Utilities Problems in Russia won’t Spark a Revolt but Response of Officials to Them Certainly Could, Rybakova Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 13 – Growing problems with utilities like heat, electric and water this winter as tragic as they are at a time of heavy snowfalls and extremely low temperatures won’t spark a revolt in Russia, but the failure of officials to respond adequately, Tatyana Rybakova says, could do that and even create a revolutionary situation.

            The Moscow Times journalist says that month, there have been major outages in more than a dozen of Russia’s federal subjects. Those are angry, but they have long experience with such problems and thus aren’t likely to react (ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/13/zhkh-kak-zastrelschik-revolyutsii-vozmuschayut-ne-avarii-a-reaktsiya-vlasti-a184316).

            But what can transform such widespread anger into a threat to the regime is the appearance that the powers that be aren’t prepared to do anything serious about these problems and are even prepared to blame residents rather than assume any responsibility, according to the Russian journalist.

            An increasing number of Russians now believe, she says, that “the authorities at all levels spit on the people, they are concerned only with their own needs which are very far from those which agitate ordinary citizens.” They’ll put up with this for a time, but if the regime doesn’t show a readiness to respond to these real problems, they won’t do so forever.