At least 19 Russian regions switch off street lighting to save money, The Moscow Times finds

On 6 October 2026, The Moscow Times reported that street lighting has been switched off to save money in at least 19 Russian regions. The paper reached that figure by reviewing regional media reports and social-media posts published since the beginning of 2026.

Lack of funding, stated openly

According to the report, authorities in 11 regions openly linked the lighting problems to a shortage of money: the Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Vologda, Kaluga, Omsk, Volgograd, Penza and Rostov regions and the republics of Bashkortostan, Buryatia and Tatarstan. Examples cited by the paper:

• Bratsk (Irkutsk region): in June, residents complained to a local deputy that lights had gone out in a park and on several streets and intersections. The city administration replied that it was carrying out energy-saving measures, including a phased shutdown of decorative lamps in squares and pedestrian and park areas.
• Buryatia: in one village the street lighting disappeared completely; local officials told residents that the “funding limit” had been used up.
• Arkhipovka (Ivanovo region): the administration decided to switch off street lamps from 1 June to 1 August, citing limited funds in its official reply to residents’ complaints.
• Vologda region: in at least 10 towns and districts, street lights began to be turned off after 11 p.m. to save money. Only after prosecutors intervened did the governor order money for lighting to be found in the budget, the paper wrote.

Shutdowns over unpaid bills

In 6 more regions — the Altai Krai, the Bryansk, Murmansk and Sakhalin regions and the republics of Bashkortostan and Khakassia — power to street lighting and public facilities was cut because of accumulated debts, The Moscow Times reported. In Khakassia’s Tashtyp district, 7 schools and a children’s arts centre were disconnected after the municipality ran up a debt of more than 85 million rubles to energy companies. Bashkortostan’s Ishimbay district owes the supplier Bashelektrosbyt almost 9 million rubles, leaving 86 villages and settlements without street lighting. A house of culture in the Sakhalin region lost power, and in the Arkhangelsk region electricity was cut over debts at training facilities of the Trud stadium used by children from an Olympic reserve school.

Some regions avoided referring to budget shortfalls and instead announced a “special lighting regime.” Officials in the Arkhangelsk region and Karelia explained the shutdowns by a special schedule for the white nights, while municipal authorities in Pyatigorsk (Stavropol Krai) decided to switch off lights on non-central streets after 11 p.m.

Budget background

The paper wrote that the combined budget deficit of Russia’s regions in 2026 is expected to reach 1.3 trillion rubles, or 0.6% of GDP — less than last year — but that Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has asked the regions to work out measures to cut the deficit by almost 1 trillion rubles. Regions also carry war-related costs, including payments to servicemen, fees for recruiters and social support for soldiers’ families, according to the report. Economist Nikolai Kulbaka told the paper that regional budgets had built up debts last year and, unlike in previous years, those debts were not written off at year-end; instead, the regions were told to cut spending for the following year.