Mayor of Ingushetian capital Magas bans staff from using the word ‘no’

(Updated: about 18 hours ago)• 2 min read

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Musa Temurziev, the interim mayor of Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, has banned the use of the words ‘no’, ‘we can’t’ and ‘it won’t work’ by administration officials. He emphasised that the task of officials is to ‘improve conditions and comfort for residents’ and nothing is impossible in this respect.

Temurziev’s decision was published in the Magas administration’s official Telegram channel.

‘Our task is to improve conditions and comfort for residents. We should not use such words as ‘no’, ‘we can’t’, ‘it won’t work’,’ the press service of the Magas administration reported.

At the same time, according to the Interfax news agency, citing sources in the mayor’s office, officials were forbidden to use any words with the adverb ‘not’ when reporting at meetings. At the same time, Temurziev himself used the adverb ‘not’ while introducing the ban for his subordinates.

As Interfax pointed out, the working meeting considered the appeals of residents from the feedback chat room. They concerned issues related to lighting, the condition of rubbish sites, artificial bumps – so-called ‘speed bumps’, and playgrounds.

Temurziev noted at the meeting that these problems remain unresolved for a long time. He stressed that such a situation is unacceptable and called on all heads of departments and subordinate organisations to actively participate in discussions of problems in the municipal chat room and solve them promptly. After that he forbade his subordinates to use words with the particle ‘not’ in their justification of why problems haven’t been resolved.

Musa Temurziev was appointed acting mayor of Magas in February 2025 after the resignation of the previous mayor. Prior to that, he held the position of deputy mayor and supervised the issues of urban economy and improvement, and was also the director of the sports palace.

In September 2024, the previous mayor of Magas, Usman Aushev, was detained by the Interior Ministry in a case of fraud and abuse of power.

According to the version of law enforcement agencies, while handling official contracts for the repair and replacement of external power supply networks in Magas, Aushev approved inflated local cost estimates. As a result of his actions, the municipal budget lost almost ₽2,000,000 ($23,700).

Ingushetia

North Caucasus

Russia

Elizaveta Chukharova •

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Liza was born and raised in Vladikavkaz and now lives in Prague. She has previously worked for RFE/RL, ASTRA, Belsat, and others. She is currently completing her Master's degree in Russian Studies at Charles University in Prague, specialising in the study of military and inter-ethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus. In her free time, Liza shoots feature films, writes about cinema, and travels — she has visited exactly 50 countries and is not going to stop there.