Russia’s “gold capital” Bodaybo left without heating after another utilities accident
In the town of Bodaybo in Russia’s Irkutsk region, another utilities accident has occurred amid an ongoing energy crisis that began on 29 January. Due to a burst pipe, authorities were forced to shut down one of the boiler houses, leaving 37 residential buildings, two kindergartens, a school, a children’s arts centre and a library without heating.
This was reported by Vazhnye istorii.
The mayor of Russia’s gold-mining capital, Yevgeny Yumashev, urged residents not to panic and to treat the situation with understanding, although some locals have been without heat and water for three weeks.
The large-scale crisis in Bodaybo began in late January, when temperatures dropped to minus 50°C, causing the central water pipeline to freeze and prompting a state of emergency. At that time, more than 140 buildings were left without heating, and the city administration asked residents to accommodate affected neighbours themselves due to a lack of municipal reserves.
As of mid-February, heating had been restored to only 122 buildings, but the exact number of people still living in freezing apartments remains unknown.
The situation is further complicated by financial pressure on residents, who have begun receiving significantly higher electricity bills after using electric heaters, despite the governor’s promise to suspend charges.
Experts link such large-scale breakdowns to the critical deterioration of infrastructure in Russia, noting that during the war with Ukraine most Russian regions have significantly reduced spending on housing and utilities. Currently, budget funds are sufficient only for patchwork repairs, leading to systemic failures during harsh winter periods.
