Supreme Court Rules 'Forest Glade' Base Must Return to State
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation considered an appeal by the Prosecutor General«s Office challenging the decisions of the Primorsky Krai and Cassation Courts, which had canceled the deprivatization of the »Forest Glade« recreation base in Sadgorod. The court ultimately sided with the agency and upheld the initial ruling that the children»s camp must be returned to the state.
The «Forest Glade» recreation base belongs to JSC «Stroitel», which is linked to former head of the Khasansky District, Viktor Krivulin. Its territory includes a swimming pool, walking area, restaurant, and water park. In winter, the area turns into a ski resort; this year, a tiger was spotted there, but experts were never entirely sure if it was a real predator.
The base«s owners, JSC »Stroitel«, had earlier argued that if the claim were granted, the existing ski base, water park, and buildings would have to be demolished. This is because, at the time of privatization, the territory consisted only of ruins, and the land must be returned in its original condition. What the management thinks now remains unknown—no comment could be obtained at the time of publication.
The court found that the children«s camp was never supposed to be transferred into private ownership and should have been handed over to the city administration. It was also clarified that the statute of limitations does not apply to the prosecutor»s claims, whereas the conclusions of the lower courts, which left the base with «Stroitel», do fall under it.
According to the prosecutor«s office, the recreation base territory is on a list of properties that were privatized illegally and must now be returned to the state. The owners of the ski base and water park categorically disagree with the prosecutor»s demands. They believe that if the claim is granted, their facilities will have to be destroyed, as happened during privatization. However, the cassation court rejected the claim. It is not yet known whether the prosecutor«s office will appeal this decision.
Last summer, the Soviet District Court granted the prosecutor«s claim, putting the base»s fate under threat of closure. In the fall, the Primorsky Krai Court overturned that decision, and the prosecutor«s office filed an appeal.
The prosecutor«s office has also tried to return other camps to state ownership. The »Prometheus« camp was transferred to regional administration, while the fate of »Neptune« remains unknown: a contract was signed with a developer who will continue building a residential complex on condition that some apartments go to orphans. The territories of the »Forest Tale« and »Emerald« bases were returned. Nearly demolished buildings of the »Sadgorod« mud bath were seized from private owners.
