In Dagestan, a Russian region in the North Caucasus, locals have been blocking roads and besieging public offices almost daily since late July, outraged by frequent power outages. The republic’s energy infrastructure is on the brink of collapse. Blackouts are causing food in stores to go bad, disabling traffic lights, and leaving families without water or electricity for hours if not days. Desperate residents are chipping in to buy new cables, but this doesn’t help. Meanwhile, the authorities, unable to fix the situation, are blaming Ukraine for the apparent “destabilization”.