A new controversy has emerged in Russia’s Sverdlovsk oblast over the allocation of housing to a Tajik family with Russian citizenship, ural-news.net reports.

The decision to provide a house to a family with four children has sparked mixed reactions among local residents, many of whom have been waiting for improved housing conditions for years.

According to the local administration, the family of Akram Masaidov met all the criteria for receiving a housing certificate, and officials argue that there were no legal grounds to deny them this right.  However, the situation has raised concerns about the transparency of the housing subsidy distribution process.

Questions about eligibility

Tsargrad online news agency says a 32-year-old Akram Masaidov moved to Russia from Khujand in 2014.  He initially opened a clothing and footwear store, but closed it after a few months.  Later, he reportedly switched to selling fruits and vegetables, but by 2019, he shut down his business as well.

Following this, his family was registered as low-income and placed on the waiting list for a housing certificate.

Tsargrad notes that in Kachkanar, where Masaidov’s family lives, 67 large families were on the waiting list for better housing conditions, with some applications dating back to 2012.

Masaidov initially ranked 59th on the list but was later moved to the top, raising concerns among local residents.

Smolnarod.ru suggests that Masaidov may not have closed his business in 2019 but instead transferred it to his father, Muradjon Masaidov, who is also in the clothing trade.

The Telegram channel Mnogonatsional published accusations that Masaidov concealed his actual income and falsely claimed low-income status to obtain housing benefits.

Previous controversy in Mytishchi

This is not the first dispute over housing allocation to Tajik families in Russia.

In January 2024, a similar case in Mytishchi, near Moscow, involved another Tajik family—Tahmina Samadova’s family, who were also recognized as a low-income large family with Russian citizenship.

Later, the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Moscow oblast arrested Samadova on charges of fraud (Article 159.2, Part 4 of Russia’s Criminal Code) in connection with obtaining a housing subsidy.

She was accused of submitting false information about her husband’s income, deliberately underreporting it multiple times and submitting a fraudulent residency record, claiming that 13 people (including her brother and his children) lived at her registered address, while in reality, they resided in Tajikistan.

The Investigative Committee stated that Samadova’s fraudulent actions led to her family being declared low-income, allowing them to receive a 24-million-ruble housing subsidy for purchasing an apartment or building a house in the Moscow oblast.

As part of the investigation, the authorities conducted searches and interrogations.  They seized documents and expensive mobile phones worth 140,000 and 120,000 rubles, contradicting their claimed low-income status.

Additionally, a deputy head of the Mytishchi city administration was arrested for negligence (Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) in connection with granting the 24-million-ruble housing certificate to Samadova’s family.