Residents of Ingushetia’s Nazran demand authorities to build long-promised park

On 6 December, residents of Nazran, Ingushetia’s largest city and the republic’s former capital, gathered for a spontaneous rally against the construction that had begun on the site of the old bus station.

The protesters claimed that since 2018, the city authorities promised to build a park there, but instead construction of an unknown object has begun at the site.

Several dozen men gathered at the rally. One of the protesters recorded a video message, saying the construction is being carried out on the basis of forged documents, and the plot was allegedly purchased for a price much lower than the market price.

On the same day, the Nazran city administration gave an official explanation for the construction. According to city officials, the plot, which is in federal ownership, was leased to a local resident in 2012. However, no one gave the resident permission to begin construction on the plot.

As OC Media found out, the tenant, reportedly a woman named E.M. Daskieva  had previously already sued the state in connection with the property. While Daskieva’s ownership of the contested plot cannot be independently confirmed, her surname and initials match those given by the Nazran city administration.

In 2014, the Ministry of Property and Land Relations appealed to the court with a demand to recover the debt under the lease agreement from the tenant. Since the representative of the ministry did not appear in court, the appeal was left without consideration.

Now, the administration assures the situation will be taken under control by Nazran’s head, Ruslan Ozdoev, who is going to ‘thoroughly study the issue’. Ozdoev also personally met with protesters. The administration has promised to suspend construction work until the circumstances are ‘fully clarified’.

This is not the first spontaneous gathering near the station building: exactly a year ago, also during New Year holidays, Nazran residents demanded a stop to the construction that had begun here. At the time, the protesters claimed that they had already appealed twice to the city administration with a request to build a sports ground or a leisure centre on the site of the former car park, but, according to their information, the owner of the plot was going to build a shop there.

At the time, local Telegram channels allegedly published a building permit for the lot, but the authenticity of these documents has not been confirmed. The alleged permits have since been deleted from Telegram .

In November 2022, residents of Nazran also gathered at a spontaneous rally, demanding the city not to begin construction on the plot, arguing that children play football in the area. Instead of a commercial project, the protesters proposed the site be used to host a sports complex or stadium.

The old bus station, built in the centre of Nazran in 1972, was demolished more than ten years ago. Initially, Nazran authorities were going to build a mosque on the site, but the idea was not received well by local residents — even the regional state-run newspaper argued against it. In the face of public opposition, the Nazran administration pledged to create a park on the site and promised to finish the work by the end of 2018. Nonetheless, there has been no change since then.

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OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova