Russia’s Infrastructure Problems Built Up Over Decades Now So Disastrous that Tariffs are Skyrocketing Beyond Ability of Citizenry to Pay

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 3 – Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and in some cases even earlier, officials did not spend what was necessary to keep power and water infrastructure in good repair; and this winter, an especially cold one in many places, has led to massive breakdowns that are receiving widespread attention in the media.

            But what is really infuriating Russians is not the breakdowns themselves but the decision of the officials to boost communal services tariffs far above the rate of inflation and often the ability of consumers to pay as operators struggle to fix current problems and prevent future ones (newizv.ru/news/2026-02-04/gnilye-truby-za-vash-schet-kak-rossiyan-zastavlyayut-oplachivat-desyatiletniy-iznos-setey-438751).

            In many places, consumers simply can’t pay their bills and aren’t; and as a result, the companies are finding it ever more difficult to come up with the funds to make repairs, utility company officials and academic experts say. And what that means is the situation with communal services in Russia is likely to get far worse before it gets any better.

            Indeed, they suggest, this may become a political problem as people across the Russian Federation are confronted with the twin problems of a collapse of service and higher communal service bills, something that one expert suggests has created “a perfect storm” in the Russian social and political marketplace.