On August 9, protests against power outages began in Makhachkala - city residents blocked roads, demanding that the lights be returned to their apartments. August became a test not only for the city's housing and utilities system and the republic's leadership - some tried to test the capabilities of social networks to mobilize people for mass riots.

Hot August

The work of Makhachkala's public utilities could never be called uninterrupted - in the Dagestani capital, they are used to the fact that the lights can be turned off at any time. Each apartment also has a water supply. But August 2023 became a test even for Makhachkala residents who are used to many things.

Anomalous 40-degree heat led to overloads of the power grids; on August 8, four substations burned down in the city. The city grids, trying to somehow cope with the overloads, introduced rolling blackouts. The population was not informed about this, the schedule of outages was not published, the phone numbers of city services, as a rule, do not answer. At the same time, interruptions in gas and water began, and the patience of Makhachkala residents snapped. Almost every day, residents of de-energized microdistricts took to the streets, blocking roads with wooden pallets and creating problems for motor vehicles. Taxi prices jumped several times. When, after the first protest, utility workers turned on the light, people decided that they had found a lever of pressure on service providers and began to protest non-stop. The most massive protests took place on August 9, 12, 13, 15 and 17. But if in some areas the electricity was turned off to take a technological break and avoid overheating of power equipment, then in other areas there were accidents and time was needed for repairs. According to the head of the city, Yusup Umarov, 14 emergency teams were working, but they did not have time to eliminate the causes of the interruptions. Corruption, theft, monopoly

On August 11, the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation of Dagestan reported that “a criminal case has been opened on the facts of systematic and long-term interruption of power supply to residential buildings and neighborhoods under the signs of a crime under Part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (negligence).”
According to the investigation, the power outages were caused by “the dishonest attitude to service of officials of PJSC Rosseti North Caucasus and the Dagenergo branch.” The investigators promised to identify the culprit and bring him to criminal responsibility.
Meanwhile, experts believe that this is not a matter of negligence, but of total theft and corruption. Makhachkala is growing very quickly and chaotically. Unregulated land relations and corruption lead to the fact that multi-story buildings are being built literally on every free piece of land without the necessary calculation of the load on the infrastructure. To connect to the grid, you have to give a bribe, and these funds end up in the pockets of the Rosseti management, while the grids themselves have not been modernized for decades.
"There are facilities built in the 50s and 60s of the last century, and they are still working. The state of the grids is deplorable. This has led to the fact that 40% of the electricity generated in the republic or supplied to it simply evaporates," notes Andrey Melamedov, an economic observer for the Dagestani newspaper Novoye Delo.
According to experts, today 35 billion rubles are needed to modernize the grids. 2-3 billion are allocated per year, and they are only enough to "patching holes."
Another problem is the lack of competitors. Rosseti is a monopoly in the region, other companies are simply not allowed into the market, they were crushed with the help of the state machine.
According to the Ministry of Energy of Dagestan, the wear and tear of the power grid equipment along the power lines is 75%, and 85% in the power centers. The head of PAO Rossetti North Caucasus, Roman Levchenko, believes that tourists are to blame. Because of them, electricity consumption in the republic has increased by more than 23% over the past 2 years, which has led to substation overload.

Feedback

When in July residents of the Dagestani city of Izberbash, outraged by the lack of water, went to a rally at the mayor's office, the head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov sided with the Izberbash residents and thanked them "for the feedback."
But after the streets in Makhachkala were closed, he had to change his rhetoric. "This form of dialogue is a violation of the law and can add problems," he warned on his Telegram channel. And at a meeting on August 14, he added: "What can this achieve? Traffic jams are added to the problems in housing and communal services and energy. And what if an ambulance needs to get through? In addition, this provides grounds for provocateurs."
On August 21, at a meeting with the updated composition of the Public Chamber and the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, he spoke even more clearly, stating that the protests could be a provocation by "pro-Ukrainian agents" who are trying to destabilize the situation in the republic.
However, he also criticized the city leadership for the lack of dialogue with the population. "We must show what we are doing for the people. When can we expect results from our work. And accept feedback... A person, with his last chance, buys food for a week, puts it in the refrigerator. And his electricity is cut off for several days. What should he say in such a situation, having lost the ability to feed his family?"

Moderator-provocateur

No matter how ridiculous Melikov's attempts to shift the blame from the sick local head to the Ukrainian one may look, there is some truth in his words. Some social media moderators really did look like provocateurs who are trying to test the ability of their channels to organize mass actions.
The Telegram channel "Morning Dagestan" stood out in particular. It not only monitored any active protests in the city, but also hysterically called on subscribers to take to the streets: "Right now on Reduktorny (referring to the Reduktorny settlement on the southern outskirts of Makhachkala. - "Novy Dosh")!!! Who is nearby, support!!! Women again!!! WRITE AND CALL EVERYONE ON REDUKTORNY!!! Get out of your houses and apartments!!!! SUPPORT these BRAVE WOMEN!!!», «Ring, where is the mosque!!»
Having published a video in which a policeman persuades the "protesters" to disperse and clear the road, the moderator of "Utro" clearly speaks out against this dialogue: «Why are you talking to them?!! Who is he and what can he decide?! He is an ordinary service dog, who was sent to talk your ear off!!! Mind your own business - there will be more benefit!!! Don't let yourself be deceived!!!»