Food Shortages Have Occurred In Russia's Yakutia Region

• 16.10.2025, 13:47

For lack of money.

In Yakutia from October 21 some bus routes between settlements of the republic will stop working. According to the head of the Ministry of Transport of the region Vladimir Sivtsev, this will affect the lines "Yakutsk - Pokrovsk - Mokhsogolokh", "Yakutsk - Berdigestyakh", "Yakutsk - Namtsy - Khatyryk" and "Nizhny Bestyakh - Churapcha", reports the telegram channel "Honest Yakutia". The buses are scheduled to resume operation only in January 2026.

The reason for the restrictions is the lack of funds in the budget to finance public transportation. "Now there are no figures for a number of programs, at zeros. By the second reading, funding will be available. Let's not ask such questions yet," Yuri Nikolaev, head of the relevant committee Yuri Nikolaev, said during a budget hearing in the republic's parliament on Wednesday (he is quoted by public activist Vitaly Obedin), writes The Moscow Times.

There are also problems with providing people with food in Yakutia's northern regions. "Products on the socially important list (flour, bread, sugar) due to difficult conditions this year have been delivered very little. Entrepreneurs do not carry such products. We will still be able to reach the New Year, but how will we get there? - asked a representative of the Bulun Ulus at a meeting in the parliament. In response, he was told that they would return to this topic during the second reading of the budget. The channel "LB Potok" writes that the food imported by the authorities to the Arctic regions, including fresh eggs and vegetables, is primarily distributed to military families and educational institutions, while the rest of the local residents are sold what is left in the stores. We are talking, in particular, about the village of Saskylakh, the route to which from Yakutsk is 2500-2900 km.

NeMoskva reported earlier that the Yakutian JSC "Arctic Trade and Logistics Company", engaged in the northern importation of socially important products, lost its funding due to the lack of money in the budget. In 2025-2026 there will be no deliveries along the winter road, the company said.

By the lack of money, the Yakutian authorities are preparing to carry out mass layoffs in budgetary organizations, which have already begun in a number of districts of the republic. The Federation of Trade Unions of Yakutia urged not to classify information about layoffs, to which the head of the regional Finance Ministry Valery Alekseev said that no layoffs are planned, accusing the trade unions of "stirring up the situation".

According to the operational data of the unified portal of the budget system of the Russian Federation, at the end of September the cumulative deficit of the regions reached 724.8 billion rubles against a surplus of 472.1 billion rubles for the same period of 2024. Interim deficit was recorded in 68 subjects (45 last year). Total expenditures of the regions grew by 15% year-on-year to Rb 16 trillion. At the same time, revenue growth amounted to only 6%. Against this background, some regions, including the Yaroslavl Region and Dagestan, are preparing to raise taxes and cut tax exemptions.