Putin demands to relocate Russians living in slums – yet again in the last 15 years

Russian president Vladimir Putin has declared once again that the housing conditions of those living in derelict and dilapidated properties must be improved. He has been repeating this call for fifteen years.

“Those living in slums need better housing. We are making extraordinary progress in relocating the residents of derelict properties,” Putin announced in a meeting with regional representatives. The redevelopment of urban and rural settlements is a “sensitive” issue, according to Putin, but people “can see positive changes with their own eyes”.

Putin pointed to the immorality of the mere existence of slums back in 2007. “I think it immoral that the government is paying little heed to these issues. A country with such immense reserves, accumulated thanks to oil and gas revenue, cannot put up with millions of its citizens living in slums,” said he.

In 2012, he reiterated his call: “We need to finally get our people out of slums.”

He addressed the issue yet again in 2013: “The first thing we need to do is to get our people out of slums.”

In 2020, he raised the matter at least twice. In December, he urged “to definitively resolve” the issue of relocating Russians living in dilapidated properties: “We have spoken at length about the need to relocate the residents of derelict buildings. We must turn this disgraceful page, get our people out of slums, and make sure new slums do not appear and the share of dilapidated housing does not grow.”

In 2021, he repeated his call to improve housing and launch a new relocation program:

“I’ve said it many times, and I’ll underline it again: we must get our people out of slums.”