Pensioners block Sochi streets to protest loss of free access to public transport

Earlier today, several dozen pensioners in Sochi protested the cancellation of public transport privileges by blocking one of the city's main thoroughfares, according to the news agency TASS.

Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov met with the protesters to explain the reason for the cancellation and to outline what steps the authorities are taking to support the poor.

In particular, city authorities are considering the option of an “average-adjusted pension for retirees.”

The issues of canceling municipal transport privileges and introducing a new form of compensation will be discussed at a Sochi City Council special session on January 21, said the mayor's press office. 

Municipal transport benefits for Sochi pensioners were canceled at the beginning of January 2016, in accordance with a new regional law.

Transport benefits were granted only to those pensioners who received a monthly pension of 7,728 rubles (nearly $100) or less.