Makhachkala’s former deputy mayor accused of shooting incident

Makhachkala’s former deputy mayor, Alibulat Magomedov, has been accused of being part in a shootout in the city earlier this month, resulting in four people being hospitalised with gunshot wounds.

The incident took place on 14 February, allegedly over a disagreement over the construction of a school in the village of Khurik, in the Tabasaran district, according to Chernovik.

Magomedov previously served as Makhachkala’s deputy mayor for housing and utilities, and in January 2025 was appointed acting head of Daghestan’s Directorate of the Unified State Customer-Builder Directorate (DEGZZ). One of the projects under his supervision was the construction of a school with a capacity of 500 students in the village of Khurik, which should have been completed two years ago.

Before the shootout, Magomedov and his friends, Saipulakadi Magomedov and Sirazh Gitinov met with Elekber Gadzhiev, general director of Stroyoriginal LLC, the contracting company in charge of building the school. Gadzhiev was joined by his brother and some of their friends.

The meeting escalated into a conflict over claims to the timing and quality of work, with Magomedov eventually pulling a gun and shooting, wounding four people, according to the Ask Rasul Telegram channel. He and his companions immediately fled the scene, and those injured were hospitalised. One of them was shot in the groin area; the second in the knee; the third in the stomach; and the fourth in the chest. The condition of one of the wounded men is believed to be extremely serious.

Magomedov previously served as Makhachkala’s deputy mayor for housing and utilities, and in January 2025 was appointed acting head of Daghestan’s Directorate of the Unified State Customer-Builder Directorate (DEGZZ). One of the projects under his supervision was the construction of a school with a capacity of 500 students in the village of Khurik, which should have been completed two years ago.

According to information from the government’s public procurement website, on 17 July 2021 the Directorate of the Unified State Developer's Customer announced a tender for the construction of the school, with Stroyoriginal LLC receiving the tender as the only company to bid on it.

The contract was valued at more than ₽383 million ($4 million), and Stroyoriginal LLC began construction work on the school in August 2021 with two-year deadline.

The project’s deadline was adjusted several times since, with the latest information suggesting that the construction of the school was supposed to be completed in January 2024.

According to Magomed Abdullaev, the lawyer of Stroyoriginal LLC, the delays in the construction occurred because the contract price was set based on 2021 market prices. He said that in 2022, against the backdrop of economic sanctions as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the prices of building materials, equipment, and construction works increased significantly.

Abdullaev additionally said that the school was far from Makhachkala, making it impossible to continuously supply the construction site with materials and to carry out construction work around the clock.

At the moment, the school is about 70% ready,  and according to an appraisal by a state expert, its actual construction cost far exceeded its original bid  at ₽995 million ($11 million).

According to Chernovik, on Monday, Daghestan’s Prosecutor’s Office was supposed to hold a meeting about the peace of the construction, and ‘those responsible for the project’s implementation were extremely nervous’.

Russia’s Education Ministry oversees the construction of the school, and has reportedly told Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova that the ‘authorities of Daghestan do not fulfil their obligations to commission new schools’.

On Tuesday, Daghestan’s Ministry of Construction, Architecture, Housing, and Communal Services announced that Magomedov was relieved of his position a day earlier.

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OC MediaNate Ostiller