The shutdown of water and heating supplies created problems for residents of Nalchik.

Due to a lack of water and heat, residents of Nalchik buildings have been forced to heat their apartments with electric appliances or stay with relatives. Some buildings have been without water for four days, residents complained.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on Saturday, February 6, in the Nalchik neighborhoods of Strelka, Bogdanka, and other locations, there was no water or heat from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM Moscow time, the author of the blog "Nalchik and Neighbors. The Caucasus in Search of Justice" reported on the "Caucasian Knot." "The cause was an accident on the main pipeline. The accident was likely serious. Bulldozers and a repair crew were brought to the scene," the publication states.

Residents of Nalchik confirmed to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on February 9 that there was no water or heat in their homes all day on February 6.

For example, Asyat Kushkhova, a resident of a building on Idarova Street, reported that there was no heat or water in her building from 9:00 a.m. until midnight that day. According to the woman, the lack of water was more of a nuisance than the lack of heat.

I plugged in an electric heater in one room and brought the children there.

"I plugged in an electric heater in one room and brought the children there, and it was more or less warm. But there was no water to drink tea. The stores had already sold out. And I didn't want to drive to the other end of town in the freezing cold. They say they brought water to some courtyards, but they didn't bring it to ours," said Asyat Kushkhova.

According to her, when the water was restored, it was "sandy" for a while, but by Sunday evening everything returned to normal."

There's still no water on our street.

A resident of a house on Maurice Thorez Street Azret Budaev reported that there's still no water in their building even on February 9th. "We don't know what's going on, but there's still no water on our street. Everyone else got it, but it still hasn't reached us. We called the water utility, and they told us they don't know what the cause is, that they're looking for a fix, but haven't found one yet," he complained.

The lack of water, he said, is creating inconvenience for residents of apartment buildings. "If there's no water, you can't turn on the boiler or heat the house. We had to use space heaters, which consumes a lot of electricity," he explained.

They had to take the children and move in with their parents for a while.

Ruzanna Sozaeva also lives in a building on Maurice Thorez Street. "Without water, you can't cook, you can't wash the dishes, and you can't do anything else. I had to take the children and move in with my parents in another neighborhood for a while. And now I'm waiting for the problem on our street to be resolved," she said.

On February 9, there was also no water on Elbrusskaya Street, reported Rita Gukeshokova, who lives with her elderly parents. "The tap doesn't run, it drips. And Vodokanal thinks we have water," she said.

Workers Received Commendations and Cash Bonuses

On February 9, the Nalchik Vodokanal Municipal Unitary Enterprise posted a single message on its Telegram channel, reporting that the head of Kabardino-Balkaria, Kazbek Kokov, praised the workers who repaired the accident that occurred on February 6 on the main water pipeline in Nalchik.

The repair work was completed "as quickly as possible," the message emphasized. "Today, everyone who participated in the cleanup of this accident received thanks and cash bonuses from Kazbek Kokov. The head of the region announced his intention to modernize Vodokanal's emergency service and update its technical equipment," Vodokanal reported.

The day before, on February 8, Vodokanal did not publish anything on its Telegram channel, and even earlier, on February 7, it reported that "work to restore the integrity of the 600-millimeter diameter water pipe on T. Idarova Street was completed at 4:10 a.m., and the water supply was restored."

Water and heat outages are becoming grounds for criminal cases

As a reminder, in January, two criminal cases were opened in connection with the prolonged lack of water supply in the homes of residents of the Rostov region. People complained that they were forced melt snow and buy water. Officials failed to ensure the timely elimination of the accident and allowed violations in the delivery of water, investigators stated.

Also, at the end of January, investigators opened a criminal case in connection with a prolonged outage of heat supply in Volgodonsk. After an accident in the heating network, residents of 80 apartment buildings were left without heat for more than a day.

In Dagestan, unresolved problems in the housing and utilities sector are a factor in the growth of protest activity, Sergei Bachurin, head of the North Caucasus Federal District Ministry of Internal Affairs, stated on January 19.

Earlier, residents of the capital of Dagestan held a spontaneous protest due to the lack of power in their homes; this occurred in August 2025. The mayor's office subsequently reported that power had been restored to most homes. Similar Residents of other districts of Makhachkala also complained of problems. However, Dagestani officials focused on the proliferation of calls for mass protests against power outages on social media and threatened liability for unauthorized protests.