Around 60 traders affected by a recent fire at Makhachkala’s Dagelektromash market rallied on the city’s central square on 7 November. They were demanding a meeting with acting head of the republic Vladimir Vasilyev.

The traders, mostly women, gathered in the square from 09:00, staying until 15:00. No one from the government came to meet them.

‘Nobody wants to accept us. They [guards at the government house] are sending us to the mayor, and we do not want to go to him. We’ve spoken to him 10 times already, there’s no sense in it’, trader Khadizhat Akhmedova told OC Media.

According to the guards, Vasilyev is not in the city at this time. But the women would be happy to meet even with one of his deputies. They have not been successful so far.

‘Almost two thousand people have been left without work, and the government does nothing. Well, why are they needed, if they can’t solve anything? If there is no help from them when we need it’, one of the participants of the rally Salikhat Magomedova told OC Media.

Compensation

On 2 November, Speaker of the Daghestani Parliament Khizri Shikhsaidov said that the fire victims would receive compensation totaling ₽7 million ($120,000). This would mean around ₽6,000 ($100) for each trader.

This angered many of the traders as they say damages ranged from between ₽4–₽10 million ($69,000–$172,000) per person.

‘What are we supposed to do with this money? People have been sitting without jobs for the eighth month! We demand our jobs and want adequate compensation’, Akhmedova said.

According to the protesters, they have not received even this sum as of yet.

Dagelektromash market has been hit by fires three fires in 2017. The largest occurred on  31 March, enveloping almost 1,000 square meters.

On 17 October, a number of victims of the fire met with the mayor of Makhachkala Musa Musayev when he came to check on the repair works at the market. After the meeting, he wrote on his Instagram page that the city administration does not intend to compensate the victims.