According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, residents of Murmansk and Severomorsk have been facing disruptions to electricity, heating, and hot water for a fourth straight day after a power line accident. Authorities introduced an emergency regime, and Governor Andrey Chibis said on January 26 that stable electricity had been restored to 80% of homes. Residents interviewed by the outlet, however, said many apartments remained dark and cold.
The problems began on Friday, January 23, when five power transmission lines on the Kola Peninsula were damaged. Two of them, according to reports, had been operating since 1966 despite a 40-year service life. Rosseti North-West said the accident was caused by a blizzard and squally winds. Amid the outages, candles and flashlights quickly sold out in stores, some residents were trapped in elevators, and trolleybuses were rerouted; fares were made free until power service is fully restored.
On January 26, some clinic branches did not open, schoolchildren studied in the dark with flashlights, and college students were moved to remote learning. Because of the prolonged nature of the accident, authorities declared a state of emergency, and investigators opened a criminal negligence case.
Residents described the outages as chaotic: in some buildings, power disappears for 10, 18, 20 hours or longer, while brief restorations often come at night. They said temperatures in some apartments have dropped to 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, while outdoor temperatures were around minus 13. Since the polar night ended on January 11, daylight in the city is still short, making the lack of electricity especially difficult.
“I live in darkness, with candles and a flashlight. It’s hard, but at least it’s something,” said Maxim, a resident of the Leninsky district. He said his family cannot heat food, charge phones, or even take a normal shower.
Other residents of the Leninsky and Oktyabrsky districts also reported long outages, weak heating, and schedules that were not being followed. One interviewee said a field kitchen operated in the first days of the crisis, while residents and staff at working shops and coffeehouses helped people with hot water, baby food, and charging phones. Some families, especially those with small children, temporarily went to stay with relatives in other districts.