The Court of Appeal ruled in favor of a large family in a dispute with the Tuapse administration

The Krasnodar Regional Court rejected a private complaint filed by the Tuapse administration and upheld the 2023 court decision granting priority housing to the family of Sergei Kartashov and Tatyana Pimenova.

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," Sergey Kartashov and Tatyana Pimenova, a married couple from Tuapse, appealed in court a government decision to force their low-income family with many children to relocate to an apartment that does not meet social standards. Previously, in 2023, a court in Tuapse ordered the authorities to provide the family with housing equivalent to their current size. However, in early March, a court in Krasnodar upheld the relocation decision. In late June, Kartashov and Pimenova learned that a criminal negligence case brought against unidentified officials in Tuapse for failing to comply with the court's decision and provide the family with housing had been dismissed due to the lack of evidence of a crime. On July 1,  the court upheld the decision to dismiss the criminal case. In July, the officials filed a lawsuit against the Kartashov and Pimenova family, demanding that they be deprived of their right to priority housing.

The Krasnodar Regional Court dismissed the administration's private appeal seeking to overturn a 2023 court decision granting a family priority housing. The couple, who are raising five children, learned of the decision today, December 8. "Today we received the regional court's appellate ruling from October 30 by mail," Sergei Kartashov, the head of the large family, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. 

A copy of the regional court's civil division ruling is available to "Caucasian Knot." The document states that the ruling "enters into force immediately upon its adoption."

This isn't the first court ruling in favor of the large family, but previous decisions have still not been enforced, noted Tatyana Pimenova . "We still don't have comfortable housing, despite the fact that we already have five children," she said.  

The Tuapse Municipal District Administration challenged the Tuapse District Court's ruling of August 14, 2025, which denied review of the July 25, 2023, decision due to "newly discovered circumstances," a Tuapse administration representative told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The appellate court informed the Tuapse mayor's office that the appeal deadline had been missed by more than a year, and that the amendments to the Russian Federation Housing Code cited by officials did not constitute new circumstances. The court also stated that "the family's rights had already been reviewed by appellate and cassation courts in 2023-2024," and therefore "a second review is not possible." 

"We were simply seeking confirmation that officials cannot endlessly review the same case to avoid complying with the 2023 decision. Now the appeal has sealed the deal," stated Tatyana Pimenova.

The couple recalled that a 2023 court ruling obligated the administration to provide them with "advantaged housing out of turn, taking into account space standards." This ruling has remained unenforced for three years now.

Lawyer Elena Pavlova , who is not involved in the case, believes the administration's attempts to reconsider the decision are a means of pressuring the family. "As soon as the criminal case on official negligence was closed, the administration launched a new wave of lawsuits against the family itself. This isn't legal protection; it's a delaying measure. The family has already won in court at all levels, but officials are trying to maintain the status quo by exploiting procedural loopholes," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. 

Pavlova emphasized that private complaints from the administration have become a form of manipulation, allowing them to stall for time and avoid enforcing the decision. "This is a classic scheme: first, they don't enforce the decision for three years, then 'suddenly' find new grounds that aren't considered new circumstances under the law. The court quite rightly pointed this out. In fact, this is an abuse of rights," the lawyer believes. 

Sergei Kartashov stated that he would continue to appeal to the prosecutor's office and the human rights ombudsman. "We will not stop until the 2023 decision is implemented. The appeal once again demonstrated that officials simply do not want to comply with the law. After receiving the appeal, we are preparing a letter to Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee, regarding violations of housing rights and abuse of power by Tuapse officials," he added.