Villagers in Dagestan independently solved the problem of replacing the transformer.
Residents of one of the villages in the Tlyaratinsky district raised money to buy a new transformer and independently replaced the old equipment to avoid being without electricity in winter.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of Dagestan regularly complain that they cannot get the authorities to solve infrastructure problems and are solving them on their own. For example, in April of this year, residents of the village of Arakani in the Untsukul district participated in restoring electricity supply after bad weather. Earlier, on January 4, 2024, residents of highland villages repaired the Agvali – Gadiri – Gigatli – Gachitli road at their own expense, connecting four settlements.
In August of this year, the Prime Minister of Dagestan, Magomed Ramazanov, called on officials not to limit themselves to formal responses to citizens' appeals but to strive for solutions to their problems. Commenting on this statement on social media, residents of the republic complained about regular replies and the lack of responses to appeals to Ramazanov himself. In November, the mayor of Makhachkala, Jambulat Salavov, demanded that the heads of utility companies respond promptly to citizens' complaints and monitor the resolution of each problem. Social media users responded by pointing out that the mayor himself is unavailable for direct appeals.
Residents of one of the villages in the Tlyaratinsky district independently raised money and purchased a new transformer. According to them, repairing the old equipment could take six months to a year, so they decided not to wait for its restoration and replace it themselves, as reported today by the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul".
"We won't survive the winter without electricity. So we decided not to wait: we dismantled the old transformer ourselves, raised money, bought a new one, and installed it ourselves," the publication quotes one of the villagers.
The Telegram channel published a video showing about 15-20 men lifting heavy metal equipment up a steep rocky slope. Long wooden beams have been laid down to facilitate its movement, serving as guides. The men surround the load from all sides, pushing and supporting it, preventing it from losing balance.
At the top of the slope, there is a red truck with an open back. Nearby is a two-story building with an external metal staircase, and there is a power line running through. Remnants of snow are visible on the ground. Throughout the recording, the men continue to lift the equipment, but the completion of the lift is not shown in the video.
As of 15:40 MSK on November 14, this publication on the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul", which has about 95.1 thousand subscribers, garnered 17,517 views and 462 reactions. Comments on the publication are disabled.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that residents of Dagestan have long complained that officials do not respond to their requests to solve various problems. On December 22, 2025, residents of Dagestan Lights complained that they are forced to buy gravel at their own expense and fill in potholes on the roads, as the administration does not address their repairs.
On March 2, 2025, it became known that residents of the village of Erpeli in the Buynaksk district independently replaced an electric transformer purchased with money raised by the villagers. They stated that repeated appeals to officials and energy workers yielded no results, and they received no assistance from power grid specialists during the equipment replacement.
On August 27, 2024, residents of the Rutul district reported that they independently laid water pipes to some settlements, not waiting for the authorities to solve the water supply problem.