Russia's Supreme Court says monster/robot/gibberish names are okay in state registration records on real estate

The Collegium of Russia’s Supreme Court has ruled that the State Registration Service has the right not to disclose the names of property owners. The decision rejects an appeal by opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who challenged the legality of real estate records that disguise the names of Attorney General Yuri Chaika’s sons.

Judges determined that laws against the disclosure of personal data apply to the State Registration Service, and even property reporting requirements don’t allow officials to share individuals’ private data.

Alexey Navalny’s attorneys and anti-corruption team say the Collegium’s decision endangers Russia’s real estate commerce by undermining the State Registration Service, which is Russians’ “only way of of getting legally valid, up-to-date information.”

In 2016, Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation reported that the State Registration Service altered records on property owned by Yuri Chaika’s sons, renaming them “ЛСДУ3” and “ЙФЯУ9” in its documents. Navalny sued the government, arguing that this was illegal.