Residents of Russia’s Stavropol Region said utility bills rose sharply after the first payment notices of 2026 arrived and began collecting signatures against further tariff increases. Under figures approved by the federal government, the maximum rise in housing and utility charges in the region this year may reach 22%, making Stavropol one of the country’s leaders in tariff indexation.
The increase is being introduced in two stages. From January 1, 2026, bills went up by 1.7%, which officials linked to the VAT increase from 20% to 22%. The second stage is scheduled for October 1, when regional coefficients across Russia will range from 8% to 22%. Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on January 13 that the rise in Stavropol would be limited to 16%, not the full 22% ceiling.
“When the maximum price was published in December, we said then that we would deal with it. We will allow only a 16% increase,” the governor said.
Activists, however, say official calculations on public websites have not yet been adjusted to match that promise. The website of Stavropol’s municipal water utility had already posted tariffs calculated with a 22% indexation: the combined charge for water supply and wastewater in the regional capital has been set at 81.88 rubles per cubic meter from January 1 and is due to rise to 100.78 rubles from October 1, compared with 80.55 rubles in 2025.
Sources interviewed by the publication said the increase is felt especially sharply in rural areas, where water supply is already unstable during the summer months. According to civic activist Leonid, villagers are already paying about 52 rubles per cubic meter, which is higher than rural tariffs in neighboring regions. He described the current changes as one of the biggest tariff hikes in the region’s history.
Residents opposed to the increase are addressing their appeal directly to Vladimir Putin, arguing that local authorities depend on decisions made in Moscow. Their statement says the planned increase would push a large share of the already poor population to the brink of physical survival. The governor, for his part, promised compensation for families whose utility spending exceeds 22% of income: about 93,000 families currently fall into that category, and he said the number could rise to 150,000 after the tariff increase.
Activists and local Telegram channel authors say signatures are being collected in Mineralnye Vody, the Georgiyevsky district and other towns. They also argue that tariffs for water and electricity in the region are already significantly higher than in neighboring areas, while utility infrastructure wear, according to the governor, has reached 86%. The authorities promise investment in power-grid modernization through 2030 and the construction of nine water-supply facilities, but residents link the current situation to years of missing capital repairs and ineffective management.