the upper floors. You call the emergency service, and they say: 'Emergency shutdown' - and hang up," said Ali.

No one responds to complaints

"The electricity is turned off daily on Rasul Gamzatov Avenue, which is the city center. No one responds to complaints," says Nasir.

The protest by residents of Kadyrov Street was called the "first alarming signal" by the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul", noting that August 7 marks 100 days since the meeting of Dagestani officials with Vladimir Putin, where Fyodor Shchukin and Magomed Ramazanov were officially introduced as the new leadership of the republic.

"The draft" reported on its Telegram channel that apartments in these houses on Kadyrov Street cost from 15 to 65 million rubles. "And the residents of this house did not pay such money to live in them without air conditioning, water, toilet, elevator, and other amenities. And they decided to go out and remind about themselves. This is a negative experience for the new authorities a month before the elections. What to do about it? Of course, one can throw the entire power block at fighting the 'troublemakers', hoping that this will allow them to hold out until autumn, when the weather will be cooler, and people will cool down a bit, and Moscow will be distracted by something else. But will this solve the problem of outages in numerous homes of Makhachkala residents?" the publication questions.

In a situation where there is a mass and widespread crisis, the government and the head of Dagestan must address the issue of uninterrupted power supply head-on

Member of the "Our City" movement Arsen Magomedov published a post on his Telegram channel from the "DagestanNet" channel. "In a situation where there is a mass and widespread crisis, the government and the head of Dagestan must address the issue of uninterrupted power supply head-on. From the prosecutor's office, you will only receive fines of 600 thousand rubles - practice shows. Do not leave the situation to the lawlessness of 'Rosseti' and the beneficiaries behind them among businessmen - energy and not only leaders, officials, managers, owners. Under Said Amirov (former mayor of Makhachkala, sentenced to life imprisonment - note from 'Caucasian Knot'), the city networks were owned by the city, now they are not. The centralization of accounting and networks has only worsened the situation. The leadership of Makhachkala clearly indicates: we are not responsible. The new mayor Dzhambul Salavov expressed his position in an interview with RVGK on December 30, 2025: if the energy company cannot cope with the problem, transfer the powers to Makhachkala. Maybe we should do that?" the publication states.

The roadblock on Kadyrov Street became the first protest action this year related to the lack of electricity supply, a member of the "Our City" movement told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" on condition of anonymity.

People are still afraid to go out and protest, fearing reprisals from security forces

"A few years ago, such forms of protest were often used by residents. As experience shows, they were mostly effective - the authorities reacted immediately, and the power supply was quickly restored. But people are still afraid to go out and protest, fearing reprisals from security forces. Therefore, most often, it is women who go out to block the roads, as men can be detained immediately," the activist believes.

The head of the "Housing and Utilities Monitoring" project, a member of the "Our City" movement Ziyaudin Uvaisov reported on July 22 in his Telegram channel that the organization won more than ten cases against "Rosseti".

"But this is not enough. We need more applicants, then there may be changes," Uvaisov noted. He cited a court decision on one of such cases filed by a resident of the village of Munasaul against the branch of PJSC "Rosseti North Caucasus" - "Dagenergo". She reported that the owners of residential premises on her street have very weak voltage, constant voltage fluctuations, and frequent power outages. All this poses a danger to the owners due to the possibility of damage to household appliances and the likelihood of fire.

The plaintiff requested to ensure the provision of the utility service of electricity supply of proper quality and to recover compensation for moral damage. The court ruled to satisfy the claims for ensuring the provision of the utility service of electricity supply of proper quality and for recovering compensation for moral damage.

Residents of Makhachkala have been regularly complaining about problems with electricity and water supply for several years. At the end of July 2025, Makhachkala residents complained about prolonged power outages lasting several days. Officials explained the outages by repair work and abnormal heat.

In August 2025, residents of the Reducer settlement held a spontaneous street action due to the lack of electricity in their homes. After that, the city administration reported that the power supply to most homes had been restored. In the summer of 2024, residents of the settlement also held a spontaneous protest due to power outages.