Residents of Dagestan and journalists praised the role of bloggers in helping flood victims.

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Residents of Dagestan affected by the floods admitted that they received no assistance from bloggers and other public figures, and that the aid promised to them by the authorities was not enough to compensate for all losses. Journalists praised the bloggers' role in helping flood victims, declaring their significant involvement.

According to "Caucasian Knot," approximately 1.5 million residents of Dagestan were caught in the devastating flood zone. On April 9, the state of emergency was raised from regional to federal. As of April 13, 508 residential buildings and 528 garden plots remain flooded in Dagestan, with 541 people, including 178 children, in temporary accommodation centers.

Flooding victims interviewed by a Caucasian Knot correspondent on April 17 in Dagestan reported not receiving assistance from bloggers and other public figures, but local journalists noted that their contribution to raising aid is indeed significant.

This money will only cover half the cost at most; the rest is nowhere to be found.

42-year-old Zarema from the village of Mamedkala spoke about the assistance she received from the government. "We received a one-time payment of 60,000 rubles for the whole family—15,000 rubles per person. They're also promising 156,000 rubles for property loss and a housing certificate. According to the authorities, we're entitled to 18 square meters per person for the four of us, or 72 square meters—that's about 5.8 million rubles. But our house was 120 square meters; we spent 20 years building it, investing over 10 million. You can't buy anything decent in Mamedkala for 5.8 million these days, and after the flood, prices have skyrocketed because everyone's looking for a place to live. We looked on Avito: houses for 3-4 million are slums or dachas, while a decent house starts at 8-10 million. This money will only cover half the cost at most; there's nowhere else to get the rest."

They're currently living with relatives in Derbent. "My husband's sister took us in, but it's cramped; our two children sleep on the floor. Our house in Mamedkala is completely destroyed—a dam breach washed away the foundation, cracked the walls, and caved in the roof. We couldn't save anything—the flood came in the night, and we barely escaped. All the furniture, appliances, clothes, and documents—everything was washed away. My husband's car was also flooded; it's not drivable. I estimate the damage at least 12 million rubles—the house, renovations, furniture, appliances, and car—my husband and I saved for so many years. And they'll give us 6 million, tops. How can we live on that?" she asks.

Patimat, a 38-year-old family of six, was promised about nine million rubles. "They're supposed to give us a certificate for 18 square meters per person for the six of us, which is 108 square meters, about 8.7 million rubles. Plus, one-time payments of 90,000 rubles per family, and they're promising up to 156,000 rubles for property. We haven't received anything yet; we're waiting. Our house was 150 square meters, two stories, and we built it ourselves. In Mamedkala, 8-9 million rubles now only buys an old house of 80-90 square meters, which isn't big enough for six people. New houses have gone up in price since the flood to 12-15 million rubles; everyone's looking for housing; demand is huge, and prices have skyrocketed. This money won't even cover half of what we had," she said.

We've lost everything; we'll have to start from scratch.

We're currently living in a temporary accommodation center at a school. "There are 15 of us families there, sleeping on mattresses in the classrooms. "Our house is completely covered in mud and dirt, the windows are broken, the doors are torn off, the walls are cracked. My husband and brothers tried to clear out what they could, but they couldn't save anything. All the furniture, appliances, children's clothes, toys, and dishes were either washed away or ruined in the mud. The car was in the yard, it was flooded, and it won't start. We've lost everything; we'll have to start from scratch," she complained.

40-year-old Ibrahim from Adillotar is expected to receive about four million rubles. "We were promised a certificate for 18 square meters per person for the three of us, about 4.4 million rubles. Our house was 80 square meters; we bought it five years ago for 6 million and renovated it for another 2 million. The only houses you can find in Adillotar these days that cost 4.4 million are old, unrenovated houses. We're at least 3-4 million short, and it's unclear where to get that money. "We're currently staying with my father-in-law in Derbent. Our house in Adillotar is still standing, but it's uninhabitable," he said.

Dagestani journalists assess the role of public figures in helping victims

The increased activity in collecting charitable aid was also due to the work of bloggers – both on banned Instagram and on blocked Telegram, according to journalist Idris Yusupov*.

"Of course, the charitable foundations that organized the fundraising effort, as well as the crowdfunding platform Tooba, which has gained widespread recognition, also played an important role. "The bloggers' activity consisted of disseminating information about the incident and the fundraising efforts through social media, including connecting with other bloggers and reaching new audiences. In this sense, their role was largely to disseminate information. "There were some bloggers who also raised funds separately, but the main distribution, of course, was achieved through the Tooba platform of the Nadezhda charitable foundation," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

There were bloggers who traveled to emergency sites, filmed their own video evidence, and provided information about what was happening.

According to him, the bloggers' contribution can be considered significant both initially and subsequently. "Some disseminated their own information, others took information from independent media and official sources. There were bloggers who traveled to emergency sites, filmed video evidence, and provided information about what was happening. Of course, it's important to note once again that the lack of a single information and coordination center for collecting information about emergencies and for collecting and distributing charitable aid has an impact, which can lead to an incomplete information picture and incomplete coordination of aid. But this is probably not a question for bloggers. Although, it should be noted, there have been independent attempts to create such platforms, for example https://signalmap.ru", Yusupov noted.

At the same time, the scandal involving blogger Mikhail Litvin and deputy Khamzaev has not affected blogger activity. "For those bloggers who sincerely wanted to help, I don't think this scandal will hinder them. This scandal didn't hinder Litvin himself, but rather only increased attention—and it was after this that he gained even more popularity and donated a significant amount of funds to help the victims. And if any bloggers, under the pretext of the scandal, want to refuse their pledged assistance, that's their own business. Perhaps for those who decided, as they say, to 'hype' the cause, this could serve as some kind of obstacle. Otherwise, I think sincere people, including bloggers, will continue to provide assistance," the journalist emphasized.

A Dagestani journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, also believes that the attention focused on Dagestan and the activity in collecting aid are connected to the activities of bloggers on banned social networks, including the blocked Telegram.

"Yes, of course, because there is no reasonable and equivalent alternative to banned or blocked social networks through which Dagestani or all-Russian society could communicate, be active, and engage its audience – yet," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Contribution The bloggers' contribution is enormous.

According to him, bloggers' contribution to informing about the real situation in the republic and helping the victims is enormous. "The contribution of bloggers is enormous. It is simply incomparable with the information work of the official media of Dagestan, and then at the federal level. Individual stories in the media only enhanced the effect of the bloggers' work," the journalist noted.

As for the scandal with Litvin, whom Khamzaev accused of advertising energy drinks, this will not hinder the bloggers' activity and aid collection, he is confident. "No Khamzaev will be able to prevent bloggers, activists, volunteers, and charitable foundations from interacting and helping each other. The case of Khamzaev and Litvin was so widely discussed and discussed because, by the time the scandal broke, a system of interaction between bloggers, activists, foundations, and the republic's government had already been established. In this system, even Litvin, though important, was merely a cog. Everything was already functioning and interacting on the ground. And Khamzaev's intervention in this work, presenting himself not as someone who had come to help, but as someone who had come to promote himself and "inspect" others' work, and by criticizing Litvin, provoked such a sharp public reaction," he explained.

Ill-considered development of territories, natural factors, and the deplorable state of hydraulic structures were cited as causes of the devastating flood by Dagestani analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot." They unanimously considered the volunteers' contribution to the flood relief effort to be significant. The Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences previously explained regular flooding in Dagestan as a combination of natural processes and anthropogenic impacts, which increases the scale of natural disasters and increases the risks for people.

The Caucasian Knot has compiled materials about flooding in the North Caucasus Federal District republics in the spring of 2026 on the thematic page "Flooding in the North Caucasus".