The Sochi city administration refused to recognize a single mother with a sick child as low-income.

The administration of the Adler district of Sochi refused to recognize the low-income single mother Elizabeth Pugach and her two-year-old daughter with a severe heart defect. The family, which lost their home and land due to a raider seizure, has been seeking an investigation into the circumstances of their property loss for over ten years.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in 2016, residents of the Adler microdistrict Blinovo Elena Pugach and Prokopyi Yanayev complained to the court about the inaction of investigators after their statement about land seizure. The Adler district court refused to recognize the inaction of law enforcement as illegal based on Pugach's complaint, and did not accept Yanayev's complaint for consideration. In 2022, Elena Pugach informed "Caucasian Knot" that the house on her family plot was burned down, her brother, who fought for this plot, was found dead, and she received threats of physical violence. "Strangers built a house on my plot. I couldn't achieve anything," Pugach said.

On July 15, 22-year-old daughter of Elena Pugach, Elizabeth, received a directive from the administration of the Adler district dated July 6, refusing to recognize her and her two-year-old daughter as low-income and to register them as needing housing. The single mother contacted the editorial office of “Caucasian Knot” asking to highlight the problems of the family, which has been fighting for its housing rights for many years. WhatsApp* users can send messages to “Caucasian Knot” at +49 157 72317856, Telegram users can send to the same number or to @Caucasian_Knot.

Elizabeth Pugach and her two-year-old daughter, who suffers from a congenital heart defect, are registered in the family house that burned down back in 2019 on Voroshilovgradskaya Street, 310, but in fact, they have no housing. After the child's father refused them accommodation, they are temporarily living with a friend.

According to Elizabeth's mother, Elena Pugach, about ten relatives are registered in the burned house - her children, grandchildren, brothers, and sisters with families. "I was born into a large family, there were five of us. We all lived in the burned house. Now each adult has their own family," she told the correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”. According to her, the family sent applications to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Sochi, the Investigative Committee, the Prosecutor's Office of the Krasnodar Territory, the General Prosecutor's Office, and the administration of the president, but only received notifications about the forwarding of their appeals.

Progress of the proceedings and status of the plot

The culprits of the fire, the fact of which was recorded in a report dated June 1, 2019, have not yet been identified, and a criminal case has not been initiated. Based on Elena Pugach's statement about fraud and raider seizure, which was submitted through the administration of the president, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Sochi registered the material on June 3, 2026 (KUSP No. 21923). "We have not received a final procedural decision, although the review period is three days under Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code," she said.

The General Prosecutor's Office redirected Elizabeth Pugach's appeal to the Prosecutor's Office of the Krasnodar Territory on June 4; according to the family, no response has been received for a month and a half. Copies of the documents are available to “Caucasian Knot”.

The right of ownership of the 11.4-hectare area, including the 12 hundred square meter plot belonging to the Pugach family, passed to third parties after the decision of the Adler district court (No. 2-325/14) in 2014. Subsequently, the plot was repeatedly resold; now it is registered to an owner with the surname Vasilyev, according to data from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.

The family points to alleged connections between the current owner and the deputy of the Sochi city assembly Roman Bugaychuk, referring to court materials and open data on land distribution. The Pugach family asks the prosecutor's office to verify this information for violations of anti-corruption legislation.

Refusal of temporary housing and registration in a non-existent house

The Sochi Department of Urban Economy and the regional Ministry of Energy and Housing and Communal Services require Elizabeth Pugach to provide documents on the income and property of all registered in the burned house, which, according to the extract from the personal account, are nine people. Without these documents, the family is denied temporary housing, which is due to fire victims. The agencies refer to regional law No. 1890-KZ and Article 53 of the Housing Code regarding the intentional deterioration of housing conditions.

"My daughter has a congenital heart defect - dilation of the ascending aorta, an open oval window. The lack of permanent housing, the need to wander through rented corners, and constant stress pose a direct threat to the child's life. I live in constant nervous tension," Elizabeth Pugach told the correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”.

According to Elena Pugach, officials do not allow them to remove minors from registration in the burned house since the family has no other housing. At the same time, the very fact of registration is used by the agencies as an argument: since the children are registered at the address, they are formally provided with housing.

"Our families are caught in bureaucratic vise. On one hand, the house physically burned down in 2019. On the other hand, the guardianship and Ministry of Internal Affairs do not allow removing minor children from registration 'into nowhere'," the woman explained. Elena herself and her husband rent a small apartment.

Elizabeth Pugach added that in 2019, when the house on Voroshilovgradskaya burned down, she was 15 years old, and her younger brother was seven.

"The authorities use the fact of registration against us, claiming that we are formally provided with housing. They completely ignore the act of the fire and the very fact of the absence of the house at the previous location for seven years! Not a single official has visited the site and bothered to look at the burned house," she is outraged.

The position of the family's lawyer

The family's lawyer, Lydia Vedernikova, calls the refusal to provide housing to Elizabeth illegal. According to Articles 31 and 69 of the Housing Code, family members are recognized as individuals living together and leading a common household, she pointed out.

According to the lawyer, Elizabeth Pugach is a single mother with a separate budget, not connected to the income of other registered relatives, and the requirement to provide income statements for all nine people violates the law on personal data and is obviously impossible to fulfill.

“The actions of officials of the Sochi administration and the relevant ministries of the Krasnodar Territory regarding the Pugach family contain signs of systemic violation of the basic constitutional rights of citizens to housing (Article 40 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) and the protection of childhood (Articles 38 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation),” she emphasized.

Vedernikova also pointed out the contradiction with the registration in the burned house. “The house ceased to exist in 2019, which is confirmed by a certificate from the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Requiring family composition certificates from a non-existent building is a legal nonsense and an abuse of power by officials,” she stated to the correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”.

In Vedernikova's opinion, the administration must cancel the directive of July 6, consider Elizabeth Pugach's application separately from others registered in the burned house, and allocate housing from the temporary fund to the single mother due to the emergency situation (the threat to the life of a minor child with a congenital heart defect).

Assessment of an independent lawyer

Lawyer Sergey Maklashov, who is not involved in the case, outlined the general legal practice. According to the Civil Code, the land plot follows the fate of the building: the land under the house belongs to the owners of the property. If the plot that was under the burned house ended up in the ownership of other persons, it is evident that there was a raider seizure of someone else's property.

“The fact that the house burned down and the culprits have not been found is a problem for law enforcement agencies that have not identified the arsonists. And even if the arsonists or those responsible for the fire are not found, this misfortune does not give officials the right to dispose of someone else's property and transfer it to third parties,” the lawyer explained.

According to Maklashov, the family can file a lawsuit to recognize the transactions as invalid based on Articles 166-168 of the Civil Code. The 2014 decision was made without involving guardianship authorities, which affects the rights of minors. The general statute of limitations is three years, but to protect the rights of minors, it begins to run from the moment of reaching adulthood within a maximum ten-year period.

The lawyer allows for the requalification of the dispute into a criminal case. “The facts of threats of physical violence, the strange death of Elena Pugach's brother, who fought for the land, as well as the arson of the only housing in 2019 collectively provide valid grounds for combining these materials into one proceeding and checking for fraud and intentional destruction of someone else's property (Articles 159 and 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The registered KUSP No. 21923 should develop into a full-fledged criminal case,” said Maklashov, emphasizing that the family needs to demand answers from law enforcement agencies.