By Olga Kepinski & Euronews Russian
Russia is raising utility tariffs for the second time this year, with an average 15% increase taking effect on 1 October — a move the central bank says will push inflation further above its target in an economy already under severe pressure from war costs and sanctions.
The increase will range from 8% to 22% depending on the region. Residents of Stavropol Krai, Dagestan, and the Tambov and Tyumen regions face the steepest rises, while Moscow tariffs will go up 15% and St Petersburg 14.6%.
An earlier 1.7% increase took effect in January. Raising tariffs twice in a single calendar year is rare in Russia — the last time it happened was in 2022, the first year of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has justified the increases by citing ageing communal infrastructure and the need for modernisation.
