Volgograd Residents Endure Cold as Heating Systems Fail

Residents of Volgograd and the region continue to complain about the biting frost from which there is no escape: people are freezing in apartments, schools, and kindergartens, on public transport. At the same time, utility workers deny that the problem is related to poor heat supply or accidents.

It is cold for the residents of building 9 on Metallurgov Avenue in the Krasnooktyabrsky district of the city, and they say there has been no response to their complaints.

“In all apartments, it«s 16°C (61°F), and it doesn»t go higher,” one resident of the building describes the situation. “We called all the authorities, no one cares, and in January they«ll bring the bills. What are we paying for, to freeze? We appealed to the management company repeatedly. They said: ‘You»re not the only ones freezing, call the heating network.’ No one answers the phones there.”

In the same Krasnooktyabrsky district, according to parents, an entire kindergarten No. 271 is freezing. The thermometer, as concerned parents report, does not rise above 17°C (63°F).

“A cry of despair! It«s been like this all week. Now we hope it gets warmer outside,” sighs a worried mother. “But the kindergarten management doesn»t know how to resolve the situation. They assure us that it«s warm, but I see the thermometer in the kindergarten every day. Today in one of the groups it was only 7°C (45°F)! And the radiators are warm, but apparently it»s not enough...”

According to parents, kindergarten No. 359 in the Sovetsky district is also freezing. Heaters don«t help either—their power is simply insufficient to cover the entire room.

“In the group, it«s 13°C (55°F). Children sleep dressed. The head called someone: says everything is within norms—that»s what they said. Instead of wearing dresses and shorts, children put on warm pants and sweaters. Some have already gotten sick. The radiators are barely warm. The teachers asked to bring heaters, but for such an area they don«t work, so the beds are cold, and overall the rooms are cold.”

The problem has also affected educational institutions. For example, one student of gymnasium No. 16 in the Traktorozavodsky district complains about the cold and the indifference of the management.

“There is no heating, during lessons and breaks children walk around in jackets, but classes continue, and the school is not taking any action,” the student says. “The radiators are barely warm. In school today, apparently, a pipe burst, but no measures were taken except to put buckets and rags. In each class, there are now 3–5 sick people.”

However, Volgograd residents manage to freeze even before reaching the cold premises of schools, kindergartens, and their own homes. A reader of V1.RU riding on bus No. 25 says: the cabin is so cold that it freezes from the inside.

“People have steam coming from their mouths. In the cabin, not a single heater is working, but in the driver«s cabin it»s hot. At the terminal, an old woman approached him, asked to turn on the heaters in the cabin, but he said everything is on. But I«m sitting by a heater, and it»s icy. That old woman couldn«t stand it and got off, but workers and students have to ride...”

Recall that passengers have already complained about the freeze on bus No. 25. Meanwhile, the V1.RU editorial sent a request to the city administration asking to explain why passengers of Volgograd buses are not given heat, but no response has been received.

It is worth noting that the other day “Koncessii Teplosnabzheniya” (Heating Concessions) reported that the thermal system is working properly, and the persistent citizens who turn to the media are not as well-versed in the issue as those who go to the regulatory authorities.

“Koncessii Teplosnabzheniya (Heating Concessions) do not ignore appeals from Volgograd residents. For each application, specialists check the heat parameters coming from the boiler house and reaching consumers. The thermal system is operating in normal mode, providing standard temperature in citizens« apartments, however, persistent citizens often turn to the media with complaints about »underheating«. More savvy Volgograd residents go to regulatory authorities and public reception offices.”

“We receive appeals from residents—they complain about the cold in apartments. But during checks, it turns out that the temperature is 18–20°C (64–68°F), which complies with the norm according to the Russian government decree. For some, the normative 18°C (64°F) is not enough, however, this is the norm fixed by law,” says Tatiana Tekucheva, head of the public control center in the housing and utilities sector.

Utility workers note that cold is a subjective concept, hence the complaints.

“It turns out that the concept of «cold» is different for everyone. So, some freeze even at +20°C (68°F). At the same time, someone is sure that they heated better before. However, veterans of the housing and utilities industry remember how even 20 years ago, unscheduled heat shutoffs due to accidents lasted far more than a couple of hours.”

“Earlier, 10–20 years ago, there were incomparably more complaints, people suffered from shutoffs and cold for days,” recalls Oleg Kapustin, honored worker of the housing and utilities sector of Russia, first deputy chairman of the housing and utilities committee of the Volgograd region administration from 2001 to 2006. “Now, at 19°C (66°F), people are cold, give them 25°C (77°F), they say! If the temperature is below the norm (18–20°C [64–68°F])—this, of course, is a reason for utility workers to respond. Of course, we could just raise the temperature to 25°C (77°F), but here a reasonable approach and reasonable resource consumption are needed, because in the bills, all these extra gigacalories will certainly be reflected. Moreover, if we suddenly «add» temperature, network movement, damage, accidents will start, and then someone will definitely have heat cut off. Now everything is stable for everyone because they monitor the average daily mode.”

At the same time, utility workers reported on the work carried out in 2025, and when freezing in apartments, advised to contact the management company.

“Providing high-quality and uninterrupted heat to Volgograd residents is a priority task for ‘Koncessii Teplosnabzheniya’ (Heating Concessions), for its implementation repair and investment programs have been developed. Thus, in 2025, ‘Koncessii Teplosnabzheniya’ carried out major repairs of 31 boilers, 8 chimneys, 26 buildings and structures. At three boiler houses, modernization was carried out and modern energy-efficient boilers were installed. Moreover, Volgograd residents should remember that comfort in an apartment depends not only on the resource-supplying organization, but also on the quality of the networks inside the house, and this is already the area of responsibility of the management company. If one room is cold and another is warm, or not all apartments in the building have heat—this is a reason to contact the management company to adjust the intra-house networks.”

The V1.RU editorial inquired with “Koncessii Teplosnabzheniya” (Heating Concessions) about what is causing the freezing of houses in Volgograd and the region. Regarding kindergarten No. 359 and gymnasium No. 16, utility workers responded that from their side, heat supply has not been suspended, no work has been carried out. For kindergarten No. 271 and residential building No. 9 on Metallurgov Avenue, the editorial is still waiting for a response. Meanwhile, utility workers recommended contacting the Unified Dispatch Center for housing and utilities issues: 8 (8442) 33-31-34.

Recall, by the way, that Volgograd residents and residents of the region have been freezing for more than a week. Earlier, we collected complaints in our online broadcast—«cries of despair» from those freezing were heard from all corners of the region.

However, there is a ray of hope: very soon, forecasters promise warming and even plus temperatures on thermometers. When this miracle will happen—read in our material.