Residents Still Sue Two Years After Rostov Building Collapse

Exactly two years have passed since the day when a wall of a residential building collapsed in Rostov at Narimanova, 72/3. Residents fled their apartments in home clothes, leaving all their personal belongings. The house was disconnected from the gas supply. Nearly a hundred people were evacuated. There were no casualties: everyone managed to leave the emergency building. Rostov authorities promised to guard the property and help the homeless residents. But two years after the emergency, dozens of Narimanova residents are still fighting in courts for the right to receive decent compensation for their lost housing. We tell what has happened during this time and why the townspeople still consider themselves homeless.

Brief Chronology

The entrance of the building at Narimanova, 72/3 collapsed on 28 January 2024. On 27 January of the same year, a wall collapsed there. Residents were urgently evacuated at that time, and they did not have time to retrieve their property, including expensive equipment purchased on credit. The building itself had been deemed unsafe back in 2020, but no one dealt with its resettlement.

The morning after the building collapse, the victims gathered at the administration building of the Voroshilovsky District. Viktor Berezhnoy was the first official to come out to the people. He explained to residents how they could receive payments and what applications needed to be prepared for this. In June, Viktor Berezhnoy left the post of district head. A month later, a criminal case was initiated against the official under the article «Negligence.»

According to the investigation, since 2020, he had known about the threat of the collapse of the unsafe five-story building on Narimanova but did not resettle the residents. However, the former head did not have such authority, and the guilty parties still have not been held accountable. Alexey Logvinenko, who held the post of city manager at that time, personally met with the victims only two weeks later after the collapse. He stated that before that, he had been feeling unwell due to illness. Logvinenko suggested that Rostov residents left without housing take out loans for new apartments. Alexander Bastrykin demanded a report from Rostov investigators regarding the incident. The chairman of the Investigative Committee had questions about the actions of city officials.

On 8 December 2024, the building at Narimanova, 72/3 collapsed again. Within seconds, the roof collapsed in the building. First, a huge part of the wall fell, and then the remainder of the roof. While the house was collapsing, local children were playing football on a sports field nearby.

The victims, together with lawyers, prepared a petition to the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, to separate materials containing information about new crimes into separate proceedings. The document details what, in their opinion, constituted the criminal inaction of each official. Among the listed individuals are: former head of Rostov Alexey Logvinenko, his former deputies Yuri Ovchinnikov and Alexey Poteshkin, as well as the director of the department for coordination of construction and prospective development of the city, Yuri Cherevichenko.

Currently, the former city manager is in a pre-trial detention center. Alexey Logvinenko is charged with two articles of the Criminal Code at once. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, Logvinenko is implicated under the article on exceeding official authority. In 2020, while serving as head of the Rostov city administration, he, contrary to the requirements of budget legislation, attracted a loan from a commercial bank. As a result, damage was caused to the city budget in the amount of more than 47 million rubles (approximately $470,000 at current rates), the Investigative Committee reported.

We reported on the events and ordeals of Narimanova residents a year later in this article.

«They»re Prosecuting the Wrong Person«

As it turned out, in August 2023, the land plot under the building on Narimanova was seized by the authorities for municipal needs. Few of the residents knew about this. Officials were in no hurry to resettle the residents, and the appraisal of the housing began only at the end of 2023. Some Rostov residents disagreed with the buyout price and went to court.

After the emergency, former head of the Voroshilovsky District Viktor Berezhnoy went on trial. According to city council deputy Natalya Oskina, who represents the interests of 56 people as a lawyer, «there has never been such nonsense in court, where the victims stood on the side of the official».

According to the victims« testimony, residents repeatedly appealed to the city administration with applications about the need to recognize the building as unsafe and for resettlement, but for years received only formal replies. None of the Rostov residents confirmed the inaction of the district administration in notifying residents about the recognition of the building as unsafe.

During court proceedings, the victims and their lawyers asked reasonable questions, comparing the actions of officials.

— What did the head of the city do from the recognition of the building as unsafe to its demolition? What prevented the issuance of a resolution on the seizure of the land plot and residential premises in the apartment building within three years? — the lawyer recounted. — People asked: «What prevented declaring a state of emergency, seeing a real threat to people»s lives? What prevented urgently allocating money from the city«s reserve fund for conducting an appraisal and paying compensation for the seized premises?» That«s how they acted when they urgently wanted to demolish a building on Krivoshlykovsky. Only there, the building was subject to repair, but here it was collapsing on people»s heads.

The regional program for resettling residents from unsafe buildings relates to the functions of the government of the Rostov Region. Since only it allocates the main funds for payments for seized unsafe housing or for providing a flexible housing fund. The building at Narimanova, 72/3 was listed in the regional program for 2031. In 2019, a new appraisal of the technical condition of the building was made. It was indicated that living in the building was dangerous. The deadline was moved to 2029. Representatives of the city administration, meanwhile, said in court that they had not seen the documents and did not know about this.

The prosecutor«s office demanded that the ministry include three dozen of the most dangerous buildings in the list for resettlement back in 2024. The address Narimanova, 72/3 was on the list. But the Ministry of Construction stated that the culprits were not them, but the city administration.

In April 2025, the Rostov Regional Court upheld an acquittal verdict for Viktor Berezhnoy. At the trial, the victims again stated that the guilty should be sought in the Rostov administration.

At the last hearings, documents and witness testimonies were presented that significantly diverged from the prosecution«s version. Viktor Berezhnoy was supported by 276 people in court. During 40 hearings, almost all victims were questioned.

The residents themselves, the deputy defending the interests of citizens, and the official«s lawyers suggest that the department for coordination of construction and prospective development, the department for civil defense and emergency situations, and those officials of the Rostov administration who were responsible for appointing the managing company and inspections in the building at Narimanova, 72/3 should be held accountable. Lawyer Roman Budyukin, who defended Viktor Berezhnoy in court, called the acquittal verdict for the former official »objective and fair.«

But already in June 2025, it became known that the former head of the Voroshilovsky District, who had been found not guilty, was wanted to be tried again. The Don Prosecutor«s Office filed an appeal against the acquittal verdict issued by the court. The department considered it illegal.

The Don Prosecutor«s Office asked to overturn the verdict and transfer the criminal case for a new trial to the Voroshilovsky District Court of Rostov, changing the composition of the court. Berezhnoy said in a comment to 161.RU that he »believes and hopes for the justice of the court.«

In December 2025, the Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar overturned the acquittal verdict for former head of the Voroshilovsky District of Rostov Viktor Berezhnoy. The case was returned to the court of first instance with a different composition. Lawyers and the residents themselves believed that this was a delay tactic to avoid holding the truly guilty accountable.

In January 2025, a trial began again in Rostov in the case of the former head of the Voroshilovsky District. The repeated questioning of victims at the hearing showed that residents were not changing their testimony. Lawyers hope that the reconsideration of the case will only prove that the acquittal verdict was correct.

«They Have No Conscience»

Despite the assurances of Rostov authorities to guard the property of the affected residents, the building was nevertheless looted. In May 2025, looters broke into the collapsed five-story building at Narimanova, 72/3 in Rostov. The building was not guarded by police. Moreover, the house is considered a key piece of evidence in the criminal case about the collapse.

Looters freely carried things out of the building and took them away on a «Gazelle» van. They were filmed on video from a neighboring house. The first few times, police officers who arrived at the scene took the looters to the station. Later, representatives of the authorities did not even come to calls. Two years ago, on 9 May, former residents of the building at Narimanova, 72/3 practically stormed the five-story building to retrieve their belongings. They broke the locks on the entrance doors and entered the apartments. Even then, some of the residents« property had been looted by marauders.

By June 2025, looters were operating in full force in the five-story building. They took everything: from personal belongings and furniture to copper pipes and radiators. The fence that surrounded the building, the looters simply knocked down and stepped over. Residents of the building several times stormed the building to retrieve their belongings and valuables, but then the owners were prohibited from entering the house, arguing that a state of emergency was in effect in the building. In November, the theft continued.

Residents of Narimanova repeatedly asked to be allowed to retrieve personal belongings from their apartments in stages under the supervision of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The authorities did not agree to this, but also stopped guarding the house. If small items were almost taken out, large household appliances are still waiting for their owners.

— How could all the copper wires be removed silently? What are you talking about? How could penetration into the house be allowed silently? Doesn«t anyone see this? — said Elena Varchenko, a resident of the building on Narimanova, who went to the site that day. — It»s offensive that they didn«t give a damn about this house, because it»s not their property. They don«t care. Consider that all our property has already been looted… Let those who are supposed to do this answer according to the law. Let the administration compensate for these losses.

In despair, the owners decided to enter the half-destroyed building to retrieve what was left, but saw only empty rooms and broken furniture. More than a hundred affected residents intend to go to court to seek compensation from the authorities for the stolen property.

— Conscience? They have no conscience. For two years, we haven«t found it in them, — Varchenko said. — Yesterday it wasn»t even funny, when the owners entered the still-open door at the end of the house. And there«s nothing left to take. They went in to »gnaw on the bones« like dogs.

Rostov authorities nevertheless decided to board up the doors and windows in the five-story building. Officials began to react immediately after the residents decided to go to court demanding compensation for the amount of stolen property. Officials reported that protection on the windows and fencing around the perimeter, which had been broken for half a year, was restored in the five-story building. But even here, there was no scandal.

On the day when the unsafe building was finally decided to be sealed after another robbery by looters, residents of the collapsed five-story building noticed a «Gazelle» van taking property out of the house.

It had the emblem of AO MPP ZhKKh of Rostov. Residents noticed dishes and central heating radiators in the truck bed. Narimanova residents demanded that the authorities comment on how personal belongings of residents ended up in a utility vehicle from the housing and communal services.

The head of the city, Alexander Skryabin, reacted to the scandal. The mayor stated that this was a «blatant case of looting in a resettled unsafe building.» Skryabin assured that «an internal investigation is underway.» Later, in response to an official request from 161.RU, the Rostov administration reported that it had already contacted law enforcement agencies. But no one has reported the results of the investigation yet.

«Power Changes, But the System Doesn»t«

Most Narimanova residents since January 2024 have not been able to receive compensation for housing, despite two conducted appraisals of the living space. But the Rostov administration disagreed with the experts« conclusions.

Rostov authorities filed new appeals demanding a re-appraisal. The regional court, despite the fact that citizens have been unable to receive compensation for almost two years, made decisions on a re-appraisal. And this despite the fact that there are already three in the case. The authorities are not satisfied with the expert assessment of the first two bureaus. Moreover, the selection of expert institutions lay entirely with representatives of the administration and the court, without considering the wishes of citizens and their legal representatives.

Recall that the authorities decided to send residents to a flexible housing fund on Ulanskaya, 15 and resettle 155 families there, of which 140 are owners, and 15 are tenants. The authorities appraised 140 residential premises for a total amount of 169.1 million rubles (approximately $1.7 million at current rates). Former head of the administration Logvinenko then reported: 12 families agreed with the buyout price. The total amount is 15.4 million rubles (approximately $154,000 at current rates). That«s an average of 1.3 million rubles (approximately $13,000 at current rates) per residential premises. 1.38 million rubles in February 2024 — that»s about 9 square meters in an average Rostov new building without finishing. In the city center — 8 square meters. But many residents disagreed with such an appraisal and began to fight in courts.

Paradoxically, the judge«s decision to appoint another appraisal with the wording: »Conduct with mandatory inspection of all rooms and apartments« became another issue. Moreover, residents must themselves provide access for experts to the collapsed housing. Later, the judge called the first determination a clerical error.

Rostov lawyer Irina Yakimyv, who helps residents fight for their rights, called such a court decision «legal lawlessness,» because for many it looked absurd.

— The absurdity here is that we filed lawsuits with the residents. There were five lawsuits since January 2024. For two, there was an appeal, for three, a re-appraisal was appointed. The lawsuit states that the building is unsafe, it collapsed, the building is sealed, there is no access. By appointing a third appraisal with mandatory inspection, the judge simply admits that she didn«t even read the lawsuit. Well, at least don»t disgrace yourself, read that there is no access: the house is falling. Residents must provide them access. How is that even possible? — commented lawyer to 161.RU.

The first entrance of the building collapsed on 28 January. On the same day, a state of emergency was declared and the building was sealed without residents« access to the premises. Notably, the bureau chosen by the court — the expert organization LLC »Center for Forensic Expertise «Prime».« This expert bureau conducted a series of appraisals for residents of Krivoshlykovsky, 4, with which townspeople were very dissatisfied.

Residents of Narimanova stated that for more than a year and a half, they have been trying to fight lawlessness and ordeals in courts. For two years, almost a hundred Rostov residents have been wandering in rented apartments, surviving in a flexible housing fund, and regularly attending courts. Meanwhile, authorities were giving advice to townspeople, judges were suggesting walking through the ruins of their former homes, and morally devastated Rostov residents were suffering heart attacks and looking at the future with horror.

— For two years, we«ve been like homeless, — a resident of the building says in despair after all this time.

We reported in detail on the fates of many families here.

— This is already some kind of surrealism. I don«t know if this saga will ever end or not, because first the administration obstructed, now courts are obstructing the legal resolution of our issue. Where to write? Who else to rely on, I don»t know. It creates the impression that there is no law in our courts. Or even this: it exists, but every judge interprets it as they want. If they want — they drag out cases, inventing all sorts of obstacles. I don«t know what will happen next. Power changes, but the system doesn»t, — told one of the affected residents of the building.

In September 2025, the Rostov administration lost in a dispute with residents of the collapsed building at Narimanova, 72/3. Was this related to the upcoming change of power in the region? Possibly. Unexpectedly, the Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar sided with the residents. The cassation court denied the officials, after which the administration promised to pay Rostov residents the cost of the appraisal previously set by the court.

According to city council deputy Natalya Oskina, who defends the interests of residents of unsafe buildings, in 2024, negative judicial practice regarding the appraisal of unsafe housing formed in the cassation court. The cost of the land plot was not included in the compensation amount. Such practice was formed based on the decisions of one judge. For illegal decisions, the lawyer filed complaints against the judge and sent them to the chairman of the Fourth Cassation Court.

In December 2025, before the New Year, authorities paid money to Narimanova residents, but not to all. There are still those for whom the process with the cancellation of default judgments of the Voroshilovsky District Court on lawsuits by the administration against residents has been delayed. Irina Yakimyv and Natalya Oskina filed petitions and protests, after which Narimanova residents will receive payments.

The Protasov family still cannot believe that they have begun to emerge from the circular judicial hell. We told their story in the summer of 2025.

— So many events happened over two years. My colleagues at work clothed and shod me, collected financial help, and the trade union committee didn«t stand aside either. My husband had a heart attack. They barely managed and saved him at my beloved job at the medical institute. Two operations in two institutes — in the medical and oncological institutes, loss of his profession, ability to earn, and, accordingly, ability to buy everything from scratch. No health, no strength left. He received disability, attended all court hearings, didn»t spare his heart, worried a lot. Our daughter quit her job and was always by his side, — said Yulia Protasova.

She hopes that all other victims will also receive their payments. We have been following the story of Narimanova residents here since 2024.