Heating, utilities out in half of Russia?

 Yahoo News:

A collapse in the housing and utilities system has struck half of the regions in Russia.

Source: The Moscow Times

Municipal emergencies have affected at least 43 regions, leaving hundreds of thousands of Russian residents without heating, water, electricity and gas.

The largest incident occurred in Podolsk near Moscow, where 20,000 people were left without heating in -30°C temperatures. Even nearly two weeks after the incident, the local authorities have not been able to fully restore the heat supply.

In Novosibirsk, an emergency left 14,000 people in 237 buildings without heating, and in Lipetsk, 10,000 people in 282 buildings were affected.

Significant emergencies have also been reported in Saratov, where heating was turned off in over 650 buildings and 100 social facilities, including schools and hospitals; Volgograd, where tens of thousands of people were left without heating; and Nakhodka, where 6,000 people faced the same issue.

Yet despite critical wear and tear and a series of emergencies, the Russian government is planning drastic reductions in spending on housing and utility infrastructure.
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If Russia was a real democracy, such a failure would be a political problem.   Time will tell whether there will be repercussions for this failure.

See also:

War in Ukraine Drains Nearly Half of Russia’s Liquid Assets