The professor, the owner of the only private house opposite the Kremlin, won the case

Professor Viktor Rozanov, whose only private house is located opposite the Kremlin, has had to defend the right to live in his family home for more than half a century. Back in Soviet times, they tried to evict him from Sofiyskaya Embankment three times. Several generations of authorities tried to raze his house to the ground. But from all the fights he emerged victorious. Recently they wanted to force Viktor Anatolyevich to demolish the attic he had built. But he again managed to defend his rights and win the trial.

Viktor Rozanov’s private house of 80 square meters has long been surrounded by hotels and administrative buildings. The Spasskaya Tower is very close, on the other side of the Moscow River. While in the house, you can clearly hear the chimes striking. (“MK” wrote about this in the issue on October 31, 2023).

Once upon a time here was the estate of the Matveev merchants – suppliers to the court of His Imperial Majesty. The house where the professor lives with his family is the former manager’s outbuilding.

During the civil war it was destroyed. Viktor Anatolyevich’s father, being a civil engineer, asked to give these ruins to him for restoration. During the NEP years there was an “institute of developers”. A person could take a destroyed, abandoned building, restore it and buy it for a nominal fee. So the Rozanovs ended up owning the house. From the Soviet government they received land for indefinite use.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, they had to surrender their house to the state in order to receive food cards. Owners of private houses, as socially alien elements, were not given them.

The Rozanovs’ house turned into a communal apartment, which in the post-war years it was decided to resettle. Viktor Anatolyevich believed that the house was his father’s, illegally taken away. So I decided to fight.

The tailor and the policeman, who lived in the basement, received new housing. Another family with children, who occupied two rooms, agreed to move to a three-room apartment.

The professor had no intention of leaving anywhere. Having studied the laws and documents, he was able to prove that he, as an inventor, was entitled to an additional 20 meters, and as a scientist – another 20. His mother had a heart attack – this is an additional 10 meters. In total there were 50 “squares”. And he was given two rooms by the tenants who had moved out. Viktor Rozanov managed to make restitution, to return what was taken from them.

In the 1970s, clouds began to gather over the Rozanovs again. The professor’s house with its three hundred square meters attracted the attention of the director of a neighboring research institute, who was planning to turn it into a garage. Viktor Anatolyevich received a notice from the executive committee about the eviction of his family from dilapidated housing.

The professor worked in the “mailbox”, had access to documents for official use, and knew about the secret resolutions of the Council of Ministers and the CPSU Central Committee. He was able to prove that the wear and tear of his stone house is 48%, and such houses cannot be demolished.

During the troubled times of perestroika, they again wanted to evict the Rozanovs from their house on Sofia Embankment. Viktor Anatolyevich was summoned to the council. But the vigilant professor managed to catch the official’s hand while falsifying government documents. He made copies of the documents and threatened to go to the prosecutor’s office. And their relationship from the field of civil law can smoothly move into the field of criminal law.

They left Rozanov behind. But many have coveted his house, located on the Golden Island. The bandits promised to bury him alive with his family in the basement. The professor slept with a gun in his arms for three years. The house was guarded by three Giant Schnauzers.

Viktor Rozanov managed to privatize the house and land only in 2002. This took 15 long years. The professor even filed a complaint with the Strasbourg court. The struggle took a lot of strength and energy. But he was ready for it.

In 2017, construction began right next door to the professor. They planned to add an attic with an area of ​​2 thousand square meters to a nearby two-story house. Viktor Anatolyevich appealed to the authorities with a request not to approve the restoration project without his visa.

The professor pointed out to the neighbors that they were depriving him of insolation; from two o’clock in the afternoon he would not have the sun. And he offered a compromise: to build him an attic, especially since the neighbors purchased all the materials at wholesale prices.

As a result, an agreement was reached that Viktor Rozanov would build his own attic, and the owner of the neighboring house would pay him all expenses. An appropriate investment agreement was drawn up.

Recently, the authorities filed a lawsuit against Viktor Rozanov, demanding to demolish the erected attic and return the building to its original condition. The professor knew that the truth was behind him. The back of the roof remained in place and the height of the house was not compromised. His house is not a self-built building; he is the owner of the plot on which it stands. The house is intended for single-family residence and does not exceed three floors.

According to the Town Planning Code, he did not need to obtain permission to build an attic if the house remained the same dimensions.

As a result, a counterclaim was filed to recognize ownership of the house in its reconstructed form. The other day the professor won the case.

Realtors and construction companies are constantly interested in his house, lost in the courtyards of Bolotny Island. Real estate in Moscow is expensive. But principles are more valuable. The house is not for sale. For the professor, this is his small homeland, he was born here, his roots are here. Viktor Anatolyevich is going to pass on the family property opposite the Kremlin to his children and grandchildren.