Social media users blamed speculators for the high gasoline prices in Dagestan.

Fuel prices in Dagestan are higher than in neighboring regions, as private gas station owners try to profit from the fuel crisis, said some residents of the republic, commenting on the fuel situation on social media. Other commentators pointed out that wholesalers have exacerbated the problem by raising prices for gasoline and diesel.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of Dagestan have repeatedly complained about high fuel prices in the republic. On August 1, they noted on social media that the cost of fuel in the republic remains high, but instead of measures to reduce it, officials announced inspections of previously closed gas stations to resume their operations.

One resident of Dagestan recorded an emotional comment about the situation with prices at local gas stations. He criticized private gas station owners who, in his opinion, unjustifiably inflate fuel prices. The author of the video compared fuel prices in Dagestan with prices in neighboring regions, stating that the republic has the highest prices. "There are no prices like ours anywhere. And there is no such bad gasoline as ours anywhere. <…> Not only have they raised prices, but they also pour low-quality fuel," he emphasized.

This video was published on the Instagram*-page makhachkala_, which has about 248 thousand followers. As of 07:50 Moscow time on August 2, the post garnered about 17.5 thousand likes and 1,768 comments.

Users noted the low quality of gasoline and the possible consequences of using it for cars. "Can you tell me where to fill up with quality 95 in Makhachkala? Is there really not a single gas station to avoid damaging the engine?" asked naira_hairs.

"Today I filled up at 'Original' – the car started to misfire, stall, and a bunch of errors popped up on all sensors," wrote surkhaeva_z_.

"I agree 100% about the quality. I filled up a full tank of 95 in Grozny – it was enough to get to Kislovodsk and back to Makhachkala, and I still drove around the city for a day or two," noted skaterti_elya.

Participants in the discussion linked high fuel prices to unjustified markups and the desire of gas station owners to increase profits.

"When will the networks appear? I'm tired of the private ones: they set whatever prices they want," stated muslim.m.m_.

"Everyone wants to get rich quickly. They should be kicked out. But we can't let outsiders in either, because they are no better. We need to fix things ourselves," believes moscowskiy_master_.

Commentators also criticized the inaction of the republican authorities and regulatory bodies, which, in their opinion, do not take effective measures to reduce prices.

"I wonder where the antimonopoly service and the government are looking? Gasoline is still not getting cheaper; on the contrary, they say it will get more expensive," wrote user bublikk6776.

"And where is the government, what are they looking at?" asked ramazan77859.

"All we do is talk; there are no actions, and there probably won't be. Because someone is someone's brother, friend, relative, and so on," stated ayna71274.

As a way to influence local gas station owners, some users suggested temporarily refusing to buy fuel from them.

"Boycott local gas stations!" urged user tofusina1771.

"In the comments, you shouldn't just talk. You need to stand up and not fill up, and that's it – a week will be enough for them to go into the negative," believes azim77577.

Some commentators disagreed with placing all the blame on private gas station owners and pointed to high wholesale prices.

"Private gas stations are choking all over the country, not just here. Federal networks do everything to ensure that the purchase price of gasoline for private owners is higher. And now we happily drive them away," stated user gosnomera.invest.

"What should private gas station owners do if the wholesale price has gone up?" asked idrisov.abdula.

Recall that the fuel crisis in the southern regions of Russia has caused a sharp increase in demand for the installation of gas equipment and led to queues at auto repair shops. Due to long waits, drivers are forced to turn to "gray" installers who do not guarantee the safety of the equipment.

A mass transition of cars to gas will not overcome the fuel crisis, as the necessary infrastructure is lacking in the regions, analysts previously pointed out.

It is impossible to quickly create such infrastructure, noted the deputy director general of the Institute of National Energy Alexander Frolov. The current situation has only drawn attention to already existing programs, which are being implemented much more slowly than planned, he explained.

The leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund Igor Yushkov considered the increased demand for gas equipment installation to be temporary. After the gasoline problem is resolved and queues at gas stations disappear, drivers' interest in switching to gas will decrease, he predicted.