Russian people attend a protest against the decision of Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin to demolish of Soviet-era apartment blocks and neighbourhoods in Moscow, Russia, on May 14, 2017. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)[/caption]Russia’s Plans to Resettle 1.6 Million People Spark Widespread Outrage
by Maia Otarashvili*
Much to the dismay of residents in Moscow, the Russian government has decided to demolish 7900 Moscow city blocks that are made up of uniform 5-storey buildings. As a result, 1.6 million residents of Moscow face displacement, or as the Moscow government calls it – re-settlement. Nicknamed “Khrushchyovkas” after Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, under whose tenure these low-cost buildings were erected across the USSR in the thousands, these buildings make up more than 10% of the Moscow’s housing space. These numbers raise concerns over the rights of the property owners who have lived there for generations. Many of the residents are outraged over the initiative, and are concerned that the government will make lucrative development deals on the land while forcing the residents to move out and settle for very little in return.
There are a few good reasons behind this major project: the buildings are old and in desperate need for renovation. But the government has figured out that it will be cheaper to tear down the buildings and build new ones than to renovate them. Even in this scenario, the project is said to cost 300 billion rubles, or approx. 5.2 billion USD.
Taking care of the safety of its citizens is a basic responsibility of any government. Thus, the project, which is decades overdue (the buildings were supposed to only have 20-25 year shelf-life), is an important one. But this is a major undertaking. The project is so grandiose that “it will drag on for decades,” wrote Maksim Trudolyubov for Russian paper Vedimosty back in February. He added that “the person, under whose supervision the project will be implemented, will go down in history.”
However, with a number of very serious possible political implications, this story is now one of the most closely watched developing in Russia. The main challenge for the Russian government is to figure out how to profit from the project by involving investors and private developers all while not angering the re-settled residents. This outcome would entail not moving them too far away, and giving them better living spaces in return. There is another dimension of this project which involves owners of businesses that operate in these buildings and on these territories. Incentivizing their re-settlement would be another great expense and a major undertaking for the government. [caption id="attachment_55253707" align="aligncenter" width="4986"]
Demolishing a Khrushchev-era five-floor house at 27 Koshtoyantsa Street, according to the Moscow government's redevelopment plan to tear down Khrushchev-era five-floor apartment blocks and rehouse their residents. (Photo by Artyom KorotayevTASS via Getty Images)[/caption]But this task is difficult, but achievable. The Putin government cannot afford to alienate 1.6 million Muscovites when the 2018 presidential and mayoral elections are just around the corner. Moreover, the government is quite strapped for cash as the Russian economy is only now bouncing back from a recession, albeit very slowly. The burden of the now long-term Western sanctions is heavy on the Russian budget, and the continuously low energy prices aren’t helping the situation either. Thus, the re-settlement process will have to be swift and smooth; it has to usher in a new era of lucrative development deals in the city of Moscow and for the other Russian cities where all the Khrushchyovkas are set to be demolished. At the same time, the government has to offer enough incentives to somehow satisfy the angry residents who have taken their efforts to Facebook in order to get organized and protect their property rights. The resistance movement is calling the re-settlement project a “deportation.” Their main concern is the language of the housing bill which is currently being passed. Experts say its language is vague and leaves much room for manipulation for the government. For example, it only guarantees a new home of the same size, but there is no mention of location or value of the new home.
Alarmed with the uncertainty of their future, Moscow’s residents took to the streets in protest on May 14. The protesters chanted “hands off our property.” As BBC reported, due to this controversy, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin and President Vladimir Putin have “hinted at amendments to the plan to address residents' concerns.” On the day of the protests, Mayor Sobyanin wrote in a tweet that he intends to be very attentive to the demands of the renovation program opponents, and that “in the course of working on the bill, the views of Muscovites will be taken into account as much as possible.”
A lot rests on the success of this dual challenge for the Russian government, as the Russian public seems to be ripe for expressing dissent. Just two months ago, massive anti-corruption protests took place in Moscow and in other Russian cities. The opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested but was later released. Navalny seems to have struck a nerve with the Russian public who has had to live under austerity in view of the recession for over three years now, and who seems to be extra sensitive when hearing the stories of the Putin-friendly Russian oligarchs living their lives in breathtaking luxury. This is why the Khrushchyovka demolition project will require sensitive handling, and government transparency and accountability. The residents need to feel that they are being treated fairly, and that this is not yet another development project where Putin’s cronies are benefiting from every day Russians’ losses. But the Russian government isn’t known for transparency, which means that Moscow may need to prepare for further demonstrations from the Khrushchyovka residents’ resistance movement.
*Maia Otarashvili is Research Fellow and Program Manager of the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. She holds an MA in Globalization, Development, and Transitions from the University of Westminster in London, UK. Her current research is focused on the post-communist countries of the Eurasia region, including the Black Sea and Caucasus states.
