Sochi residents ask court not to arrest Tatiana Polivanova
About a dozen people whom Tatiana Polivanova helped defend their rights to land plots in litigation with officials came to support her at a court hearing on the issue of a pre-trial restriction measure, but the activist was not brought to the Sochi court. Those gathered signed an appeal in defence of Tatiana Polivanova.
Starting from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on June 5, more than ten Sochi residents waited in front of the Central District Court building, where the investigators’ motion to arrest human rights defender and activist Tatiana Polivanova was to be considered.
As those gathered reported, Tatiana Polivanova was finally not brought before the court closed, and only those who could come were able to wait, because many of the people whom Tatiana Polivanova helped were busy at work or with their children. Moreover, no one, including relatives and advocates of Tatiana Polivanova, has been informed when the trial would take place.
As Veronika Osipova stated, while the people who came the Central District Court building were waiting for the trial to start, they decided to express their civic position in an official appeal to the court. Those who spent the whole day at the court building put twelve signatures under the appeal. The signatories who signed the document gave a copy of it to a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. The people intend to hand their appeal to the judge who will consider the investigators’ motion to choose the pre-trial restriction measure.
“We, residents of the city of Sochi, are concerned about the fate of Tatiana Anatolievna. She is well-known for her social activities and meticulous approach to everyone who addresses her for help. We ask the court to choose the pre-trial restriction measure for her that does not involve deprivation of liberty,” the people’s appeal states.
The relatives and supporters of Tatiana Polivanova believe that the criminal prosecution of the activist is revenge for her revelations in the cases of land redistribution in Sochi which provoked wide public outcry. There were large-scale conflicts related to the deprivation of citizens of their land plots that allegedly fell within the boundaries of the national park. The Sochi residents who were affected by the above-mentioned land redistribution, suggest that during the preparation for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, thousands of hectares of specially protected lands of the national park fell under large private facilities such as hotel complexes, cable cars, restaurants, and casinos. As a result, the size of the national part was reduced several times. In order to replenish the confiscated lands of the national park for “state needs,” a mass expropriation of land plots from ordinary Sochi residents, who legally own plots of land adjacent to the lands of the national park, began. This version has been voiced by the Sochi residents who gathered in front of the court building.
Veronika Osipova claims that she has been fighting during four years for the four hundred square metres she bought. The resident is trying to defend her land plot in the Khostinsky District. Her case reached the Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation, which cancelled the decision to seize the land plot and sent the case back for reconsideration.
“I am fighting for my four hundred square metres. And Tatiana Polivanova has been by my side all this time. She understood my situation: there is a disabled person in my family, and we have no money for lawyers. Tatiana Polivanova helped me for free. The most important thing for her is justice,” Veronika Osipova emphasized.
The woman believes that without Veronika Osipova, thousands of people in Sochi will be left alone with the authorities’ system. “If she is isolated, the lawlessness will continue. After all, despite the decisions of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, the lists of seized plots of land are still growing. And at the same time, no one demand to demolish the casinos, cable cars, and hotels built in the national park’s land for the 2014 Olympic Games,” Veronika Osipova sums up.
“If Tatiana Polivanova is imprisoned, we will all be left without a voice and a chance to get back what we paid for, having bought plots of land in Sochi many years ago,” the woman states.
In her personal motion to the court, Maria Gubskaya wrote: “Tatiana Polivanova is the person who truly helps ordinary people. Not officials, not the state, but she helps. If it weren’t for the Tatiana Polivanova’s activities, we would have become homeless. The court must protect people like her. Otherwise, who needs us?”
“Tatiana Polivanova exposed the fraud of top-ranking officials, and that’s why she is being persecuted,” believes Mikhail Kindruk, another person who signed the collective appeal to the court.
The supporters of Tatiana Polivanova believe that the criminal proceedings against the activist are related to her activities, since with her participation it became possible to make public the schemes, under which land plots in Sochi were redistributed after the 2014 Olympic Games, to the detriment and expense of ordinary residents.
This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 5, 2025 at 08:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent