Russia will not replace 140,000 potentially dangerous lifts in state-run apartment buildings as it has diverted funds to the military.
The Kremlin has cut social spending and now wants to override rules that force cash-starved housing companies to replace 25-year-old lifts after their expiry dates in mid-February.
“Postponing this date is currently being actively discussed,” said Svetlana Razvorotneva, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on housing.
This week, a leaked draft of the Kremlin’s 2025 budget showed that spending on “social projects” will be cut by 10 per cent.
Military spending will rise by 25 per cent to fund Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Ms Razvorotneva said there were “many dangerous lifts” in Russia but she was being forced to delay repairs and replacements.
“Lifts have become very expensive now,” she said. “There is nothing in special accounts to pay for them, there is nowhere to borrow this from.”
Soviet-era high-rise apartment blocks dominate Russian cities and towns and their creaky but usually sturdy lifts are vital for residents.
When they break down, residents complain. In one video posted on the Telegram social media app on Thursday, people living in an apartment complex in Moscow consisting of 10 blocks of 23 storeys complained that only 18 of 30 lifts were working.
“People are getting stuck in lifts. Panic attacks are happening. On Sept 10, not a single lift was working,” said a spokesman for the residents.
Data from Russia’s National Lift Union showed that roughly 20 people are killed each year in lift accidents in the country.
In July, a lift at a hospital in central Moscow fell 15 floors and killed a workman.
Abbas Gallyamov, Putin’s former speechwriter who now lives in exile, said that the Kremlin’s “lift crisis” showed its statements about the rude health of the Russian economy were inaccurate.
“It’s the same people who tell us about the successes of the Russian economy, who now say that they have no money to repair lifts,” he said.
The Kremlin has prioritised its war in Ukraine over Russian society, making life for ordinary people more expensive and dangerous.
Psychologists have accused the Kremlin of ignoring the mental impact of the war and data released by the Verstka opposition media channel this week showed that veterans of the Ukraine war have murdered 242 people since returning home, mainly their wives and girlfriends.
The Kremlin’s emphasis on recruitment for its armies in Ukraine has also distorted the labour market, leading to shortages.
Russian police forces have been hit hard because officers are paid roughly half the salary of a soldier.
Russia’s Ukraine war veterans also enjoy extra perks such as having their debt forgiven, criminal prosecutions dropped and priority consideration for comfortable regional political appointments.
Some areas of Moscow have reported that 75 per cent of their police officers have left to join the Russian army.
Russia’s interior ministry said this week that budget reductions meant it simply could not afford to increase police salaries.
One Russian resident told The Telegraph: “Crime is getting worse because people know there is a way to avoid punishment. Still, at least all three lifts in my apartment block are working.”
