KS recognized the “unconditional” right to housing for the repressed

The Constitutional Court of Russia, having examined the complaints of the victims of the Stalinist repressions, ordered the State Duma and the regional authorities to "immediately" change the federal and regional laws so that the victims of the repressions born in exile could "unconditionally" get housing in the historical homeland.

The court made such a decision on complaints of three rehabilitated women who sought the right to get housing in Moscow, where their parents lived to repressions.

The court ruled that the existing Moscow law and the Law on the rehabilitation of the victims of repressions do not comply with the constitution, since they establish additional requirements for repressed and "unbearable restrictions for them." In particular, the laws of Moscow actually equate in the right to housing born in the deportation to the inhabitants of the capital, not considering that the former are a special category.

Alisa Meissner from the Kirov region, Elizabeth Mikhailov from the Vladimir region and Evgeny Shashev from the Komi Republic appealed to the Constitutional Court. They were born in expulsions, where their parents were sent from Moscow in the 1930-40s. All three applicants were rehabilitated and wanted to return to the capital. Compensation laid down by him by law - no more than 10,000 rubles - did not allow them to buy housing in the capital at their own expense.

The applicants indicated that the housing department of Moscow does not give them housing, referring to the restrictions established since 2005. According to these restrictions, to receive apartments in Moscow, they had to live in the city for 10 years, not to own other housing or to be poor. The applicants noted that restrictions do not actually allow children and relatives of victims of political repression to return to where their families lived before arrests. Evgenia Shasheva said that she was born and spent her childhood in the hut, in the north, for many years she felt discrimination as the "daughter of the enemy of the people" and is now forced to live north of the place where her father lived in exile.

Prior to the consideration of the issue by the Constitutional Court, the complaints of three women were supported by the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia and the Human Rights Center "Memorial".

According to lawyer Grigory Vaipan, who represented the interests of the applicants, the main thing is now that the changes to the laws are made quickly and a special procedure for providing housing is provided, since it is usually about elderly people.