The prosecutor's office found violations in the case of the demolition of a dilapidated building in Rostov-on-Don.

The supervisory agency has returned the case of the demolition of a dilapidated building on Kazakhskaya Street in Rostov-on-Don for further investigation. Former official Galina Pivovarova, accused of negligence, and her defense team have called the investigation's case baseless.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in August 2024, the chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia requested that a criminal case be opened after residents of a crumbling building at 93 Kazakhskaya Street in Rostov-on-Don complained about the authorities' lack of response to their requests. In May, Rostov authorities declared the building unsafe. In August 2025, residents complained that the situation was worsening, with cracks appearing in the second entrance as well.

The Rostov Region Prosecutor's Office has returned the case of the demolition of dilapidated building No. 93 on Kazakhskaya Street for further investigation. A criminal case has been opened under the article on negligence, and Galina Pivovarova, former deputy director of the Housing and Utilities Department of the Pervomaisky District of Rostov-on-Don, has been charged, 161.ru reports today.

The former official and her lawyer, Milana Boyarchuk, are confident that the charges are unfounded. "The case has been returned for correction of deficiencies, that is, for a pre-investigation review. We are confident that there is no evidence implicating Galina Pivovarova. The prosecutor's office informed the investigators that there were violations in the investigation. The investigators previously considered the regional prosecutor's office's decision illegal and unfounded. The investigator appealed this by sending a request to the Rostov Region Prosecutor, but he upheld the decision," the publication quotes Milana Boyarchuk as saying.

Essentially, there is no criminal offense.

The investigator is now reopening the case to correct the violations pointed out by the prosecutor's office. "Essentially, there is no evidence of a crime. I filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case due to the lack of evidence. The criminal case has effectively been opened. It has already completed its logical stage—the end of investigative actions. After that, the case was sent to the prosecutor's office so that the supervisory authority could verify that everything was filed correctly, that there was evidence, and analyze the entire case. This was done because the case is under the control of the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, and the charges were brought directly by the head of the Rostov Region Investigative Committee, Aslan Khuade," the lawyer said.

Pivovarova argued her innocence

Galina Pivovarova herself told the publication that she resigned from the department in April 2024 and was no longer working there when residents of the building at 93 Kazakhskaya Street requested that the building be declared unsafe. According to Pivovarova, she received no complaints from residents of this building during her time at the department.

It feels like they've simply found someone to blame.

"It feels like they've simply found someone to blame. The charges don't take into account the actual scope of my official duties. According to the charter and job descriptions, the Housing and Utilities Department is responsible for the maintenance of municipal property under the organization's operational management. Maintenance of the apartment building is the responsibility of the management company, which has a management contract with each owner of the building. But this isn't of interest to the investigation," the newspaper quoted the accused as saying.

She emphasized that there are no municipal apartments in the building. "And this is the most important, unconditional, and indisputable point. We will defend our rights. I will prove my innocence by all legal means. I will go to the end," stated Galina Pivovarova.

Pivovarova's case bears similarities to the prosecution of the district head for the collapse of a five-story building.

As a reminder, in January 2024, one of the entrances of a five-story building on Narimanov Street in Rostov-on-Don collapsed. There were no fatalities or injuries, as the residents had managed to evacuate. Viktor Berezhnoy, head of the Voroshilovsky District Administration, was charged with negligence in connection with the collapse: according to investigators, he knew the building had been declared unsafe in 2020, but failed to prevent the emergency. The residents themselves do not consider Berezhnoy guilty and emphasize that he was the first official to arrive at the scene and was the one who decided to evacuate the residents.

On April 28, Viktor Berezhnoy was acquitted. The residents of the building agreed with the court's position and demanded that the real culprits be punished. However, the prosecutor's office challenged the verdict, which was subsequently upheld by the appellate court. The prosecutor's office also appealed this decision, and the Fourth Cassation Court overturned Berezhnoy's acquittal and returned the case to the trial court. Meanwhile, the affected residents came to court to support the former district head.

Earlier, Rostov City Duma deputy and lawyer Natalya Oskina considered the prosecution of the district head unfair. He had neither the authority nor the ability to solve the problem, since it was not the district administration, but the city administration that was responsible for recognizing the buildings as unsafe, subject to demolition or reconstruction, and for resettling the residents into temporary housing stock.