FORCED EVICTIONS

The Russian government is resettling some 2,000 families to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure. In several striking cases the government forcibly evicted families and demolished their homes without providing any compensation. Most families whose homes were destroyed received monetary compensation or resettlement to newly-built houses and apartments. However, the government did not systematically implement a fair and transparent process for compensating homeowners for their seized property. In some cases monetary compensation did not reflect the full value of owners' homes and property. Many resettled residents also lost a portion of their livelihoods because they depended on agriculture or income from seasonal rentals in their seaside homes. Some families relocated to new homes protested the quality of the alternative housing and reported problems with heating, mold, and structural soundness.