Irina Gerasimova, a resident of the Belgorod region with many children, is battling against a businessman who falsely registered her house under his name, while officials and law enforcement officers acknowledge each other.
For seven years, the Gerasimov family has been living through a never-ending nightmare. According to Irina, they have experienced broken windows, damaged gates, threats, and even attacks on her daughter.
Irina herself doesn't know where she finds the strength to resist the invaders, but she's determined to stay in her home for the sake of her children, grandchildren, and justice.
Her faith in justice is dwindling as her opponents openly claim to have everything under control. Even a personal plea to the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, didn't have an effect. The journalist from The Moscow Post in the Belgorod region has grasped the situation. More frightening than movies
If someone decides to make a film about the misfortunes of the Gerasimov family, they wouldn't need to work hard. Irina has documented almost all of their ordeals. The first video the correspondent of The Moscow Post saw was shocking: a car ramming the iron gates while children cried and a woman screamed. People stood outside the gates and watched what was happening, possibly deriving pleasure from it. What's most surprising is that visible among them were policemen who, according to Irina, said they were ordered not to intervene.
Romanov and his 'gang' mostly came at night, causing harm to the family, breaking windows, doors, and fences. Irina describes the harm caused to her family as unbearable.
Irina always has pain and fear for her loved ones in her eyes. Photo: Irina Gerasimova
According to her, Artem Pavlichenko, one of those claiming her house, hit and killed her father with his car, despite her father's poor health. He also assaulted her daughter.
In Irina's words, her troubles are numerous, too many to describe in a single article.
It all began when, in July 2015, Irina borrowed 100 thousand rubles from Vladimir Romanov. He convinced her to sign a fictitious contract stating that she sold him her house and land as an additional guarantee. He promised to destroy the contract once the debt was repaid.
The nightmare started when Irina borrowed 100 thousand rubles from Vladimir Romanov, who then manipulated her into signing a contract selling him her house and land for security.
During the nighttime, vandals broke all the windows in the Gerasimovs’ house. Photo courtesy of Irina Gerasimova
However, two years later, after the debt was repaid, she suddenly discovered that she no longer owned her house and land. It turned out that in August 2015, Romanov registered the ownership of both her house and land based on a sale and purchase agreement, which he had presented to her as a pledge obligation.
“Romanov is like a debt collector in life, he buys other people’s debts and then forces them out of debt. This might be the cause of these attacks. This is their routine,” explains Irina Gerasimova.
Walking in agony
It should be noted that Irina originally obtained the land legally. She received it from the state in 1993 as a mother of many children, and she also holds the Order of Maternal Glory of the third degree. The family sold two small rooms, saved up money to build a house, and almost completed construction. When there was very little left, Irina decided to borrow money from Romanov.
According to her, Romanov registered her house as his property, then sold it to one of his friends, who in turn gave it to another person. Gerasimova claims that all of them are connected to the same company, as they collaborate in vandalizing her house.
Irina was particularly worried that the large stones thrown into the windows of her house might harm her grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Irina Gerasimova
The Gerasimov family has accumulated numerous complaints, court decisions, and other documents over seven years. Initially, the woman attempted to resolve the issue through legal channels by submitting applications to the prosecutor’s office, police, and court.
To be fair, a couple of times the judges ruled in her favor, but Irina believes this mainly occurred because Romanov and his associates allowed it, being confident of eventual success. Subsequently, the situation changed, and the authorities consistently made decisions in their favor. Thus, the corrupt system worked without fail.
Additionally, the opponents' lawyer, Olga Vivtyuk, openly threatened Gerasimova and her family in court (audio recordings are available to the editors).
Last year, the electricity in the Gerasimovs’ house was disconnected for five months. She discovered that this was done at the request of Yevgeny Koshelkov, to whom Romanov purportedly sold the house.
“Imagine, at first I obtained a certificate from Kononenko, the head of our village Novosadovy, about the composition of the family, and a couple of days later this man – Koshelkov, and she gave him a certificate that no one lives in our house. And he wrote a statement asking him to cut off the wires And for five months we could not prove that we were living in a house and had no debts for electricity, but stopped because it was turned off for us, “Irina describes her torment.
“I will have to defend myself”
Last September, she chose to meet with the Governor of the Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, when she saw the announcement that he would be at Lenin Square. She went there with her grandchildren.
Gladkov did come to talk to the townspeople, and Irina managed to quickly tell him about her problems. Video of the meeting is available on social media.
governor’s page
She was asked to come to the reception with power engineers and the prosecutor’s office, but nothing changed.
“The same thing started again. My complaints continued in a vicious circle, and they were sent to those whom I complained about. When I reached the assistant governor and asked why this was happening, I was told that someone in Gladkov’s office simply transferred my complaint for consideration. If he had specifically written to someone to sort it out, then there would have been a different result. Does this really happen?” – continues Gerasimov's story.
She has already twice traveled to Moscow for receptions at the Prosecutor General’s Office, the President's reception, and the Investigative Committee. According to her, a miracle happened in February – for the first time in five years, an investigator listened to her and asked for all the documents on her house and plot from Rosreestr. It will be possible to determine from them who executed title documents and who operates, possibly forgeries. After the destruction, Irina had to replace the glass in the windows. Photo courtesy of Irina Gerasimova.
“Please forgive me for communicating so emotionally. Over the years, my nerves have been worn thin,” Irina apologizes. “I know for sure that I’m not the only one who was asked for money, land, or other property. Other people gave in. In my last complaint to the investigatory committee, I wrote: “If you do not take action, I will have to defend myself.”
One of the last statements in the investigation. Photo courtesy of Irina Gerasimova
The Belgorod region is now next to the area where a special operation is being conducted to protect the Donbass. Irina partly connects this with the fact that in her struggle with upholding the rights to her house and land, there has been at least a slight improvement.
“Perhaps, in the midst of this major disaster, people started to evaluate events differently, maybe priorities have changed. We watch TV and worry about our guys participating in the special operation together. Shells have also fallen on the territory of our region. I understand that the governor now prioritizes the safety of the district's residents. However, I still hope that they will pay attention to our problem. Spring is approaching, and we are very afraid that we will be besieged again,” the woman expressed her fears.
This is not the first unbelievable story associated with the Belgorod region. Not long ago, we reported how Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, after our criticism, fired the head of the Regional Security Department, Stepan Lyubenko, who had hoped to escape justice in the Belgorod region after severely beating a teenager at the Gornozavodsk special school.
One of the last statements in the investigation. Photo courtesy of Irina Gerasimova
The Belgorod region has now found itself in the neighborhood of the area where a special operation is being carried out to protect the Donbass. And Irina partly connects with this the fact that in her epic with upholding the rights to a house and land, there has been at least a slight shift for the better.
“Maybe, against the backdrop of this big disaster, people began to evaluate events differently, maybe priorities have changed. We watch TV, we worry together with everyone about our guys who are participating in the special operation. And shells also fell on the territory of our region. I understand “that the governor now has the safety of the residents of the district in the first place. But I still really hope that they will pay attention to our problem … Spring is coming, and we are very afraid that we will be “taken by storm” again,” the woman expressed her fears.
Recall that this is not the first wild story that is associated with the Belgorod region. Not so long ago, we told how Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, after our criticism, fired the head of the Regional Security Department, Stepan Lyubenko, who probably hoped to abscond from justice in the Belgorod region after he severely beat a teenager at the Gornozavodsk special school on Stavropol.
This means that the Belgorod authorities are still able to hear criticism and draw the right conclusions.
