The authorities of Makhachkala explained themselves after criticism for the liquidation of trolleybuses.

The municipal trolleybus management of Makhachkala is being liquidated, however, the city transport enterprise is planned to be preserved in a new format, said the mayor of Makhachkala, Dzhambulat Salavov. Local residents, commenting on his words on social media, demanded the return of trolleybuses and complained about the lack of public transport.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 2, residents of Makhachkala and Kaspiysk stated the need to restore trolleybus service. One of the residents of Makhachkala suggested that the authorities are interested in selling the territory of the trolleybus management for development.

A fragment of a video of a meeting with the participation of the mayor of Makhachkala Dzhambulat Salavov, where he spoke about the debts of the trolleybus management and plans to preserve the transport enterprise after the liquidation of the previous organization, was published by the Instagram*-public "makhachkala_".

The debt of the trolleybus management amounted to 266 million rubles, of which the authorities paid 236 million, Salavov said at the meeting. After that, according to him, the enterprise revealed new obligations of about 40 million rubles, including new documents and requirements that the authorities are currently dealing with.

"Then there was somewhere around plus or minus 30 million in debt left. To date, about 40 million has been added again. You understand that people are coming forward, something has come up in the tax service again. Documents are being sent again – they see that we are paying off debts. Something pops up again. We are currently dealing with them," Salavov said.

The authorities decided to preserve the municipal transport enterprise by expanding its functions, while liquidating the previous trolleybus management as an organization, the mayor explained.

"And what is said everywhere, about the liquidation of the trolleybus [management], we are liquidating the name itself, the organization itself. You understand, if it is in debt, if we do not remove the debts, if we do not liquidate, we will not be able to open something new there. Either an educational institution, or parks, or we preserve the transport enterprise," Salavov said.

To update the municipal transport, the authorities intend to purchase electric buses. According to Salavov, despite the high cost of such transport, the city can initially acquire about 10 modern electric buses.

As of 06:50 MSK on September 5, this video in the Instagram*-public "makhachkala_", which has about 250 thousand users, gained 630 likes and 252 comments.

Users, positioning themselves as residents of Makhachkala, demanded to preserve the trolleybuses and criticized their liquidation. "Return the trolleybuses to their place," wrote khasan94676.

"It would be a disgrace for us if there are no trolleybuses," said user vogue.19.

"The trolleybus is the only affordable means of transport for students and pensioners. Now this has been taken away too," pointed out user mur____123456789.

Some commentators suggested that the territory of the trolleybus park could be used for development. "The main thing is that high-rises do not appear in the trolleybus park later," sarcastically remarked asdk440.

"They will take the territory into their hands. There is a huge area there," believes gadzhieva_sidrat_.

"They will build something there, you will see. Another shopping center or a human hive," wrote murad.turisto.

Other users complained about the state of public transport in the city after the trolleybus movement was stopped. "All private drivers have been deprived of work, buses and minibuses are packed to the brim, there are not even standing places. It’s just a complete mess in the logistics sector," noted gadzhievtravel.

"In such a metropolis, it’s high time to introduce proper urban transport. In sufficient quantity. Air-conditioned buses in summer. And these small buses (like tin cans) – it’s impossible to ride in them in the heat with the door open, and packed to the brim passengers are standing on one leg during rush hour," complained marzhana12_.

"After 20:00, no bus has been running for several days, we stand at the stop for half an hour, the 69th minibus is packed to the brim, we are standing on top of each other, but again, who cares?" asked zulfiya_0666.

Recall that in December 2025, the administration of Makhachkala decided to liquidate the municipal trolleybus management. Residents then pointed out that the decision contradicts previous promises by the authorities to preserve trolleybus service, and a journalist and former employee of the transport enterprise suggested that the enterprise might have been driven into a difficult financial situation for the sake of its land plots.

In January of this year, the authorities announced plans to put the trolleybus management up for auction, and the funds received would be directed to the purchase of electric buses. This idea caused skepticism among the residents of Makhachkala, who suggested preserving the trolleybuses or purchasing cheaper public transport.

In June, residents of Makhachkala and Kaspiysk appealed to the chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, asking for help in restoring trolleybus movement between the cities. Later, against the backdrop of a gasoline shortage and rising prices, residents again pointed out the demand for trolleybuses as a cheaper form of public transport.