June 17, 2024

A New Record of Complaints


A New Record of Complaints
Russian president Vladimir Putin during the program, "Results of the year with Vladimir Putin" kremlin.ru, wikimedia.commons

The independent investigative outlet Vazniye Istory (Important Stories) reports that, in April and May 2024, Russians submitted more than 1,400 complaints to the president about issues with compensation payments for damage from natural disasters, plus over 1,100 complaints about judicial protection from such disasters. This marks the highest number of complaints since observations began in 2016.

Among regional complaints to the president, issues with payments for lost property ranked second. The only more popular topic was additional regional benefits for various citizen categories, including participants in the Russian war in Ukraine and their families, which garnered over 2,000 requests.

Most complaints regarding flood victims came from Orenburg Oblast, with 740 requests in two months following the onset of the floods. On April 5, a dam failure in Orsk, Orenburg Oblast led to significant flooding and the displacement of numerous residents. At least six people in Orsk and one person in Orenburg died as a result of the flooding. Residents of Orsk protested against what they saw as insufficient compensation.

Residents of the Kurgan Oblast, who were also severely affected by floods, as well as those in the occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, have complained about compensation payments. Earlier, Vazniye Istory reported that issues related to payments for lost housing were among the most frequent complaints coming from residents of the occupied regions since November 2022.

Additionally, many complaints are coming from Belgorod Oblast, one of the areas in Russia most impacted by the war. According to the local publication Fonar (The Lantern), more than 1,000 inhabitants of the region have been wounded by the war. In July 2023, Fonar reported that about 1,750 properties in the region had been destroyed beyond repair.

You Might Also Like

Good Riddance, McDonald's
  • June 09, 2024

Good Riddance, McDonald's

The head of a Russian consumer protections ministry expressed glee at the exit of McDonald's from Russia.
Forced to Go Back to War
  • June 10, 2024

Forced to Go Back to War

Hundreds of Russian soldiers who left their service without permission are being held in military units, beaten, and then forcibly sent back to the front.
Make Fairy Tales, not War
  • June 05, 2024

Make Fairy Tales, not War

Russian authorities are spending more on the production of fantasy films than on war films, according to a recent study.
Disability Numbers Soar
  • May 30, 2024

Disability Numbers Soar

Disability numbers have seen a drastic increase since the beginning of the war. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955