Villagers in Dagestan complained about the deplorable state of infrastructure.
Residents of the village of Samilakh appealed to the authorities of Dagestan demanding the restoration of broken roads, a school, an outpatient clinic, and a kindergarten.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of the village of Samilakh, located on lands designated for seasonal livestock grazing, complained in 2024 that they have to travel more than 170 kilometers to see doctors, and the authorities do not allocate funds for road repairs. The authorities are not authorized to spend budget funds on infrastructure in villages that do not have official status, noted a lawyer.
Seasonal livestock grazing is a historically established system of sheep farming based on seasonal use of winter and summer pastures for grazing livestock. Lands designated for seasonal livestock grazing include, among other things, areas allocated for the movement of livestock, parking, and grazing on the way from summer pastures to winter pastures and back. Lands for seasonal livestock grazing are the property of Dagestan, have a special status, and are not subject to privatization, as stated in the law "On the Status of Lands for Seasonal Livestock Grazing in the Republic of Dagestan".
The complaint of the residents of Samilakh about broken roads, an emergency school and kindergarten, the lack of infrastructure, and basic living conditions was published on June 6 and 7 in several videos by the "NN News" channel, which has over 20,000 subscribers on Telegram. By 18:30 Moscow time, the publication had gained over a thousand views and 34 comments.
"We, the residents of the village of Samilakh in the Khunzakh district, living on the lands of the Kumtorkalin district in the zone of seasonal livestock grazing, appeal to you against the backdrop of our children and brothers who are participating in the Special Military Operation. From our village, 75 people are fighting, and there are casualties. Despite this, we feel powerless today; we are only remembered on election day and when someone needs to be sent to war. At other times, we feel abandoned to our fate," the gathered villagers stated.
According to local residents, the problems of roads, housing conditions, and material situation have not been resolved in the village; there is no land for pastures to keep livestock. There are no conditions for the younger generation - the school is in an emergency state, and the club and library have practically collapsed.
"We are building a small stadium on our own. We do not even have the right to register in a gasified village because we do not have a 'green card', which means the absence of status. We would like to receive a reasonable answer as to why, having a village council, the village does not have status. Therefore, we appeal to the head of the government and the head of the republic, please support us," the villagers complain in the video.
In another video, the former head of the village of Samilakh, Gadji Gasanov, appealed to the leadership of the republic with a request to resolve the issue of the legal status of the settlement.
"Look, I will show you that this settlement has status according to the law. Accordingly, we must live on this land; the rural settlement must have boundaries. We need land for recreational areas, for the development of the village, for livestock - we have none of this," Gasanov says.
The former head of the village claims that residents cannot register at their place of residence and cannot receive medical care.
"People's deputies, where are you looking? Can't you solve this issue for 60 years? Let us lead a normal life. People are in such a powerless position. Are we not people? On behalf of the village of Samilakh, we appeal to the head of the Dagestan administration and the head of the republic," Gadji Gasanov exclaims.
Participants of the Special Military Operation from the village also demanded attention to the state of roads and social facilities. They stated that the access road to the village (over 5 km) and the roads within the settlement are in a broken state - there is practically no asphalt. In addition, they reported the emergency condition of the school and kindergarten and demand their major repairs or the construction of new buildings.
A separate video is dedicated to the fact that the village's medical outpatient clinic has been left without proper support. According to the villagers, people are forced to buy medicines themselves and raise money for the repair of the building.
"This outpatient clinic in the village is not supported by either the village administration or the republic's government. Nothing has changed in recent years. The outpatient clinic staff are completing cosmetic repairs on their own," a patient of the outpatient clinic reports.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that residents of villages located on lands for seasonal livestock grazing have repeatedly faced problems due to the lack of official status for the settlements. For example, on December 10, 2023, a video appeal from residents of the villages of Novy Borch, Kambulat, and the Lenin Collective Farm in the Babayurt district to Vladimir Putin was published. The authors of the appeal, whose villages are located on lands for seasonal livestock grazing, asked to gasify their settlements.