A promise of tough measures for rising prices during Ramadan in Chechnya has sparked controversy on social media.

Despite official reports of raids on stores and markets, prices in Chechnya are only rising during Ramadan, and the promise of harsh measures against those raising prices surprised social media users.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, prices are rising both in markets and stores before Ramadan, social media users pointed out in early February, and food prices published by the official Chechen newspaper do not reflect reality. Chechen authorities' reports of price controls have had virtually no impact on the situation in stores and markets. Low-income residents of Grozny, including pensioners and teachers, reported that, amid rising prices, they are struggling to find money for food at the beginning of Ramadan. Residents of rural areas are finding it easier to afford food, but prices for basic goods in local stores have also risen.

Grozny Inform reported yet again on raids on markets and stores in Chechnya. "The work is being overseen by the Chechen Security Council, together with government officials and clergy. The measures are being accompanied by preventive talks with sellers about the inadmissibility of unjustifiably inflating prices during the holy month," the publication stated.

The Security Council announced penalties for those responsible for the price increases. "Measures have been taken against unscrupulous sellers who are trying to profit from artificially inflated prices. Store owners in various districts and cities of the republic have already been held accountable. As the Security Council noted, violators will face severe consequences, including fines," the report stated. The report does not provide specific data on how many store owners were held accountable.

As the saying goes, "the story is fresh, but hard to believe," noted "Caucasian Knot" reader efren.morissette. "I have neither heard nor seen anything about store owners and sellers being 'harshly punished' for raising prices, but sky-high prices for everything and everything and their continued rise are observed almost daily," he commented.

All these so-called "Raids against rising prices" in Chechnya are just a show, and nothing more, agreed quinn_stehr. "Food prices, not only sky-high by the start of Ramadan, but they're still rising. Last night, I stopped by a nearby store. I bought a stick of locally produced sausage, two buns, four apples, ketchup, and a loaf of bread. Everything fit in a small bag. I paid over 700 rubles for it. I remember the time (early 2000s) when you could buy a whole week's worth of groceries for that amount. We're only halfway through Ramadan now, and prices will definitely rise even more as Ramadan approaches. A friend and his wife were at the Berka market the day before, and they say it was packed. People try to buy long-life items in advance—candy, sweets, and the like. Fruits and vegetables are usually bought a day or two before the holiday to ensure they're more or less fresh," he noted.

Grozny-Inform's Instagram post has 55 followers. comments.

"The pulp was 700 rubles recently. Today it's 850," wrote user _maldat_.

"Why are you avoiding Berkat? People mostly shop there," he asked in another comment.

"I have a question. Will anyone fight stores that don't have price tags?" - isma_remus asked.

"If we had just celebrated Ramadan modestly, then vendors and suppliers wouldn't have raised prices so much. They would have just set our national table and that's it," noted user nursee95.

"They monitor, but there's not a single case where they've punished anyone. Meanwhile, prices have risen and are rising, and it's unclear where the control is. Zero results," said rumisa_ds.

"Prices are rising every day," writes gold95986.

As a reminder, wholesale suppliers are jacking up food prices during Ramadan, and stores and businesses are forced to increase prices, commentators said in response to reports of government raids on Chechen markets. Officials' reports of raids on stores and markets in Chechnya due to rising prices during Ramadan have not led to price reductions.

In 2025, authorities installed signs at the Berkat market in Grozny with fixed prices for Ramadan, advising Grozny residents to call a hotline if they were overcharged. However, food prices in Chechnya increased before Eid al-Fitr. On March 17, 2025, Ramzan Kadyrov ordered intensified raids, the confiscation of products with unjustified markups from vendors, and their distribution to those in need. Following this, the Grozny mayor's office reported on raids on stores.

The head of Chechnya had previously threatened residents who shopped in other republics. Kadyrov's threats to confiscate food from retailers in 2025 came amid an existing practice: previously, food was confiscated from customers who purchased goods outside the republic before Eid al-Fitr. Two Chechen residents reported that their cars were searched at the border with Dagestan before Uraza in 2024 as part of a crackdown on violators of the "resolution on supporting local entrepreneurship," as reported in a "Caucasian Knot" article published on March 13, 2025.

Police stated that "they had orders to confiscate for the benefit of childcare facilities," but one of the respondents, an elderly driver, managed to persuade the officers. In another case, officers "pulled two boxes of chickens and one package of 30 eggs from the car." Chechen residents also reported similar searches at the Gerzelsky checkpoint in 2023. "They picked on the chickens, saying, 'We're not patriots of the republic.' Chickens are sold everywhere in Chechnya, and you buy them in Dagestan. So, they confiscated the chickens," a Chechen resident quoted her neighbor as saying.