Officials say bear attacks killed at least six people in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region over the past month. On Sept. 23, Khakassia deputy head Dmitry Buchenik said bears had surrounded Abaza; he said some bears were chased off and three bears were killed.
Prosecutors accuse local officials in Krasnoyarsk and Khakassia of criminal negligence, alleging they failed to control bear numbers or keep bears away from inhabited areas despite warnings, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. Investigators said a 66-year-old woman was killed by a bear in a remote Krasnoyarsk village on Sept. 16.
Russia’s Natural Resources and Environment Ministry rejected reports that bear attacks had increased in 2026. It said the average number of deaths in a full calendar year is 20 to 30. The ministry also said Russia’s brown bear population grew from 130,000 in 1990 to almost 308,000 in 2026.
