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Dwellers of Minsk Khrushchev-era house declared boycott of elections

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Dwellers of Minsk Khrushchev-era house declared boycott of elections
PHOTO: RFE/RL

Minsk dwellers of a house in Kalinouski Street built in 1969 in protest refuse to participate in the “elections.”

Dwellers of the house №78 in Kalinouski Street in Minsk have stated that they refuse to vote in the upcoming elections of the president and all the rest of elections, as the authorities do not carry out major repairs of their house built 46 years ago. It is written in the collective complaint addressed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka, which text has been received by BelaPAN.

“Our five-story house in Kalinouski Street was the first built in Uskhod micro district in 1969. It had no proper major repairs at all over this period,” the leter reads.

As a result, as dwellers note, “lots of serious problems have accumulated: sewage pipes are rusty and have got out of order in many flats, electrical installation is outdated, incidents of leaking and minor flooding have become more frequent because of deterioration of roofs and pipes; there is high humidity and damage by damp. Walls of the house do not trap heat, and central heating radiators inside the walls are warming the street. There are cracks in the walls.”

The authors of the complaint state that “the state is losing energy resources, and people (many of whom are pensioners) pay for heating more than they should according to norms.” Besides, as dwellers inform, “floor panels, protruding and recessed balconies, canopies, stair-steps of porches have worn out, bearing steel bars and concrete there are damaged, which means a threat to life and health of citizens.”

“We filed complaints many times, asked and are continuing to ask to carry out the necessary overhaul, to provide the façade of the building with heat insulation. But the authorities of the district and of the city postpone the term of the major repairs constantly,” the address to Lukashenka reads.

Dwellers believe that their contributions for major repairs for the period of 46 years have been stolen from them or spent to repair the neighbouring buildings, which were built later. According to them, “the laws on major repairs must be finally put under public control.” “We should put an end to the undivided rule of officials and accounting frauds in this sphere,” the letter reads.

“In protest against this long-time deceit by the authorities we refuse to participate in state events in the Republic of Belarus. We are going to boycott all the elections to state government bodies held in the country,” the document reads.

Dwellers of the house ask to carry out re-calculation of contributions paid for major repairs, and to overhaul the building and modernize its façade.

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