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This is Svetlana Bronnikova from the independent media outlet 7x7. For several weeks, residents of Tura, a village in the north of Krasnoyarsk Krai, have been spending hours in line for groceries. Local stores are running short of milk, vegetables, flour, and other goods, while prices for some products have risen severalfold. Why is this happening? Read on to find out.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The River Ran Low, and Store Shelves Emptied

Tura is located in the north of Krasnoyarsk Krai. There is no year-round road connecting the village to other settlements in the region.

In summer, goods are delivered by river. In winter, they are transported along temporary roads built over frozen ground and bodies of water. Locals call these roads zimniki, from the Russian word zima, meaning “winter.” During the rest of the year, goods can be brought in by plane.

This supply system is known as the Northern Supply. Authorities and businesses deliver food, fuel, and other essential goods to remote settlements in advance so that they have enough to last until the next delivery season.

In August 2026, water levels in the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River dropped so low that cargo ships could no longer reach Tura. Food was last delivered to the village by river in late July. By fall, stores were beginning to run out of supplies.

According to the Krasnoyarsk Krai prosecutor’s office, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, flour, and bottled water disappeared from store shelves. Meat, canned goods, cheese, and sausage were also in short supply. According to the agency’s estimates, food prices rose by 343% in a single month.

Some products are still available from businesses that pay for air delivery themselves, but they are more expensive. In October, for example, private sellers at some stores were charging 550–900 rubles for ten eggs, compared with around 130–160 rubles for the same quantity brought in by businesses with government-funded delivery under the Northern Supply program.

The shortages have affected more than just stores. According to the Evenkia administration, five educational institutions in the district could run out of food by the end of October. These include two branches of a boarding school, a secondary school, and a kindergarten in Tura, as well as an institution in the village of Kislokan.

Flights Instead of Cargo Ships, and a Criminal Case

On October 7, the Evenkia administration declared a high-alert regime in Tura and nearby settlements, allowing the authorities to mobilize additional resources to deal with the emergency.

The authorities organized special flights from Krasnoyarsk. Some of the food is sent to schools, kindergartens, and hospitals, while the rest is sold to residents.

According to the administration, around 50 tons of food were delivered to settlements across Evenkia in September and the first half of October. However, this was not enough. Deliveries were further complicated by the weather. For example, two flights scheduled for October 10 and 11 had to be postponed because of snowfall. The planes did not arrive until October 13 and 15, respectively.

In mid-October, the authorities sent another seven tons of food to Tura and other settlements. The administration introduced limits on how much each person could buy so that the available food would reach more people. Residents were allowed to buy up to three kilograms of potatoes, two kilograms of onions, ten eggs, one carton of milk, and one head of cabbage.

By the end of November, the authorities and businesses plan to deliver around 124 tons of food to Tura. Most of it, 83 tons, will be transported with government funding, while another 41 tons will arrive on commercial flights. Of the total, 14 tons will go to social institutions, while the rest will be delivered to stores.

Officials warn, however, that flights could be delayed by bad weather or a lack of available aircraft.

Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities have opened an investigation into the situation. On October 14, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over alleged negligence by officials at the regional Agency for the Development of Northern Territories. According to the prosecutor’s office, the agency was responsible for organizing the Northern Supply. Officials had also been aware of the potential shortages in advance. In early September, Evenkia authorities had already asked the regional agency to arrange food deliveries by air and resolve the issue of funding the transportation. However, the prosecutor’s office found that the agency had failed to take the necessary measures.

Tura Residents Buy Up Three Tons of Food in an Hour

Despite the air deliveries, Tura residents continued to complain about empty shelves and hours-long lines.

In mid-October, dozens of people spent hours waiting outside stores, but some still failed to buy any food. People arrived long before the stores opened and went into nearby apartment building entrances to keep warm.

In local chats, residents discussed who had managed to buy food and where new shipments would become available.

“I just hope everyone gets some food today, especially those who couldn’t get any at Luch and those with children or elderly family members,” one participant in a village chat wrote. Messages from the chat were published by the media outlet NGS24.RU.

Others were outraged that pensioners and families with children had to wait in the same lines as everyone else.

One store employee said in the chat that she had been serving customers until almost 1 a.m. When she finished work, there were still around 140 customers in the store. She explained that she could not keep selling food until morning. Residents suggested that the authorities assign customers different days to shop or introduce ration coupons so that people would not have to spend hours waiting outside.

A Tura resident who spoke to 7x7 on condition of anonymity said that a plane carrying food was unable to reach the village over the weekend of October 17–18 because of bad weather. It finally landed in Tura on the morning of October 19. According to the resident, people bought up three tons of food in just one hour. But even seven tons were not enough for a village of around 6,000 people.

“At first, they were selling one head of cabbage, some onions, milk, and ten eggs per person. Two and a half hours later, they started selling the same set of products per family. The onions and potatoes ran out quickly. Most people ended up with nothing again,” the Tura resident told 7x7.

Meanwhile, high prices are forcing residents to choose between expensive food brought in independently by businesses and cheaper goods from subsidized shipments. The latter draw the longest lines.

The authorities expect food deliveries to become more reliable in December, when the winter roads open. Until then, Tura will remain dependent on flights that can be delayed by bad weather. Officials have not yet said when the shortages are expected to end completely.

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