Malaya Frantsiya Park Overgrown, Residents Outraged

The park in Volgograd's Malaya Frantsiya was inaugurated two years ago, but residents say almost none of the original landscaping remains.

Jul 24, 2026

Grass mowing in the park is stalled due to a gasoline shortage, locals say.
Source:
Vyacheslav Kuzmenko

Residents are outraged by the state of a park in the Malaya Frantsiya settlement in Volgograd«s Krasnooktyabrsky District. The public space was opened two years ago, but now, according to residents, almost nothing of the improvements remains. The area is overgrown with weeds.

The park«s pathways and benches are overrun with weeds and tall grass.
Source:
Vyacheslav Kuzmenko

Businessman and political scientist Vyacheslav Kuzmin drew attention to the state of the park, which is now located near the Iskra swimming pool and the Krasny Oktyabr metallurgical plant.

The flower beds in the park appear neglected and overgrown.
Source:
Vyacheslav Kuzmenko

«They opened a great new park a few years ago in the Krasnooktyabrsky District near the Iskra pool and tennis school. But there is no one to do basic maintenance, and everything is gradually turning into the usual Volgograd overgrowth,» writes Vyacheslav. «We do a lot, and we do it normally. But then it»s unclear who is responsible for the condition. Now, apparently, no one. Everything has started to decay. The green area was poorly done from the start. There is something resembling flower beds, but it«s unclear what»s with them.«

The park«s green areas show obvious signs of poor maintenance.
Source:
Vyacheslav Kuzmenko

The idea of renovating the old park in 2022 was voiced by Governor Andrey Bocharov. It was planned that the area would feature sports grounds, pedestrian paths with benches and trash bins, trees and shrubs, lighting, and a watering system.

A general view of the park illustrates its unkempt and overgrown condition.
Source:
Vyacheslav Kuzmenko

Alexander Startsev, president of the Tennisia club, admitted to a V1.RU correspondent that there is indeed a problem with mowing the grass, and it is linked to a shortage of gasoline.

«The park belongs to the Krasnooktyabrsky District administration. We mow, plant flowers, and take care of the court. We do all the mowing with gasoline-powered lawnmowers and trimmers. Due to problems with gasoline, we couldn»t cut the grass on time. We have now stocked up on gasoline. The person who mows for us will come out after July 24 and finish the mowing. The administration collects the garbage. We are in touch with them. What would we do without them?«

The editorial board is seeking clarification from the Volgograd administration on why the park is in such a deplorable state and when it will be tidied up.

Earlier, residents of the Krasnooktyabrsky District were outraged by the condition of Yuri Gagarin Park. According to them, mowing grass, watering flowers, and repairing small architectural forms seemed to have been forgotten. The maintenance organization admits: there are indeed problems, but solving them comes down to funding, which has become very difficult to obtain. And in the neighboring settlement of Nizhnie Barrikady, officials of the Krasnooktyabrsky District administration and management companies seem to have forgotten the need to remove garbage, which has long accumulated into huge fire-hazardous piles.