While Russian propaganda likes to blame us Europeans for the rise in energy prices in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine and spreads videos of us shivering in unheated apartments, this apocalyptic scenario has now occurred in residential areas on the outskirts of Moscow. Tens of thousands of Russians have had to survive for days without heating – with outside temperatures in the double digits.
‘We’re freezing to death! We’re freezing to death!’ shout Russians dressed in thick winter clothes in videos doing the rounds online. Desperate victims report that the stairs are completely frozen. It is cold in the whole house and the heating is not working, describes the voice of a woman off screen. Campfires are lit in the courtyards. “It’s so cold at home, it’s even hotter on the street,” complains a man. The thermometer in her apartment reads six degrees, says a pensioner. “We are no longer alive, we are just vegetating,” she says desperately.
Since the end of last year, there have been power, heating and water outages in several regions of Russia. According to the opposition news portal “The Insider”, the background is a series of accidents in infrastructure facilities.
More than 100,000 people have been affected
In the city of Podolsk, about 40 kilometers south of Moscow, the heating system failed on January 4 and chaos has reigned since then. The Moscow suburbs, Khimki, Balashikha, Lobnya, Lyubertsy, Chekhov, Naro-Fominsk and others are affected. According to the Russian exile media “Medusa”, more than 100,000 people are said to have had heating problems.
These are the affected cities:
Two days after the accident, a state of emergency was declared in Podolsk. The region’s governor did not comment on the incident until three days after the disaster. The news agency “Agentstwo” noted that the comment function was deactivated relatively quickly in the statement distributed on Telegram. Hundreds of complaints had already been received there.
The apartments are completely frozen:
At least the heating is free now…
A day later, the governor said that at least residents will not have to pay for the time the heating was not working. They were also offered temporary warm emergency shelter, writes ‘Medusa’.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin finally became aware of the fate of the citizens. He instructed the Ministry of Civil Protection to do everything humanly possible to address these grievances. Shortly afterwards, the general manager of the heating plant, Igor Kushnikov, was arrested – he is accused of violating safety regulations.
The general manager of the heating plant is an FSB agent
According to “Medusa”, the now disgraced director general is said to be a colonel in the Russian domestic secret service FSB. Russian media investigations have also shown that he had ties to organized crime in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin ruler ordered the heating plant to be nationalized. The misery has not yet been resolved; the Russians continue to freeze. Nevertheless, the Russian elite is already boasting about its ‘success’.
Now Vladivostok is left out in the cold
There is already a fire on the next front. On Wednesday, heating failed in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, leaving more than 3,000 people in the cold. The prosecutor’s office reported an accident in the heat supply network, as a result of which the territory of a residential building was flooded. “Novosti Vladivostok” reports that the water froze overnight, turning the area into a real ice rink. In addition to the cold apartments, some residents have the problem that their cars stick to the ice…
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
