Microdistrict in Sochi May Lose Its Only Road Due to VIP House Construction

Residents of the Maly Akhun microdistrict in Sochi have been seeking intervention from the Sochi administration since 2024 regarding work on Novorossiyskoye Shosse, where large-scale construction of several VIP houses is underway. Local residents pointed out the problem: the microdistrict could lose its only road. And that is what happened—a ground collapse occurred.

The work is taking place next to a cypress alley and the already demolished historical dacha of Mikhail Kalinin, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the 1930s–1940s. The excavation pit was dug right next to the road, taking over part of it and depriving people of a sidewalk and shoulder, meaning the ability to pass safely. Residents of Maly Akhun claim that complaints to the administration only received dismissive replies stating that «grounds for an unscheduled control measure are currently absent».

On 4 February, after prolonged rains, the road collapsed. A hole in the asphalt exposed piles that, it is claimed, were driven in during the Stalin era—part of the ceremonial descent from Kalinin«s dacha to the sea.

The Sochi Municipal Control Center reported that this happened «due to a ground collapse on the site of construction work by the developer».

A previously hanging banner with the project passport indicated that the customer is OOO (LLC) «SZ Balans». The company«s general director, Azamat Tlishev, who last summer resigned from his post as director of the Sochi Construction Department of his own accord, drew attention to this circumstance, as noted by Kuban journalist Andrey Koshik in his Telegram channel.