It’s a strange thing: in the 21st century, in what is supposedly a civilised country, mass poisonings from drinking water still occur in Daghestan every year. Children are particularly affected — the same children who are supposedly ‘our future’ and a ‘priority of state policy’.
So why do these mass poisonings continue to happen in Daghestan year after year? There are, of course, many reasons, first and foremost being the human pollution of water sources and the degradation of sewage infrastructure. Solving this in a day, a week, or even a year is nearly impossible. But is anyone trying to solve the problem at all?
Before 450 people were poisoned by tap water this year, repair work had reportedly been carried out on the water system. The local administration later claimed that the work had been successful. The result, however, was mass hospitalisations — although this time, at least, without fatalities.
The director of the company responsible for the repair work has now been arrested. Yet is he the only one to blame? The problems with water in Daghestan have been known for far too long — instead of spending billions on the ‘special military operation’, paying out massive salaries to murderers, the Russian government should have been investing in things that truly matter, meeting the population’s basic needs.
It is also unclear why the company director is now being turned into a scapegoat, when previous incidents of mass poisoning were met with only symbolic punishments. After an outbreak in June 2024, which left 44 people were hospitalised, the fine was a mere ₽80,000 ($1,000); a few years earlier (January 2021, 162 affected), just ₽100,000 ($1,200). At the same time, a woman from Daghestan who waved a Palestinian flag during the unrest at the Makhachkala airport in 2023 was sentenced to 11 years in prison. So much for the ‘most humane court system in the world’.
And it is not only Daghestan that suffers from a lack of safe drinking water. In neighbouring regions, people aren’t being hospitalised — because they simply have no water at all. Parts of Chechnya and Ingushetia are without water, even in this sweltering heat when drinking water is essential. Bottled water from shops? For many, it’s an unaffordable luxury.
In fact, things are even worse in the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’ — places the majority of the world recognise as being Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. In most areas, water is now supplied once every three days for just four hours. So much for being ‘liberated’.
And while in Moscow and many other regions, people are used to boiling water, using filters, or buying large bottles, in the North Caucasus, people always knew the water from the tap was the cleanest and tastiest. It was one of the region’s great natural riches.
Before loudly boasting about successful import substitution, it would be wise to begin with the most basic and essential thing — drinking water. Only then can we talk about where else improvements might be made.
