[Infographic] Lorry drivers protest in Daghestan

• 0 min read

A protest by lorry drivers in Daghestan against the ‘Platon’ road tax is continuing. How did the strike begin? and what’s next for the striking drivers? Find out below.

2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

Aida Mirmaksumova •

25 articles•0 Followers

Aida is a journalist and human right activist from Makhachkala, Daghestan. With more than 15 years of experience as a journalist, she has worked with numerous Russian and international media organisa

2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

Customs post inspected after Daghestan lorry driver protest

OC Media

••3 min read

A group of protesting lorry drivers in Daghestan have said they are now satisfied, after the government conducted an inspection of the customs post on the Azerbaijani border. They say that there are no longer queues and they no longer have to pay bribes at customs control. The drivers had been demanding an apology from a customs officer captured in a video in which another official called them ‘fools’, and spoke of extorting money from drivers. Authorities told the drivers the official spea

2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

Daghestani lorry drivers protest after insult from customs officer

OC Media

••3 min read

On 31 October, several dozen Daghestani lorry drivers gathered at the customs post on the Azerbaijani border demanding an apology for insults directed at them by a Daghestani customs officer. The demonstration came in response to a video widely circulated on social media in which a customs official at the post demands a bribe from an Azerbaijani lorry driver, calling his Daghestani colleagues ‘fools’. ‘Don’t look at these fools, the Daghestanis, who tell you things at the checkpoint

2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

Daghestani lorry drivers may return to strike

OC Media

••1 min read

Lorry drivers in Daghestan, who ended a month long strike on 28 April, warned the government on 11 May that if their demands are not met, they will go back on strike. ‘MPs of the State Duma met with us. They promised us that they would solve our problems. They asked for time for that. We gave them time — two months’, Rustam Mallamagomedov, one of the strikers told OC Media. Russia-wide protests against the ‘Platon’ road tax began on 27 March. In the North Caucasus, Daghestani lorry driver

2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

Lorry driver strike ends in Daghestan

OC Media

••2 min read

On 28 April, Daghestani lorry drivers ended their strike against the ‘Platon’ road tax. The strike lasted 33 days in total. One protester, Abdurashid Samarov, told OC Media that they decided to end the strike after meeting with State Duma deputies on 28 April. ‘We wanted to pass on our demands personally to the deputies, and they listened to us. They can’t abolish “Platon”, but they are trying to meet our conditions at a regional level’, Samadov said. Lorry drivers began to disperse on