How a Russian governor’s message against hoarding gasoline aged within the hour

The governor of the Vologda region, Georgy Filimonov, said in his Telegram channel that he had been stranded on a highway after his official car ran out of gas.

“Just 15 minutes ago, I ran out of gas. The tank hit zero. It happened on the high-speed bypass around Vologda. I left my official vehicle and got into one that agreed to give me a lift. That, I think, proves we’re all in the same boat here, dealing with this problem together,” Filimonov said, adding, in a follow-up post, that the vehicle that “agreed” to pick him up was a traffic police car.

An hour before posting about getting stranded on the highway, Filimonov had urged local residents not to stock up on fuel.

“For individuals, gasoline sales are currently partly restricted, because fuel is arriving in the same volume as before while demand has nearly doubled. I ask you to approach the situation with understanding, not to stockpile fuel, and not to give in to panic buying. We need to give our neighbors and fellow residents a chance to fill up,” Filimonov explained.

Russia has been experiencing a fuel crisis since late May, one that began amid intense Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries — all of the largest refineries have been hit. In the Vologda region, restrictions on fuel purchases have been in effect since late June: no more than 30 liters of gasoline per person at a time, and only into a vehicle’s tank, not into canisters.