Rising ferry prices have alarmed residents of a village in the Volgograd region.

Residents of the village of Trekhostrovskaya in the Ilovlinsky district of the Volgograd region are concerned about the more than doubling of the cost of the only route, the ferry across the Don. They believe that such a "shocking" increase in service prices will force them to reduce the number of trips and significantly reduce the tourist appeal of the Donskoy Nature Park.

Previously, "Caucasian Knot" reported that in January 2024, several villages in the Ilovlinsky District lost short transport links to the district center and Volgograd during ice drift. Local residents complained in a video message to Putin and asked for help in resolving the problem.

Residents of the village of Trekhostrovskaya and adjacent villages in the Ilovlinsky District expressed concern to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about the significant increase in the cost of crossing the Don River. They called the price increase "unexpected" and "shocking."

18:26 09.09.2024

Supporters of the head of the village of Trehostrovskaya stated their disagreement with the results Elections

The election for the head of the village of Trehostrovskaya in the Volgograd region was declared valid, but supporters of the incumbent head, Svetlana Surkova, stated that they disagree with the results. The cassation court rejected Surkova's appeal against her ineligibility to participate in the elections.

Svetlana Surkova, the former head of the Trehostrovskaya rural settlement and now an employee of an Ilovlino enterprise, confirmed in a conversation with a correspondent that the Don ferry crossing had sharply increased in price.

"Yes, prices have doubled and even more. And local residents have no other way. Work, a clinic, pharmacies, shops, markets, gas stations, etc. "You can't get enough rides now," a local resident was indignant.

There are no such opportunities in the settlements, and many people work "on the other side of the Don." This issue is very sensitive for residents. There is no other road, and soon there will be no funds for this one.

Surkova reported that the one-way ferry fare for a passenger car "for an ordinary individual" has increased from 115 to 250 rubles.

"That is, just leaving the settlement costs 500 rubles (round trip). And that's only for private transport. Legal entities pay 50% more. I can't say why. Residents are writing to all the law enforcement agencies. There are no such opportunities in the settlements, and many people work "on the other side of the Don." This issue is very sensitive for residents. There is no other road, and soon there will be no funds for this one,” Surkova stated.

She and other residents of the village recently sent complaints to the district administration and regulatory authorities.

“It’s too early to expect responses (from them). Usually, a month is spent on formal replies,” she explained.

Surkova noted that about 1,200 people live in the village of Trehostrovskaya and in neighboring hamlets. But, according to the woman, a similar situation with the Don crossings has developed upstream - in the neighboring village of Novogrigoryevskaya (1,500 residents). There, ferry services have also doubled in price.

A resident of Trehostrovskaya, who introduced herself as Elena, told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that “we don’t even dream of a bridge.” “We collected signatures, and our village supported it.” "for the construction of the bridge in Novogrigoryevka, but everything remains 'under consideration,'" Elena said.

The woman reported that her family members work and study in Ilovlya and Volgograd.

"Friends often come over—to visit, to vacation. So, where are we going to go now with such prices? My husband will have to work shifts now. And our friends will think twice about coming to visit us—gas prices have gone up, and now there's the ferry," the woman said indignantly.

Yevgeny Frolov, a resident of the Ilovlinsky District, told a correspondent that the increase in ferry fees is compounded by rising prices for fuel and groceries in stores.

"Prices in stores on everything in both Trekhostrovskaya and Novogrigoryevskaya will now be jacked up," he said. Frolov.

He cited the example of his aunt, a pensioner, and his son-in-law, who works as a driver at one of the Ilovlinsk enterprises. Both live on the right bank of the Don, not far from the Trehostrovskoye settlement.

“My aunt receives a pension of 12,000 rubles. She spends half on medicine. She spends part on groceries. But she mostly earns money from her own garden. Utilities plus trips to visit her grandchildren in Ilovlya. With the rising prices for the ferry, it's not guaranteed she'll have enough money for such trips. And my son-in-law earns 28,000 rubles. He says he'll have to find a place to live in the district center, since the ferry and gas are now unaffordable. Everyone is cutting back,” Frolov said.

They could rely on government subsidies instead of blaming the residents for the price increases.

Man He explained that the Volgogradavtodor State Budgetary Institution raised prices for the Don ferry service "due to rising energy and lubricant prices."

"They justify this by saying they haven't revised their prices for 10 years. The only question is, if they were a state budgetary institution, they could have relied on state subsidies instead of blaming the price increases and the difference on residents. As I understand it, prices have risen sharply due to higher fuel prices, and the equipment requires repairs," Svetlana Surkova explained.

According to them, the ferry is operating strictly on schedule.

"The only disruptions are related to natural phenomena: rising and falling water levels, floods, and ice drift." "Occasionally, boat breakdowns or other technical work (a cable breaks, the pier is filled with gravel, or, conversely, the pier height is lowered)," Surkova said.

All the Ilovlinsky District residents surveyed called the increase in prices for the ferry at the village of Trehostrovskaya "shocking" and "unacceptable."

The price increase will also affect tourism

The village of Trehostrovskaya has a long history. Local historian Andrei Kudinov told a correspondent that Trehostrovskaya is one of the oldest villages in the region. According to him, it was founded on the Khopra River in the second half of the 17th century. For participating in the Bulavin Uprising, it was burned by punitive forces, and the Cossacks were resettled in 1710 to a small bend of the Middle Don. The village belonged to to the Second Don District of the Don Army, and then to the Tsaritsyn-Stalingrad Governorate. In 2001, the Donskoy Nature Park was established in these areas. Since then, mass tourism has begun to develop.

“Trehostrovskaya and the surrounding nature are paradise on earth. You have to look hard to find such beauty in the bleak expanses of Volgograd. I sometimes take excursions there. There is something to show. Tourists are delighted,” the historian said.

Andrey listed the main attractions of these places: landscapes (chalk mountains, the Venetsy plateau, Kobylya Golova mountain), wildlife (desman, bustards, white-tailed eagles, and steppe eagles), vegetation (wild irises, steppe tulips are currently blooming there), historical sites (burial mound complexes, battlefields of the Civil War and World War II). wars).

With the increase in ferry prices, I'm sure the number of tourists will noticeably decrease.

"The Ventsy Plateau and the Zoroastrian sanctuary discovered by archaeologists in the early 2000s, dating back to the second millennium BC, are especially popular among ordinary people and esotericists. People flock there in droves during the warmer months. For local residents, it's a good source of income. Now, with the increase in ferry prices, I'm sure the number of tourists will noticeably decrease," said local historian Kudinov.

Lawyer proposes appealing the decision to increase ferry prices.

Lawyer Sergei Ivaschenko proposed a step-by-step process for residents of the village to appeal the "shocking" increase in river crossing fees. Don.

"We need to start with a complaint to the Volgogradavtodor State Budgetary Institution itself and the Ilovlinsky District Administration. Once we receive responses based on their explanations and arguments, we can file complaints with supervisory authorities—the prosecutor's office, the antimonopoly service, and possibly Rospotrebnadzor. As we can see, the villagers have completed the first stage of filing complaints. But they haven't received any responses yet. Therefore, it's difficult for me to give recommendations right now—which supervisory authorities to file complaints with and what they should write," the lawyer explained.

Sergey Ivaschenko also noted that limiting the accessibility of the ferry by increasing transportation costs could lead to a violation of citizens' constitutional rights "in matters of safety, deterioration in quality of life, and so on."

"But in the case of the Trehostrovskaya ferry, the prosecutor's office must decide which specific rights of citizens have been violated and the degree of danger to local residents. So we're waiting for a response from the prosecutor's office," Sergey suggested. Ivaschenko.

The correspondent was unable to obtain a comment from the Volgorodavtodor State Budgetary Institution. The company's publicly available phone number also went unanswered. The "Caucasian Knot" editorial team sent a request to the governor's press service for information regarding the reasons for the sharp increase in Don River ferry fares.