Moscow is preparing for the demolition of "Khrushchyovkas"

Moscow - A controversial program for the extensive renovation of housing stock, which is based on the demolition of dilapidated panel and brick houses from the 1950s and 1960s, will affect more than 5,000 buildings in Moscow and impact over a million residents of the Russian capital. This was reported by the newspaper Kommersant, citing data from the Moscow city hall. The first relocations could take place as early as the end of this year.

Five-story buildings, mostly without elevators, known as Khrushchyovkas after the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchov, were constructed since the late 1950s to help alleviate an urgent housing crisis. Millions of people still live in them across Russia. In Moscow, the renovation program will concern buildings constructed between 1957 and 1968.

The program has sparked disputes among the Moscow public, fueled by suspicions that private real estate developers are lobbying for the demolition of these buildings in hopes of acquiring valuable land. Many residents of Moscow also consider the plan to demolish Khrushchyovkas as a ploy to pave the way for the creation of a ghetto with high-rise buildings in the most forested areas of Moscow.

In an effort to minimize complaints from critics, the Moscow city hall announced a plan to expand the rights of tenants, who were given the option to decide on participation in the renovation program. Residents of buildings designated for demolition by representatives could refuse to be included in the renovation program until mid-June. Those Muscovites whose buildings were not included in the program and who actually wish for their demolition could apply to the program until early July after a vote.

According to the project schedule, a list of locations where the first new homes for resettled residents will be built is to be compiled by October. 300 sites in the capital's cadastre are under consideration. Several prototype houses are reportedly nearing completion, and new tenants are expected to move in by the end of this year.