The fuel crisis has forced Makhachkala residents to abandon car travel.

It's difficult to find a working gas station in Makhachkala, and long lines of cars form at the few operating stations. High gas prices are forcing residents to economize and avoid trips, according to residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot."

According to "Caucasian Knot," acting head of Dagestan Fyodor Shchukin promised on June 23 to address the rapidly rising gasoline prices, including by involving the antimonopoly service. Residents of the republic took to social media to question why officials allowed fuel prices to rise and called on Shchukin to back up his words with results.

Makhachkala resident Abdul was able to find only one working gas station in the city on June 24th. The station near his home, where he usually filled up, was closed.

"I stood in line for about 40 minutes; there was no limit on fuel. 95-octane gasoline costs 110 rubles; three days ago it cost 100 rubles. My work requires me to travel a lot, so my expenses have increased exponentially," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Makhachkala resident Kazbek confirmed that most gas stations are closed. "At 1 a.m., I went to the gas station on the corner of Gamidov Avenue and Irchi Kazaka Street. I thought I'd fill up without any problems, but there was a line of dozens of cars. I didn't wait and went home. On June 24th, I drove around the city, and the gas stations I saw were all closed. The Asko gas station was open, but they only fill up for police vehicles and other emergency services. I'll have to save money on trips; I only have enough gas left to take my daughter to kindergarten," Kazbek said.

Makhachkala resident Artur noted that a week ago, he drove back from a business trip to Sochi and Krasnodar without encountering any problems with gas stations along the way.

"When I arrived in Makhachkala, the price of 95 octane gasoline was 90 rubles, AI-92 was 85, and gas was 33 rubles. "Now, where there's gas, it costs 110-120 rubles. I filled up a full tank of gas a few days ago for 33 rubles, and I've been using it so far. This morning (June 24th), it was already 38 rubles. There are almost no working gas stations in the city, and where there are, there are crazy lines. "There were no problems with gas, but in the last few days it started to disappear, and the price went up," the man said.

"One gas station was selling 20 liters of gas, and I had to wait in line for about an hour. I went to another one, and everything was closed. One gas station along the way was open, but there was a big line, so I didn't want to wait. "We'll have to refrain from traveling, otherwise fuel is already hitting our family budget hard," Magomedrasul told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. On June 24, the Novoye Delo publication called for people to be given "simple and understandable information" about operating gas stations. "It's enough to publish an up-to-date list of operating gas stations with addresses, contact information, and information about the type of fuel available—petrol, diesel, or natural gas—preferably with information about how much they're selling. Because these days, the situation changes literally in a matter of hours. A gas station might have fuel in the morning, but it's empty by lunchtime. You can fill up with gas at one station, but there's no petrol. The opposite is true at another. Due to the lack of up-to-date information, people are wasting their time, energy, and their last liters of fuel. "If such a list is published and regularly updated, drivers will be able to check information in advance by phone and avoid driving extra kilometers looking for fuel," the publication's Telegram channel states.

According to the republic's Ministry of Energy, up to 30,000 tons of liquefied gas, 20,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline, 25,000 tons of AI-95 gasoline, and 5,000 tons of diesel are sold in Dagestan per month.

"Due to instability in the fuel market, the region receives fewer petroleum products than it actually needs. Here's another figure from Rosstat: Dagestan is among the regions where fuel prices have increased the most over the year: by 18.2%, which is one of the highest rates in Russia," the "Economy of Dagestan" Telegram channel states.