The court ordered the administration of Sovkhoznoye to formalize the boundaries of the agricultural lands.

The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria upheld the decision on the lawsuit of the prosecutor's office of the Zolsky district, recognizing the inaction of the administration of the village of Sovkhoznoye as illegal. The village authorities are required to clarify the boundaries of the land plots belonging to it and to lease them in the established manner.

As reported by «Caucasian Knot», in August 2023, the Arbitration Court of the North Caucasus District rejected the cassation appeal of Rosimushchestvo, which sought to declare the land lease agreement in Sovkhoznoye invalid. Courts of all instances referred to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The conflict between the villagers and the tenants of the surrounding lands has been ongoing since 2018: villagers obstructed the work of tenants, claiming that they were illegally cultivating agricultural lands, while the authorities suggested that residents obtain plots through auction and warned of persecution in case of protests.

The Zolsky District Court granted the prosecutor's lawsuit on May 4, 2026. The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria reviewed the appeal against this decision on September 11 and left the decision unchanged.

The lawsuit stated that the administration of the village does not ensure effective and rational use of the agricultural lands at its disposal, and no income from leasing enters the village budget. “However, as a result of the inaction of the administration of Sovkhoznoye, a significant area of these lands remains unengaged in economic circulation, with the determination of the fee for their use,” the lawsuit stated.

More than 1600 hectares of municipal land are used without formalized documents and without payment to the village budget, the prosecutor's office noted. At the same time, the users do not belong to a privileged category and are not entitled to free use of the land.

History of the Conflict

In Soviet times, Sovkhoznoye housed the breeding farm “Kabardinsky,” which was granted 2204 hectares of land for indefinite use since 1994. Later, the enterprise was transformed into a state unitary enterprise, and since 2003 into a joint-stock company, which was liquidated in 2009 as a result of bankruptcy. Since 1991, the village's lands have been federal property, and only the Rosimushchestvo management in Kabardino-Balkaria had the right to manage them.

However, in the early 2000s, the previous leadership of the village, lacking authority, entered into lease agreements until 2055 with people who were not residents of Sovkhoznoye. The residents themselves could not lease a single hectare.

In 2023, the new leadership of the local administration filed a lawsuit in arbitration to declare the contracts illegal. On March 3, 2023, the Arbitration Court of Kabardino-Balkaria considered the application of the territorial management of Rosimushchestvo for the seizure of 361 hectares from tenant Anzor Mishkhozev and the return of the land to state ownership. The lawsuit stated that the village administration entered into lease agreements for two plots with Mishkhozev in 2006 without having the authority to do so, and Rosimushchestvo only learned about this in 2021 when it put the plot up for auction.

The court concluded that “the tenant did not know and should not have known about the absence of authority of the administration to dispose of the disputed land plots,” recognized him as a bona fide purchaser, and denied Rosimushchestvo. The administration of Sovkhoznoye and Rosimushchestvo appealed the decision, but the 16th Arbitration Court of Appeal in Yessentuki and the cassation instance left it unchanged.

In June 2025, after numerous complaints from residents, Rosimushchestvo transferred two agricultural land plots totaling more than 2,300 hectares to municipal ownership. Since then, the land issue in the village has remained unresolved.

Future Prospects

The court's decision opens the possibility for new proceedings, believes lawyer Oleg Sergeyev. “It gives a chance for a fair resolution of the problem within the framework of the law. In accordance with this court decision, that is, with the newly emerged circumstances, the head of the local administration will have to reapply to the Arbitration Court to declare the contracts concluded by his predecessor illegal,” he told a correspondent of «Caucasian Knot».

The residents have still not received the plots, said a resident of Sovkhoznoye, Zera Gongapsheva. “We have been waiting and hoping for justice all these years,” she said, clarifying that the head of the village could not dispose of the land.