Sochi: villager-victim of landslide accuses officials of inaction

In Sochi, Vazgen Isusyan, a resident of the village of Baranovka, affected by a landslide, has filed a lawsuit against the inaction of local self-government. Local bureaucrats have failed to render the necessary help and did not fulfil their promise to pay for the lost property, said Mr Isusyan.

The landslide hit Baranovka, Khosta District of Sochi, at night on January 26. The rescuers of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) evacuated residents of nearly 40 private houses. On January 30, geologists urged all the residents to leave their houses in Baranovka. 35 private houses of the village were examined and found unfit for habitation; 170 persons were evacuated.

The landslide damaged No. 66 in Armyanskaya Street and the adjacent land plot owned by Vazgen Isusyan.

"Until now, the residents of Baranovka, who left their houses, are unaware of their future. Many hope that the city administration will fulfil its promise: to give land and build houses, as promised by Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov at the gathering of citizens on February 1. However, the actions of the authorities and their responses to our requests to fulfil their promises indicate that nobody is going to act; so, I was forced to file a lawsuit," said Vazgen Isusyan.

"The Isusyan's lawsuit was accepted and is processed by Judge Andrei Gergishan; however, the sessions are postponed, and the case is not considered on the merits because of absence of the respondents," said the spokesman of the Khosta District Court.

In his turn, Dmitry Magdiev, a representative of the Khosta District and Sochi City Administration, protested against satisfaction of Isusyan's claims at the court.

"The landslide victims must first give up their property in favour of the state and hand over their land and houses into the ownership of the municipality," said the Mayoralty representative.

This option is unacceptable to Isusyan. "Until now, our land plots haven't been recognized as emergency ones and unfit for habitation. This means that there remains a possibility of reselling them. The amount of offered compensation is tens times lower than the real value," he said.