Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Daghestani Head Sergei Melikov will resign in September. Melikov has headed the region since October 2020, with a tenure marked by consistent utility outages and, most recently, disastrous floods that killed eight and damaged thousands of buildings.
Putin made the announcement after meeting with Melikov in Moscow on Thursday.
‘He’s done a lot, and we’re grateful to him for that, but he’s moving on to another job: life goes on’, Putin said, according to RFE/RL.
It is yet unclear what position Melikov will move on to occupy, if any, in the future.
Melikov himself has not yet made a statement of his own.
According to Daghestani news outlet Chernovik, representatives from the Duma and Daghestan’s Parliament have met with Putin and nominated Fyodor Schhukin, the Chair of Daghestan’s Supreme Court, as Melikov’s successor, with Putin, reportedly accepting the nomination.
Melikov came to power in Daghestan in October 2020 as acting head of the republic by a presidential decree. He was elected head by the Daghestani Parliament the following year.
News of his resignation followed devastating floods caused by heavy rainfall in late March and early April. The floods killed eight people — including four children and one pregnant woman — and have damaged hundreds of houses and land plots to varying extents. Tens of thousands of Daghestani have filed applications for damage compensation.
In recent years, Daghestan has been plagued by a variety of utility outages.
In July 2025, more than 86,500 people in Daghestan were left without electricity after a fire broke out at a substation. The republic remains one of the most energy-deficient regions in Russia, as official statistics indicate losses in transmission networks reach up to 30%–33%, and only around 8% of electricity is used by industry — the majority goes to household consumption.
Daghestanis often hold protests against such outages.
In the same month, over 100 people have received medical assistance after contracting an infection from what appears to be a contaminated water source in Daghestan. The authorities say that 18 people were hospitalised.
Elizaveta Chukharova
