Volgograd residents hold picket against demolition of their houses

On March 25, residents of Volgograd, living in Avtotransportnaya Street in the Voroshilov District, held a picket in Lenin Square against the decision of the authorities to demolish their houses and blocks of flats, apartments in which were purchased by tenants in compliance with all the respective regulations.

The question is about a mini-neighbourhood in Avtotransportnaya Street, namely, nine cottages and two three-storey houses. In 2014, the administration of the Voroshilov District went to court with a lawsuit demanding to demolish these houses, built 7-8 years ago. According to the authorities, they were built illegally.

The picketers held banners "Help! We are deprived of our houses!", "We have nowhere to go but the street!" and posters reading "Leave our only housing to us!", "We aren't breaking the law!" and others.

"We'd registered our houses in the legal way," stated Ekaterina Litvinova, one of the picketers.

"Why aren't the persons who had built these houses brought to liability? They hadn't just built them: they had all the due permits and underwent all the due checks. The houses were accepted and commissioned by the respective authorities. Why should we suffer – the second- and third-order owners, who just bought these houses?" asked Litvinova.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.