“Sorry, maintenance”- such signs hang on almost every gas station on hoses with the most popular A-95 fuel. And sometimes also with diesel and A-92. The fuel crisis at the Primorsky gas stations started several weeks ago and has already taken on alarming proportions. In hopes of filling up a full tank, people even stand in hour-long queues at night and sometimes leave with almost empty tanks because the gas runs out right before their eyes. The authorities blame… what do you think? On the residents of Khabarovsk and traffic jams.

I refueled yesterday in the outskirts of Vladivostok, at Ugolnaya. It’s a big gas station, two double-sided columns. I waited for about forty minutes. But at least there was plenty of gasoline and diesel. And today I wanted to stop at Russky Island – there are more gas stations and noticeably fewer queues. I look, and “my” A-95 is not there, and no diesel either. And still a queue! People have already switched to A-98, just to avoid running on empty. I haven’t seen such a shortage anywhere – probably because it’s expensive,” says driver Yevgeny. “Many people come with containers, stocking up in advance.

And if dealing with this is easier in Vladivostok (for example, you can go to a small gas station), in the town of Bolshoy Kamen, people spend up to four hours in queues. Cars line up on the road shoulders in long lines. In some places, drivers struggle to navigate on a two-lane road because one lane is blocked.

“My friend arrived yesterday, waited for an hour. It’s almost her turn now – the cashier came out and put up orange cones: “Sorry, no gas left. See you next time,” says Inna, a resident of Vladivostok. “We were driving to the beach with family, at the gas station in Slavyanka – a nightmare, stood for almost an hour. We made it there almost on fumes. We were afraid the car would stall, so we opened the windows, turned off the air conditioner. We almost died from the heat. But we refueled! Success!” says Viktor, a father of two.

The situation is slightly different at gas stations not linked to refineries, the so-called independent gas stations. There are fewer queues, but the prices are not well-received. For instance, at “Octane” today, a liter of A-95 costs 83.57 rubles, A-92 – 78.57 rubles, according to the information board, there are no other types of fuel (on August 18, prices were slightly lower – 73.53 rubles and 67.97 rubles per liter, respectively). But that’s in Vladivostok. In Ussuriysk today – diesel is 75.27, A-92 – 73.97, A-95 – 79.57, and A-100 – 99.97 (people joke: they just couldn’t fit the numbers on the display up to a hundred).

For comparison, in Vladivostok – 62.6 for A-95, 61.73 for A-92. Diesel is expensive – 75.62 per liter, but that’s long before the current situation started. Cheaper, for example, because the plant sells motor fuel to its own networks at lower prices, covering losses through other business ventures.

Furthermore, motorists report that many independent gas stations only accept cash payments in many areas (even where the mobile internet was not shut off). Even at decent independent gas stations with their exorbitant fuel prices, there is no gas available. You can refuel at very small gas stations, but at your own risk.

Of course, the fuel crisis has nothing to do with Ukrainian drones targeting Russian oil depots and refineries (the strikes have been officially confirmed, with visual evidence and eyewitnesses). Drones do not reach the Komsomolsk and Khabarovsk refineries, of course. But someone has to supply fuel when other facilities are not operational.

However, the authorities explain the ongoing situation with rather peaceful reasons. Primorsky Energy Minister Elena Shish admitted that there is a buzz at gas stations. But she linked it to increased tourist traffic.

“Compared to August 2024, the tourist flow [in Primorye] exceeds by 30%,” she says.

It’s no secret that the residents of Khabarovsk travel to Primorye’s beaches in the summer. Visually, there are indeed more cars from the 27th region on the roads this year. However, how exactly they arrived at a 30% increase is unclear. Why weren’t they prepared in advance then? Besides, there were equally hot years without fuel crises. Moreover, queues are found all over the region – even in places where there are no tourists and never have been.

“Arsenyev. No sea. Only queues,” writes one of the commentators discussing the Khabarovsk tourists who allegedly took all of our gas. People post videos from Arsenyev: passing a line of waiting cars for nearly a minute at normal speed.

“In Spassk (also an extremely unattractive corner of Primorye for tourists), there is no gas. The gas station has a price tag, but they don’t fuel up, at other gas stations they say it will definitely be out of gas for four days,” writes another Primorsky resident.

“Mirny – cash only. Everything is dead in the Nadezhdinsky district, there is no gas. We are waiting for another price increase, the school year is approaching. Maybe we’ll switch to horse-drawn carriages soon, given that for the fourth year in a row they are changing the asphalt in the season, creating huge traffic jams?” jokes a third.

According to the regional government’s information, there are about 295 gas stations in Primorye. 130 of them are NNK-Primornefteprodukt. To give them credit, they at least try to maintain reasonable prices. No, it has become more expensive there too (almost by two rubles since June), but the “independent gas stations” are not at all satisfactory.

“Since the beginning of August, we have observed that private gas stations impose limits on the sale of gasoline or sell fuel at prices up to +12 rubles per liter higher than NNK prices. Therefore, citizens, of course, turn to gas stations where it is cheaper,” observes the Primorye Energy Minister.

This, of course, is a bit of a lie as well. Because the “limitation on the sale of gasoline” (read – the absence of fuel) is observed both at NNK and at gas stations belonging to the same “Rosneft” network. The most popular A-95 fuel often runs out, and now there are shortages even with diesel.

However, the minister claims that there is a reserve of gasoline at NNK gas stations (5,500 tons), which will last for several days, and fuel is regularly delivered, even to remote areas. They have also dispatched 14 additional fuel trucks in addition to the already circulating 30.

“Today, four fuel trucks from the Khabarovsk region have been sent to help in Primorye,” says Elena Shish. “But we also see that residents themselves are creating an artificial buzz by refueling not only their tank but also containers and other vessels.”

People, of course, are not particularly satisfied with stories about four fuel trucks (a drop in the bucket) and the “Khabarovsk tourists.” Comments on the government’s social media are boiling with outrage.

“Is the government of Primorye unable to solve the gasoline problems? My husband stood in line today from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. to refuel the car (in Dalnegorsk). What’s going on?!” asks commentator Tata Stern.

“We drove today from Kavalerovo to Spassk – there is no gasoline at any gas station. What is happening, why are people forced to stand at these gas stations with little children? Many are towed along the road, some cars stand on the shoulder for hours (and they are not mushroom pickers). We can’t refuel for hours, what kind of mockery is this?” writes a person with the username MeL.

“Additional fuel trucks are great. But will they ever open the NNK gas station in the village of Chernigovka?! It’s been under maintenance for the third year! For three years, the entire vast Chernigovsky district has had to refuel at the single NNK gas station in Sibirtsevo! There’s a crazy flow of cars, especially in the summer, the gas station is right on the federal highway! But for almost three years, apparently, no one cares! And now again – there’s a shortage of gasoline! No wonder! Half of Russia passes through us, where else would there be enough gasoline when there is only one gas station in the area!” sarcastically remarks Anastasia, also not from a tourist-attractive area.