The collapse of the housing and utilities sector in Dagestan has complicated Sergei Melikov's election campaign.

Dagestani journalists and residents of the republic reacted sharply to the publication by the head of the Center for Regional Policy Development, who called Sergei Melikov "a good anti-crisis manager." They recalled that the republic is facing a collapse in the housing and utilities sector, threatening political stability.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Sergei Bachurin, head of the North Caucasus Federal District Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, cited unresolved problems in the housing and utilities sector as a factor in the growth of protest activity in Dagestan at a meeting of the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs board on January 19. Makhachkala residents interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" agreed with his opinion. Reports of extended power outages, heating, and water supply problems are coming in from cities across the republic almost daily: on January 21, many residents of Makhachkala were left without power due to another breakdown, and on January 25, a pipeline burst in Makhachkala, leaving residents without water for almost two days.

Political scientist Ilya Grashchenkov, president of the Center for Regional Policy Development, published a post on his Telegram channel dedicated to Sergei Melikov's performance as head of Dagestan. The publication sparked a wave of objections and criticism among journalists, activists, and residents of the republic.

"Melikov's five-year term demonstrated that he is a good crisis manager. He took charge of the region during one of the most difficult periods in the republic's recent history: trust in the government was at a minimum, the governance system was demoralized, and communication with the public was fragmented," Grashchenkov stated.

He cited the solid municipal waste reform as an example of Melikov's achievements. "It proved impossible to quickly resolve the waste crisis; systemic flaws were revealed. However, it's crucial that the reform was not abandoned. Instead of imitation, a path of consistently bringing projects to fruition was chosen. By 2026, four waste sorting landfills will be practically ready—something previous leaders had promised for years but failed to achieve," the political scientist stated.

He also noted that in the energy sector, Melikov took an atypical step by openly revealing the true scale of the crisis to the federal government. "Political courage allowed us to attract significant federal funds and include the republic in systemic modernization programs." "Yes, the reforms were accompanied by social tension, but for the first time, energy ceased to be an invisible problem," the expert believes.

Summing up, he called Melikov's five-year term "a period of governance under constant challenges, where the emphasis was on complex, conflict-ridden, but structural solutions." "The result was not the elimination of all of Dagestan's problems, but the formation of an institutional foundation and basis for governance," Grashchenkov concluded.

The publication "Chernovik" criticized the political scientist's analysis, noting that Grashchenkov categorically devalues ​​the work carried out in the republic by Vladimir Vasiliev and Artem Zdunov before Melikov.

Journalists have refuted the political scientist's findings

"While rightly calling the republic a region with a complex socio-political architecture, with its own specific multi-ethnicity and elites, he claims that Dagestan was inherited (by Melikov) almost in a state of ruin! (...) Grashchenkov cites the "destruction of the previous elite configuration" among the negative factors of Dagestan before Melikov's time. Bold! Especially considering that the "elite configuration" at that time consisted of powerful criminal clans and individuals inherited by Vasilyev from Abdulatipov. And who, thanks to the efforts of the Russian FSB, were removed from Dagestan and sentenced to long prison terms. This, it must be admitted, actually increased public trust in the government, especially in the federal center and the security forces. And there was no talk of any minimal trust among Dagestanis! "But the demand for justice that Grashchenkov speaks of remains elusive. If you don't believe us, ask the Gasanguseinov brothers' father. Ask Kurban Dalgatov's parents. Ask Abdulmumin Gadzhiev," the publication states.

Responding to the political scientist's assertion that for the federal center, the key result of Melikov's term was "creating the preconditions for stability, transitioning the republic from 'emergency response' mode to a logic of long-term planning," Chernovik recalled that in 20 years, from 2005 to 2025, the republic went from a hot spot to a state of emergency.

"The brief respite under Vasilyev, unfortunately, was not developed; it was squandered." "And if Melikov is given a second term, he'll likely spend it correcting the mistakes of his first term. Dagestan continues to tread water, stumbling into a dead end," the publication's authors point out.

The Novoye Delo publication also expressed skepticism about Grashchenkov's findings on its Telegram channel. "Much of the 'expert opinion' is laughable. And what can you expect from an 'expert' who predicted Melikov's imminent ouster in 2022 and has only been to Dagestan a couple of times, and only for holidays? We're more interested in the economic issue. How much does the republic spend on PR for the head of the republic—not even on the republic's image, not on positioning the head of the republic on important federal agendas, but specifically on PR?" - the publication states.

The head of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev, criticized the political expertise of the author of the channel "The Grashchenkov" in his Telegram channel. "He built up his following in two days: 5-6 thousand subscribers every hour before 5 a.m., resulting in over 100,000 in two days. It immediately became clear that he is a true expert in inflated posts and nonsense; however, thousands of people are then described by him every day," Khadulaev believes.

"A real collapse has occurred in the republic"

Residents of Makhachkala, who also read Ilya Grashchenkov's publication, criticized the political scientist's conclusions. "He talks about practically resolved issues in the area of ​​municipal solid waste, but not a single waste processing plant in Dagestan has yet started operating. In the Kumtorkalinsky district, construction took place amid protests from residents. "The housing and utilities situation is getting worse every year," businessman Marat told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "This winter, the republic has experienced a complete collapse. Thousands of people are left without water, electricity, and heat every day. What kind of governance can we possibly talk about from the head of the region? People are driven to despair, and the authorities are only engaging in populism," said university professor Ramazan. "The head of Dagestan constantly mentions the 'bad legacy' he inherited. In previous years, such a situation with the infringement of people's rights, and even such a situation with housing and utilities, was not present. Is five years not enough time to take measures to improve the lives of citizens? And what about personnel policy? We see how many people from Melikov's circle have come under the attention of law enforcement agencies," Rasul noted.