Krasnodar officials are in no hurry to pay compensation for housing lost during the period of repression

The authorities of the Krasnodar region are delaying the execution of a court decision on payment of compensation for housing lost during the period of Soviet repression. Lawyer Ivan Kalgin, who represents the interests of the Panaetidi family, deported in 1942, told Kommersant about this. Previously, the courts made a decision to place the family on a preferential waiting list, and then to replace the housing with monetary compensation. However, the regional Ministry of Social Development never paid the money; officials do not comment on the situation.

“Kommersant” earlier told about the struggle of the Panaetidi family for compensation provided for by the law “On the rehabilitation of victims of political repression.” In 1942, during the mass deportation of Greeks, 15-year-old Ivan Panaetidi was expelled from the Seversky district of the Krasnodar region to the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan. In exile, Ivan Panaetidi married his fellow countrywoman Sophia Tilkeridi; At the special settlement they had four children. Several decades later, Anna, Olga, Nadezhda and Vasily Panaetidi moved from Kazakhstan to Russia. Family members were recognized as victims of political repression and entitled to rehabilitation, including housing in the Krasnodar Territory.

In 2020, the Panaetidi family applied to the Seversky district administration to register as those in need of housing. After this, the “children of the Gulag” had to challenge numerous refusals by state and municipal authorities; Finally, in July 2022, the district administration included members of the Panaetidi family in the preferential housing queue. But the municipality did not have the opportunity to purchase apartments, so the line did not move. Then Panaetidi decided to exercise the right to replace housing with monetary compensation – this norm was established by a decree of the governor of Kuban dated November 16, 2015.

In February 2023, the Primorsky Court of Novorossiysk ordered the regional Ministry of Labor and Social Development to include the Panaetidi family in the list of citizens entitled to payment. The ministry challenged this decision, but the judicial act came into force in June.

However, those repressed still have not received the money, family representative lawyer Ivan Kalgin told Kommersant: “First, the Ministry of Social Development asked the court to clarify the procedure for executing the judicial act on adding the rehabilitated to the list for payments. But it was refused – the decision does not allow any controversial interpretations. Then, at a personal reception, Deputy Minister Anna Leonova explained to me that the court decision had already been implemented – the Panaetidi family was included in the list, and that was all. The court decision allegedly does not say about the procedure and terms of payment, so wait – ad infinitum. In fact, after being included in the list, the Ministry of Social Development must, within ten days, issue an order for each rehabilitated person and provide payment.”

The family had to go to court again, demanding that the ministry oblige them to transfer compensation. On October 23, the Primorsky District Court of Novorossiysk ruled in favor of the “children of the Gulag,” and the judicial act ordered immediate execution.

At first, officials did not argue with this decision, but last week the ministry went to court with a request to restore the missed appeal deadlines. The department explained that it was not notified of the meeting, and the court has not yet given a response.

“The last response we received from the ministry states that the decision on payment is currently not enforceable, since it does not bear a mark indicating the entry into force of the judicial act. In my opinion, this is another example of an unreasonable delay in the process of restoring the rights of the rehabilitated,” says Ivan Kalgin. “The Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Krasnodar Territory uses all sorts of tricks to evade payments to the rehabilitated or significantly delay the process. At the same time, amounts are annually reserved in the budget of the Krasnodar Territory for social support of victims of repression.” According to the regional Ministry of Social Development, from 2011 to 2023 the regional budget allocated 35 million rubles to provide housing for rehabilitated people. Of this amount, only 17.7 million rubles were disbursed; 15 people received the money, and the last payments were made back in 2019. Since then, there has not been a single contender on the list except the Panaetidei family. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Krasnodar Territory did not comment on the situation, citing a ban on disclosing personal data of citizens.

Anna Perova, Krasnodar