Residents of Dagestan complained about the cessation of trolleybus service.
Residents of Makhachkala and Kaspiysk appealed in a video message to Bastrykin, Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee, asking for help in restoring trolleybus service between the cities.
As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, residents of Makhachkala supported the idea proposed by journalists to create a green recreation area on the site of the liquidated trolleybus administration.
At the end of 2025, the Makhachkala administration decided to liquidate the Makhachkala Trolleybus Administration. According to the decree, as part of the liquidation process, an inventory of all the department's assets will be conducted, as well as a full analysis of its financial liabilities. The decision to liquidate the trolleybus depot contradicts the Makhachkala mayor's office's promises to preserve this popular and environmentally friendly form of public transportation, citizens pointed out. The trolleybus department, which owns attractive plots of land, was deliberately driven into a dire financial state, a journalist and a former employee of the company suggested.
In Dagestan, a group of residents of Makhachkala and Kaspiysk recorded an appeal to the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, asking him to intervene in the situation regarding the termination of trolleybus service between the two cities.
The video appeal was published on YouTube, titled "Trolleybuses of Makhachkala and Kaspiysk." By __ Moscow time, the post had garnered 118 views.
"Residents of Makhachkala are turning to you for help. We know that you and the Russian Investigative Committee are restoring trolleybus service in various cities across our country. In Makhachkala, crimes were committed to shut down trolleybus service in December 2025. Trolleybuses have been out of service for six months, which has harmed us and our city. We know that a criminal case has been opened and is being investigated by the Sovietsky District Department of the Investigative Committee of Makhachkala to investigate the crimes of shutting down trolleybuses," residents say in the video.
"In April of this year, we all witnessed Investigative Committee experts test-run a trolleybus around the city. The trolleybus traveled through Makhachkala and then traveled on the intercity line to Kaspiysk, completely refuting officials' lies about the supposedly worn-out trolleybus lines and trolleybuses. The trolleybus line from Makhachkala to Kaspiysk is actually new and the most modern in our country, having been built in 2017-2018," the residents' video statement reads.
According to them, for six months now, serviceable trolleybuses have been parked in an open area of the trolleybus depot without any security and are constantly subject to vandalism. "The attackers have already broken the windows of the trolleybuses, and equipment is being stolen," the authors of the video message stated.
In conclusion, the city residents asked for measures to be taken to quickly restore trolleybus service in Makhachkala and Kaspiysk.
Trolleybus service in Makhachkala was officially opened in February 1973. By the early 1990s, 12 routes were operating in the city. However, the company then entered a period of chronic problems. In the 2000s, several routes were closed. A brief revival occurred in the 2010s with the opening of an intercity line to Kaspiysk and the purchase of new equipment, but this proved short-lived. By the end of 2024, the financial situation of the Makhachkala Trolleybus Administration had become critical. In 2025, the new mayor, Dzhambulat Salavov, reported that the company's debt had reached 227 million rubles. This situation led to widespread service suspensions. For example, since September 2024, route No. 8 has been suspended indefinitely. Back in 2022, service on inter-municipal routes to Kaspiysk was suspended due to a lack of funding, according to the Dagestanskaya Pravda newspaper.
Earlier, the Investigative Committee of Russia reported that a criminal case had been opened following the service suspension. No suspects or detainees have been reported. Bastrykin instructed the head of the Investigative Committee of Dagestan, Alexander Suprun, to submit a report on the investigation, the agency said in a June 9 statement on its Telegram channel.
As a reminder, Makhachkala residents have repeatedly complained about the problem with public transportation in the city. They noted that minibuses and buses are constantly overcrowded, and drivers fail to adhere to schedules and frequently drive past stops.