Krasnodar drivers talked about the difficulties in buying cheap gasoline.

At gas stations of large chains in Krasnodar, gasoline costs between 66–75 rubles per liter, but you have to stand in line, while at some private gas stations fuel costs more than 100 rubles and you can save time. In Sochi recently, you don't have to spend much time waiting in line for fuel.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", at Krasnodar gas stations, you either have to stand in line for hours for gasoline at the regular price or buy it without waiting for up to 146 rubles per liter, said a local driver. Other motorists, commenting on his complaint on social media, confirmed that there are long lines at stations with lower prices, while fuel can be bought significantly more expensively without waiting.

Krasnodar residents confirmed the choice between different gasoline and time in line

Krasnodar drivers said they do not drive around the city in search of fuel, but check information about gasoline availability, prices, and queues on specialized websites before traveling. According to them, driving from one gas station to another in hopes of finding gasoline is unprofitable: you can waste fuel and still arrive at a gas station where gasoline has already run out or there is a long line.

The "WhereGas" service reported on September 11 that data on fuel availability and queues comes directly from drivers and is updated throughout the day. Over the previous 24 hours, there were 415 reports from 193 gas stations in the Krasnodar area; 66% of reports indicated a lack of fuel, 4% - queues or restrictions, 30% - availability of fuel.

At the same time, the average price in Krasnodar on September 11 was 67.64 rubles for AI-92 and 74.71 rubles for AI-95.

"But behind these average values lies a large spread," said one of the surveyed Krasnodar residents Sergey.

He said he personally monitored the "Behind the Wheel" website, where on September 10 at the Gas Oil gas station on the Southern bypass, AI-92 was displayed at 115 rubles, and AI-95 at 130 rubles. At the same time, the station was categorized as having a small queue. At "Rosneft" on Krupskaya Street, AI-92 cost 66.25 rubles, AI-95 — 72.05 rubles, and at "Gazprom" on Liza Chaykina Street — 65.55 and 72.10 rubles respectively. These stations also had small queues.

There are queues at "Gazprom", "Lukoil" and "Rosneft", prices from 66 to 73. And at private ones — free, but prices from 120.

Krasnodar motorist Natalia said she sees a similar picture.

"There are queues at "Gazprom", "Lukoil" and "Rosneft", prices from 66 to 73. And at private ones — free, but prices from 120," she told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

Thus, reports from motorists that gasoline at some private gas stations is significantly more expensive are confirmed by monitoring. For example, at one of the gas stations on Montazhnikov Street on September 10, the price was recorded at 109 rubles for AI-92 and 122 rubles for AI-95. Drivers surveyed by "Caucasian Knot" indicated that they did not encounter prices of 146 rubles per liter for AI-92 or AI-95.

One of the drivers, Semion, noted in this regard that gasoline is usually always available at private gas stations and the queues are small.

"If I pay 115 rubles, I will be served without waiting in line. I haven't paid more than that. It's convenient - to overpay, but not to stand in line," he believes.

According to him, he often buys gasoline at a higher price because "time is money".

As of September 11, there were 85 gas stations operating in the city. According to data published by the Municipal Management Center of Krasnodar, AI-92 was sold at 42 stations and AI-95 at 46. Fuel sales were temporarily suspended at another 21 gas stations.

The situation with gasoline in Sochi improved before the elections

In Sochi, according to surveyed motorists, the situation is now calmer, the excitement that was present in August is no longer there. However, here too, drivers rely on information in social media and on special websites about specific gas stations, rather than just going out to search for gasoline blindly.

Elena told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that she last refueled this morning, September 11, at "Lukoil" in the Blinovo microdistrict in Adler.

"AI-95 costs here a little over 74 rubles per liter. There was no queue. Only 3-5 cars and those at different pumps. It took about 10 minutes to refuel," she noted.

In her opinion, the authorities are trying to prevent a new escalation of the gasoline situation before the elections.

Another Sochi motorist, Alexey, talked about his last refueling on September 11 at "Rosneft" in the Plastunka microdistrict. According to him, he spent only 5–7 minutes in line. AI-92 cost about 66 rubles per liter, and AI-95 — about 77.93 rubles.

These observations correspond to data from independent monitoring. At the "Rosneft" gas station on Plastunskaya Street, 159, on September 10, AI-92 was recorded at 66 rubles and AI-95 at 72.20 rubles, while the station was categorized as having a "small queue". At the same time, the "Behind the Wheel" service defines a small queue as a wait of up to 25 cars.

At other Sochi gas stations, the monitoring website showed no queues. For example, at "Lukoil" on Transportnaya Street, 183, AI-92 cost 67.64 rubles, AI-95 -75.03 rubles, and no queue was recorded.

Demand simply fell and the gasoline market is artificially supported by officials before the elections.

Elena believes that people have started to drive less in recent days due to attacks in the city.

"My friend is now afraid to drive after yesterday's destruction. Dozens of entrepreneurs were affected on Primorskaya Embankment, their shops, restaurants, cafes, their property," said Elena, referring to her friend.

According to the interlocutor, against the backdrop of what is happening, people have started to use public transport more and drive personal cars less. As a result, the question of where to find gasoline has become secondary for some residents, overshadowed by more pressing issues.

"Demand simply fell and the gasoline market is artificially supported by officials before the elections," she believes.

As of September 11, there were 44 gas stations operating in Sochi according to the city administration. AI-92 was available at 31 stations, AI-95 — at 25.

At the same time, monitoring by "Behind the Wheel" showed stations without queues and stations with small queues, but without a pronounced mass accumulation of cars.

Another driver from Sochi, Andrey, who travels from Sochi to Krasnodar and back for work, believes that in Sochi "it is now significantly better than in Krasnodar".

"Diesel is available everywhere in Sochi. In Krasnodar, not always and not everywhere. Gasoline is available at almost all gas stations. The queues are now small. Prices, however, vary. At commercial stations, it can be bought for 125 rubles. At regular Rosneft and Lukoil, it's about 80 rubles. Sochi residents have a closed chat in TG called "Where is gasoline, Sochi". Usually, Sochi drivers can check in the chat where there is gasoline and go there to refuel," Andrey said.

The Telegram group "Where is gasoline, Sochi" has 4,739 members, of which 1,191 were online at the time the correspondent took the screenshot. The group positions itself as a platform for mutual assistance among motorists and sharing information about gasoline availability in Sochi. The owner is "Individual Entrepreneur Sochi".