Moscow court issues unprecedented ruling in housing compensation case, siding with victim of Stalinist repressions

For the first time ever, a Moscow court has ruled against the city and awarded housing financial compensation to a victim of the Stalinist “Great Terror.” During those political repressions, Yelizaveta Mikhaylova’s parents were forced to flee their home in the capital. Now 73 years old, Mikhaylova has been awarded her compensation to purchase 33 square meters (355 square feet) in local housing.

The city must fulfill the court’s ruling within three months, though officials have the right to appeal the decision.

According to BBC journalists, courts in other Russian cities, such as Oryol and Krasnodar, have sided with Stalinist repression victims in housing disputes before, but the ruling in Mikhaylova’s case is unprecedented in Moscow. “Great Terror” victims still alive and litigating in the capital today have typically spent decades “in line” for housing compensation. 

In claims against the city on behalf of Mikhaylova and two other children of persons persecuted under Stalinism, the Moscow Prosector’s Office requested compensation for 33-square-meter housing. BBC journalists estimate that Moscow housing this size costs roughly 5.9 million rubles (about $58,000). While enough to buy a small one-bedroom apartment on the city’s outskirts, this sum of money is still far too small to reacquire the downtown housing many persecuted families lost in the 1930s, reports The BBC.