In Dagestan, a Landfill Upends Villagers’ Livelihoods as National Garbage Crisis Spirals

Amid the plains of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan lies Novaya Urada, a village of 1,000 residents. 

This community, some 30 kilometers northwest of the regional capital Makhachkala, has deep roots in livestock farming and each year draws tourists hoping to photograph a vibrant poppy field nearby. 

Yet Novaya Urada was thrown into upheaval early last year when residents, facing the construction of a waste dump just several hundred meters from their doorstep, had to resort to protests.

“Imagine: just as the livestock comes right out from the gates, it sees a beautiful landfill! Immediately!” a Novaya Urada resident who identified himself as Magomed told The Moscow Times.

“We learned that a landfill is planned to be built near our homes … without taking our opinion into account,” said Magomed, who withheld his surname in order to speak candidly.

“As a patriot and a local concerned about the children’s health, I of course joined the protest after reviewing the project papers.”

In one of the latest moves to address an escalating garbage crisis, regional authorities decided to build a landfill near this small community in the Kumtorkalinsky district, assuring locals from the beginning that they had nothing to worry about. 

“The first time the conversation on this topic started … we didn't even know such a term 'landfill',” Magomed said. “They told us about high-tech waste processing plants that Germany couldn't even dream of.”

While three new waste-processing facilities should come to the republic in 2024, the site near Novaya Urada will serve as a conventional landfill expected to receive 300 tons of non-recyclable garbage each year.

‘Greta Thunberg of Dagestan’

In April 2023, Magomed was standing in the district police station as locals resorted to legal means to halt the works on the waste facility.

That day, alongside other Novaya Urada residents, he sought help from law enforcement. But the police officers just held him there for about an hour, citing minor errors in the paperwork.

“They tried to scare me and explain, like, 'You're addressing the wrong place, you first need to find out whose land it is. And who are you, what are your qualifications?'” Magomed said. “I blinked my eyes. 'Where should we go then? We came to the police, after all. Where should we seek protection?'” 

“In other words, the police wanted to lecture me so I wouldn't do such things anymore and just send me home.” 

Almost a year after construction began, residents continue to knock on all doors, refusing to accept the idea of living near the dump site, which they claim received the go-ahead without proper public hearings and environmental impact assessment. 

Hundreds have protested and appealed to President Vladimir Putin several times over the past year, expressing concerns over the waste facility’s potential impact on the environment, human health and livelihoods. 

“The neighbor [gardener] as a private investor will be directly affected both physically and financially from all sides. He might as well consider moving somewhere far away, leaving behind and writing off everything he invested there,” Magomed said.

Residents claim that the construction has already destroyed the poppy field that many previously enjoyed. Now they fear for the Sarykum Dune, a protected sand hill six kilometers from the planned waste site that is home to rare flora and fauna.