“My heart couldn’t stand it”: a former teacher died after waiting 10 years to be moved from emergency housing

All these years she unsuccessfully fought with officials

Former kindergarten teacher, 72-year-old Albina Smirnova from the village of Koblyakovo, Irkutsk region, waited for many years to be relocated from a dilapidated wooden barracks. The woman lived in an apartment without heating, with rotten walls, collapsing floors and sagging ceilings.

MK wrote three times about the suffering of the pensioner.

Albina Mikhailovna never had time to live like a human being. On March 24 she passed away.

I found information about Albina Smirnova’s situation in the chat of the governor of the Irkutsk region last fall. The problem was described by her granddaughter Alla: “My grandmother has been waiting since 2015 to be moved from a dilapidated house that was going to be demolished a long time ago. She lives in an apartment with collapsed ceilings, no radiators, while in winter the temperature reaches 50 degrees. We went to court and won the case. The decision has entered into legal force, but local authorities are not reacting.”

And I decided to help.

I had no doubt that if we published her story, the matter would move forward.

And indeed, it seemed to have moved. After our first publication, the Investigative Committee initiated inspections. A criminal case was opened. True, the search for those responsible went to the point of absurdity.

First, they decided to blame the plumbers, who in 2014 cut off the radiators in Albina Mikhailovna’s apartment and disrupted the central heating. They couldn’t restore it.

There’s just one caveat: none of those workers were alive anymore.

Then the search for the culprits led to the former head of the administration, a 72-year-old pensioner. She was charged with negligence and abuse of power. Allegedly, the woman did not include the barracks in the resettlement program on time.

Albina Mikhailovna herself was dragged through the authorities as a victim. The woman was on sedatives. She was losing her nerves.

But there was no new housing. Local officials shrugged their shoulders, saying that the law does not allow housing to be issued: if a house was declared unsafe in 2018, then it should only be resettled in 2025. The mayor of the Bratsk district commented on the situation on a local TV channel: “The inspection authorities will say on what basis did you give her an apartment?”

Although it’s worth making a reservation here. Albina Mikhailovna was nevertheless offered housing: dorm rooms, one of which had no heating, toilet or water. Other options are no better. The woman refused to live in a house where she had to relieve herself in a bucket.

The officials were sincerely surprised: what was wrong?

The last time we communicated with granddaughter Smirnova was at the end of February.

Then Albina Mikhailovna received an official notification from the main department of the Federal Bailiff Service for the Irkutsk Region. The letter stated that if a woman refuses the rooms provided in the hostel, she will be left without everything. In fact, Smirnova was accused of obstructing the execution of a court decision, which decided to relocate her from an emergency barracks.

Six months ago, I asked a pensioner whether she believed that sooner or later she would get housing. Albina Mikhailovna replied: “It’s hard to believe. But I hope – it’s impossible to live.”

The granddaughter was more optimistic: “I hope that we are not fighting in vain.”

And I hoped.

On March 25, I received a message from Alla: “My grandma passed away yesterday. I came to her, but she didn’t open it. She was supposed to be offered housing today. I didn’t wait for the day. My heart couldn’t stand it.”