Residential complex "Forces of Nature"(Residential complex Romantika since the end of 2016) is located in the village of Murino, Vsevolozhsk district. The builder and developer of the project was initially the construction company O2 Development, however, it was unable to complete the work it had begun. Using funds collected from shareholders (almost 3,000 people entered into agreements for shared or shared construction), the first stage was almost completely built (95%) and less than half of the second (40%).

Residential complex "Forces of Nature" was positioned as a quarter of eco-new comfort-class buildings. Initially, it was planned to build 21 residential buildings with a height of 10 to 18 floors (5 stages). However, later the plans were cut down to... four buildings (2 stages). The developer was unable to complete construction of any of the houses, and as a result, planning permission for subsequent phases was revoked. The construction technology is prefabricated monolithic Cube 3V, which is not much different from a conventional panel one.

Apartments in the “Forces of Nature” buildings: Buyers can choose from studios, 1-room, 2-room and 3-room apartments ranging from 19 to 88 square meters. Kitchen area - from 10 to 21 sq.m. The cost of apartments starts from 1,100,000 rubles.

Own infrastructure of the residential complex “Forces of Nature”: According to the original plan, a school, kindergartens, a center for further education, vocational educational institutions, a clinic for adults and children, numerous shops and cafes, a bank and a beauty salon, sports facilities, a fitness center, etc. were to be built for future residents. will actually appear is not yet clear due to the transfer of the unfinished complex to another developer. Naturally, there will be some kind of minimum infrastructure in the new building, but future residents should not count on special comfort.

How to get to the new building “Forces of Nature”? 15 minutes to the Devyatkino metro station and the railway station of the same name, 15 minutes to the Lavriki railway station (then 30 minutes to the Finlyandsky railway station). The Toksovskoye Highway is 1 km away, and the exit to the Ring Road is located nearby the complex.

Nice addition: The new Forces of Nature complex will have a large recreation area on the river bank.

Construction progress of the Forces of Nature residential complex: work began in 2013, the first stage of construction was expected to be put into operation at the end of 2014, but the developer was unable to complete a single building. Moreover, O2 Development made changes to the project and, instead of connecting houses to central sewer networks, began building local ones, which caused a stormy protest from shareholders and disagreement from the regional authorities. The permit for the construction of the first two stages was extended until July 2016 and December 2017, respectively, and was revoked for the three subsequent stages. In 2017, the new building changed investors, who plans to complete the first stage by the end of 2017, as well as begin construction of the third, fourth and fifth stages.

News Residential Complex Forces of Nature

December 2014: the construction deadlines for the new Forces of Nature building will be disrupted. This is clear from the state of affairs on the construction site. The pace of construction is significantly behind the planned ones, the developer has simplified the project as much as possible (the environmental part is no longer mentioned, the concept of economical housing has come to the fore), instead of connecting the complex to the central sewer networks, a decision was made to build a local wastewater treatment system near the residential buildings. To maintain sales at an acceptable level, O2 Development has greatly reduced sales prices. According to experts, this is a risky and unjustified step in the long term.

December 2015: it became known that the new Force of Nature complex will be connected to the central sewerage and water supply system. Initially, the developer intended to build local treatment facilities. The delivery dates have been postponed to July 2016 for the first stage and to December 2017 for the second stage. Apartment prices are in a state of free fall; buyers are offered not bonuses, but... free studios. The primary market has not seen anything like this, which is a very alarming sign for those who have already purchased housing in a problematic complex.

November 2016: The construction of the Forces of Nature complex cannot be completed by the O2 developer. In order to resolve the situation, a new investor has allegedly been brought in, but his name has not been disclosed. Shareholders, in turn, hold rallies and pickets, and also block Toksovskoye Highway in order to draw the attention of the authorities to their problems. The new building changed its name to Residential Complex Romantika.

December 2016: Commission for the support of shareholders under the government once again considered the issue with the problematic residential complex “Forces of Nature” and demanded that O2 Development report on the state of affairs. The developer reported that he had prepared a new construction plan and had already sold one of the land plots to complete the first phase. As for the second stage, the attracted investor (whose name is still unknown) conducts an audit of the design and accounting documentation. Shareholders and shareholders are skeptical and continue consultations with representatives of law enforcement agencies.

February 2017: regional authorities are trying to find a new investor. The property has been “offered” to several large developers building housing in the neighborhood. The latter, in turn, do not want to take on the risks of completion, given the extremely low image of the project and possible technical pitfalls.

May 2017: the further construction of the long-term construction of the Force of Nature will be financed by the owner of the land plot, Baltinvestbank (it owns the territory allocated for the third, fourth and fifth stages of the complex), and the RR-City company will complete the construction. The cost of the project is estimated at 2 billion rubles (previously it was reported about 0.5 billion rubles). As for the first two stages, their degree of readiness is 95 and 40%, respectively. The new developer promises that the first two buildings (stage 1) will be put into operation by the end of 2017. Let us remind you that 2,800 shareholders and equity holders are waiting for their apartments.

July 2017: the new developer “RR-City” announced the refusal of the deal and withdrawal from the project for completing the residential complex “Forces of Nature”. The reason is that the company does not have enough own funds, and applications to the banks Baltinvestbank, St. Petersburg, Sberbank, and JSCB Rossiya ended in refusal due to high risks (including reputational ones) . The exact number of buyers left without housing is 2,666 shareholders and 185 shareholders. On the last Saturday of June, they went out to protest on Toksovskoye Highway. The completion date for the Murinsky long-term construction project has again become foggy.

November 2017: a monitoring procedure has been introduced regarding the developer Murinskoye-1. The developer himself assures that construction work at the site continues (waterproofing of inter-slab joints). It makes no sense to talk about the actual completion date of the complex, since in general the fate of the construction company itself is not clear.

August 2018: no new information about the construction of the complex. According to data from open sources, the residential complex Forces of Nature has been renamed to the residential complex Murinskoye-1 and the residential complex Romashki. To clarify the situation with the complex, we advise you to read 173 pages of the forum of the Residential Complex Forces of Nature.

December 2018: On December 3, the Thirteenth Court of Appeal of St. Petersburg held a hearing of the appeal of Romantika LLC, the developer of the Romashki residential complex, to terminate the monitoring procedure previously introduced here. The court sided with the developer and decided to terminate the monitoring procedure. “The legal decision taken by the court allows us to start selling apartments under construction again... and thus complete the construction of houses in due time,” the construction company emphasized.

May 2019: The first stage of the residential complex has not yet been completed. The permit for the construction of buildings 1 and 2 is valid until 12/31/2019. In May it became known that the construction of the first building was completed. Currently, active work is underway on the construction of building 2. The developer promises to deliver both houses by the end of 2019. The commissioning dates for the second stage (buildings 3, 4) of the complex have also been changed.

June 2019: after the developer was declared bankrupt, the construction of the residential complex continues with the support of the authorities of the Leningrad region. The work is being carried out by the Leningrad Regional Housing Lending Agency (LenoblAIZHK). From the financial estimate of the Leningrad region for 2019, money was allocated for the completion of houses.

O2 Group has resumed work on the first stage of the Forces of Nature residential complex, the construction of which was frozen for almost two years due to internal problems of the developer. According to the company, the money was raised through a new investor, whose name has not yet been announced. In addition to completing the first stage, construction has begun on the continuation of the project, which, however, will be changed. Funds for the completion of the facility were provided by a new investor, who was attracted by the O2 Group. His name is not disclosed, however, as O2 reported, he will become one of the co-owners of the company. According to the Kartoteka service, this has not yet formally happened. As Anatoly Sobolev, a representative of the investor who is the head of this project, told Kommersant, both houses are 90 and 80% completed, respectively. “It is clear that due to the stoppage of construction, a small part of the finishing and materials has become unusable. A construction audit of the almost completed two houses of the first stage of the project has already been carried out, and in the near future we will replace these materials. Currently, 86 people work at the site - this is enough, to complete the work,” says Anatoly Sobolev. According to him, the main problem - connecting houses to utility networks - has also been resolved. “We have received all the necessary permits and confirmations regarding capacity. We are now completing negotiations with a company that will not only build external networks, but also conduct an audit of the built intra-block networks. The contract will be signed in the first ten days of June,” assures the project manager. In total, 400-450 million rubles are needed for completion. In addition, work is actively underway on the second stage of construction: an audit has been carried out, defect detection has been carried out, a crane has been installed, slabs are being installed, the pouring of the slab for the second building of the second stage has begun. Development of a block with an area of ​​46.5 hectares between the Okhta River, the highway to Lavriki and the railway was started by O2 Group in 2015. In total, 342 thousand square meters should appear here. m of housing and social infrastructure necessary to accommodate 11 thousand people. In total, nine residential buildings, three kindergartens, a school, and four parking lots will be built. So far, two buildings of the first stage have almost been completed, and the first building of the second stage has been erected to the ninth floor. In 2016, construction was stopped. More than 2.5 thousand shareholders purchased apartments in the problem building. The first of the problem buildings will be commissioned before the end of this year, the second building in June 2019. Now, according to representatives of the O2 Group, the company has signed a “road map” with the government of the Leningrad region for the completion of the facility. “In the near future we will sign a corresponding agreement with the region, in which we will consolidate all obligations,” said representatives of the developer. The office of the Vice-Governor of the Leningrad Region, Mikhail Moskvin, confirmed this information, clarifying that the draft agreement was handed over at a meeting at the prosecutor's office. “Because the company refused to accept him by email,” they explained to Kommersant at Mr. Moskvin’s reception desk. Situations when a troubled developer attracts an investor and, without bankruptcy or other extremes, completes the construction of objects and transfers apartments to equity holders, are not uncommon in the market, experts say. For example, last year the L1 company commissioned the first stage of the London Park residential complex, the construction of which took almost ten years. “Bankruptcy does not solve problems - the house still needs to be completed using some schemes and funds. In the future, when the federal fund takes care of this, the situation will become clearer,” says Ekaterina Zaporozhchenko, commercial director of Docklands Development. The director of the Academy of Sciences agrees with her "Meters" Andrey Veresov. "There are developers, both small and large, who do not fulfill their obligations. However, there is an established practice of completing problem projects with the participation of other developers and the city administration. At the same time, the interests of citizens are legally protected by 214-FZ and the compensation fund. These measures are taken by the state to reducing the number of unfinished housing. When a company experiences difficulties, and lawyers from dissatisfied shareholders begin to put pressure on it, this makes the successful implementation of projects very difficult,” he points out. In the near future, there will be more problem developers. So, last month the Norman company announced its possible bankruptcy. “The crisis has led to a situation where new projects will continue to be frozen until better times. Some developers, who have overestimated their capabilities, will leave the market, as usually happens in times of crisis,” says Roman Miroshnikov, executive director of Oycumena CJSC. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3628117

2,666 shareholders and equity holders cannot move into their apartments.

A new page has opened in the history of one of the most problematic long-term construction projects in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, the Forces of Nature residential complex. On June 1, the RR-City company, a new developer of the residential complex, promises to begin work on commissioning two residential complex buildings. Karpovka figured out why the company needed to get involved with one of the most famous long-term construction companies in the region and what shareholders and equity holders think about this.

Five years of struggle

Construction of the Forces of Nature residential complex in Murino began back in 2012. The developer was the O2 Development company, which promised to put the first stage of the residential complex into operation in December 2014. Initially it was planned to build 21 residential buildings with a height of 10 to 18 floors. However, later the large-scale plans were cut down, and O2 settled on the “economy option” - four buildings and two stages of construction. However, 2,666 shareholders and shareholders are still waiting for their apartments.

The initial reason for the delay was the developer’s burning desire to connect the houses not to the central, but to the local water supply and sewerage system. However, the authorities of the Leningrad region opposed O2. They tried to put the problematic long-term construction on the shoulders of the Okhta Group Vladimir Svinin and the ex-co-owner of Baltinvestbank Yuri Rydnik, but each time the attempts failed.

Interest holders and shareholders of long-term construction showed incredible activity. In 2016, they held 30 pickets, two rallies, one tent camp, and even blocked a regional highway. Plans for self-immolation on Red Square were also discussed, but only two people discussed this dangerous idea. In April 2017, shareholders lined up in front of the president’s reception on Vasilyevsky Island and en masse submitted applications to the head of state asking him to pay attention to the situation with the long-term construction, which at that time had already celebrated its five-year anniversary.

And the situation has changed: on April 28 of this year it is known that the RR-City company will complete the construction of the Forces of Nature residential complex, and O2 Development is retiring. The decision on the long-term construction was made at the regional level - the situation was personally resolved by the Governor of the Leningrad Region, Alexander Drozdenko, and the vice-governor of the 47th region, Mikhail Moskvin, supervised the process. RR-City promised a two billion ruble loan from Baltinvestbank for construction work, and agreed with Murino Management Company to connect new buildings to utility networks.

Two billion discord

However, as of the end of May, no construction work is taking place in the fenced area. The stumbling block was the notorious two billion rubles. The fact is that they have not yet been allocated to RR-City, and without this money the company is in no hurry to make efforts, which irritates the shareholders, who for five years have already studied every square centimeter of the territory where their future home should appear.

« Audit currently underway, - the Karpovka correspondent was told in the press service of Baltinvestbank, - this is a long procedure, because a construction organization is a very complex project. And so the preliminary decision has already been agreed upon.”

RR-City also assures that the work will begin on time and advises not to take the mood of shareholders seriously, since people are already desperate to move into their apartments and perceive the slightest delay as a failure of the entire project. " We are now finishing the preparatory work, and on June 1 we will begin construction. There are four buildings there, all construction will be completed on time. We have not yet been allocated money, but this will happen in the near future. Shareholders need to calm down, everything will be as planned with the project“, - emphasized the head of the “Forces of Nature” project Alexander Leonov.

By the way, according to Mikhail Moskvin, RR-City was offered a small gift for completing the long-term construction project. The land plot on which the Forces of Nature residential complex is being built is adjacent to 23 hectares of land owned by Baltinvestbank. They will also be given to the developer, and construction on this land, the price of which is about 1.2 billion rubles, will become a source of commercial profit for the company. However, the land for RR-City has not yet been allocated, and the bureaucratic processes at Baltinvestbank have not yet been completed. However, Leonov assures: these 23 hectares of land are in no way connected with the construction of the Forces of Nature residential complex, and the long-term construction will definitely be completed. Even if the land is suddenly not allocated.

RR City is in no hurry to reveal plans for the “golden” hectares. But the company can make a profit in two options: the construction of commercial or business real estate or the construction of housing. Social facilities will not bring any income to businessmen, but the government of the Leningrad region insists on their appearance on the allocated territory.

What shareholders say

Shareholders and shareholders of the Forces of Nature residential complex do not share the optimism of Baltinvestbank and RR-City. They are with undisguised joy at the news that a criminal case has been opened against unidentified persons from O2 under the article “Fraud,” but are in no hurry to draw conclusions about RR City.

While some shareholders can still hope to someday move into their homes, others certainly won’t. For example, Alexey, who purchased a non-existent apartment in the planned fourth phase of the project three years ago.

« In 2014, I bought a studio in “Forces of Nature”. The salesman described super-fast construction technology and said that by the end of 2015 the fourth building will be completed. The contract was concluded with the Murinskoye-1 housing cooperative, but in 2016 construction did not begin. At the site of the fourth building, the pit remained as it was; the cranes were dismantled from the third building. It became clear that construction had completely stopped. I decided to try to collect the money through the court by invalidating the contract. The O2 lawyer offered to conclude a settlement agreement, under the terms of which I would waive the penalty for using the money, but the entire amount of the share would be paid to me in two months. I agreed and was deceived a second time, not a penny was paid to me.

I brought my writ of execution for the amount of the share to the bailiff, and there were already 50 million rubles worth of them. As a result, over the entire period we managed to write off about 13 thousand rubles. Now they promise that the facility will be completed by RR-City, but they directly said that they do not intend to pay money under writs of execution. As a result, I have neither the right to an apartment nor money, and there are already more than a hundred people like me. You have to pay a mortgage for air. Apartments in buildings 1 and 2 have already been almost all sold, but there are only boxes standing there without water, sewerage, electricity or interior decoration. And RR-City is still coordinating everything about joining the project.”, - said Alexey, a shareholder of the Forces of Nature residential complex.

Housing cooperative "Murinskoye-1" is part of the "O2" group, but is a separate legal entity. Since share participation agreements were concluded specifically with housing cooperatives, shareholders and shareholders are demanding money from this company. However, no property, except for a small plot of land, is registered with the housing cooperative, so the shareholders find themselves in a difficult situation: the most they can achieve is declaring the housing cooperative bankrupt. However, the courts have been going on since March and so far no outcome (positive or negative for clients) is visible. And RR-City is not eager to pay the debts of the previous developer.

Maria’s story, on the contrary, is typical of Forces of Nature shareholders.

« I am the mother of a shareholder. Before retiring, we collected all the money we could and gave it to our daughter, who bought an apartment from scammers. I asked her not to do this, but she believed that there were many shareholders, the construction was large, and she did it her way. As a result of the construction: no documents were signed, no money, no loan. Since March, everything has been postponed for two weeks, although they promised to start construction in March. I don’t believe that they will complete the construction, although Drozdenko personally controls this construction. The mood is zero, and the belief that our daughter will get her own apartment is one percent"- Maria shared.

According to shareholder Olga, she called RR-City and received an answer that construction would begin after the agreement with the bank was signed. At the same time, representatives of the developer swore to the editors that construction would begin on June 1. In other words, the faith in the future of 2,666 shareholders and equity holders so far rests on one word - an audit, after which two billion rubles will have to solve the problem of five years of long-term construction.

Vasily Makagonov

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The residential complex “Forces of Nature” is a block of 4 eco-new buildings located on the banks of the Okhta River in the village of Murino. According to the developer, O2 Development, the Forces of Nature residential complex should become a modern quarter with its own well-developed infrastructure.

The advantages of the complex, according to the official website, are:

• increased size of windows in houses;
• stylish and fashionable interior of rooms;
• widespread landscaping;
• bright colors of facades;
• proximity to the metro station and the Ring Road;
• convenient parking without entering the courtyards;
• safety playgrounds for children and modern outdoor exercise equipment for adults;
• clinics, schools, kindergartens, shops and other social facilities within walking distance;
• The construction progress was covered on the project's official website.

Potential buyers were also attracted by the low cost of apartments and the quick delivery time of the project - the end of 2014 for first-stage houses.

Important! Experts note that the houses of the Forces of Nature residential complex cannot be called high-quality. The lack of documentary evidence of the fire resistance limit of load-bearing structures, the design of the water supply and sanitation system, the ill-conceived evacuation system for residents of the upper floors, as well as poor sound insulation indicate that life in such a house is unlikely to be comfortable and safe. In addition, these circumstances indicate that putting the buildings into operation will not be easy.

By the appointed time - the end of 2014 - it became known that the construction was being delayed, and not a single shareholder had received the keys to the new housing. The management of O2 Development stated that construction progress had slowed down “for objective reasons,” which included the economic crisis and legal conflicts with local authorities.

During the two years of downtime, the construction site was not guarded; the construction company made no attempts to protect the building materials. As a result, the pipes left in the open air rusted, some of the communications were stolen, and the other part was hopelessly damaged. The basements of partially built houses were flooded, as was the pit where the 4th building was supposed to be located.

Under these conditions, the panicky mood of shareholders was understandable. In 2016 alone, they organized 30 pickets, 2 rallies, and set up a tent camp. In one of the VKontakte groups, desperate citizens even discussed the possibility of self-immolation on Red Square in Moscow, however, fortunately, this idea has not yet come to fruition. Currently, the number of defrauded shareholders reaches 2,666 people.

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Residential complex "Forces of Nature": latest news about long-term construction in Leningrad region

The latest news about the residential complex “Forces of Nature” comes regularly. The most important news in recent weeks was the information that from June 1, 2017, construction will be resumed by the developer RR-City. However, with the arrival of summer, things did not move from the “dead point”. This is explained by the fact that Baltinvestbank, which plans to provide a loan of 2 billion rubles to RR-City, is still auditing the project documentation. Lawyers for shared construction reassure shareholders and advise them not to panic, since preliminary consent for a loan from Baltinvestbank has already been received. In addition, as an additional incentive, RR-City will receive a plot of 23 hectares, located near the Forces of Nature residential complex, as its own property.

Representatives of RR-City name the following approximate dates for the delivery of objects:

• 1st building - November 2017;
• 2nd building - December 2017;
• 3rd building - October 2018;
• 4th building - July 2019.

But shareholders do not share RR-City’s optimistic attitude. The fact is that many citizens, tired of waiting for their apartments, terminated their contracts and demanded a refund. Since the contracts were concluded with the Murinskoye-1 housing cooperative and not with O2 Development, confusion arose with the definition of the defendant. Representatives of RR-City, in turn, directly stated that they are not obliged to pay money under other people’s writs of execution. The most difficult situation is faced by citizens who terminated the contract, who cannot get their funds back and no longer have any claims to apartments in the Forces of Nature residential complex. According to preliminary data, the number of such shareholders exceeds 50 people.

LCD “Forces of Nature”: what shareholders write in the unofficial group “VKontakte”

In May 2017, it became known that a criminal case was opened against unidentified citizens from among the managers of Romantika LLC, O2 Development and the Murinskoye-1 housing cooperative, part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud committed by an organized group.” or on an especially large scale or resulting in the deprivation of a citizen’s right to residential premises.” The sanction of this article provides for up to 10 years of imprisonment. Possible additional sanctions are a fine of up to 1 million rubles (or in the amount of 3 years' earnings) and up to 2 years of restriction of freedom.

The investigation suggests that the management of the listed organizations stole and used for their own purposes more than 6 billion rubles received from shareholders. The sole founder of O2 Development is a legal entity registered in the British Virgin Islands, and the developer itself was transferred to foreign jurisdiction back in June 2016. This fact, as well as the fact that there are multiple companies on the developer’s side, may indicate that the shareholders’ money may have been transferred to foreign bank accounts. In turn, the transfer of money could mean that the management of the construction company foresaw a “freeze” of construction and was preparing to protect the extracted funds from enforcement proceedings.

Comment from a lawyer from Legal Petersburg:

“It was known back in 2013 that construction could stop. When checking the reliability of the developer, some citizens drew attention to the founder, as well as to the fact that until now the construction company has not built a single residential building from scratch.”

In any case, this case received a great public outcry and was even brought to the attention of the President of the Russian Federation, which means that the missing money will be found. The criminal case is under the control of the prosecutor's office. You can find out the latest news about the Forces of Nature residential complex in the unofficial group of shareholders “VKontakte”.

There is a way out for shareholders of the Forces of Nature residential complex

Many shareholders, tired of waiting, terminated the contract and demanded the return of their money through the courts. Reviews about this method of solving the problem vary. For example, shareholder Alexey, who entered into an agreement back in 2014, independently went to court and then signed a settlement agreement with representatives of the developer. Under the terms of this agreement, the shareholder refuses to collect the penalty, and the developer undertakes to return the entire amount within 2 months. But the money was not paid on time.

Photo ©

Forpost obtained photos and videos of the interior of the buildings of the notorious residential complex.

In early April, a group of shareholders who had invested money in the largest long-term construction project in the Leningrad region snuck into the construction site, which had been standing for more than two years, in order to look at their “apartments.” The picture that appeared before their eyes shocked people and revived the desire to get an answer to two original Russian questions: “who is to blame?” and “what should I do?”

The authorities of the Leningrad region are also trying to find an answer to the second question. Moreover, on a global scale, and not just in relation to the “Forces of Nature”. Thus, at the end of March, Deputy Chairman of the regional government Mikhail Moskvin said that in the near future the regional administration plans to conclude agreements with the developers of problematic buildings on the completion of long-term construction.

“We will provide any organizational support to the developer, meet him halfway and make concessions where possible within the framework of the law. But the developer and shareholders must understand that the authorities cannot provide financial assistance, give state guarantees for loans to developers and oblige resource-supplying organizations to connect their houses for free,” noted Mikhail Moskvin.

The developer of the Forces of Nature residential complex notified shareholders about the results of the meeting with the heads of Absolut Bank and Baltinvestbank. According to the official VKontakte group of the residential quarter, “a decision was made to open a credit line for the completion of the Forces of Nature residential complex.”

Cooperation agreements will be sent to such companies or their subsidiaries as Norman, Navis, O2 Development, Glavstoykompleks, Leader Group, Lenspetsstroy. The document will determine the responsibilities of the parties for the commissioning of facilities, the timing of their commissioning and the required amount of financing for the work.

There is no doubt that such an initiative is needed. According to information from unofficial sources, there are more than eight thousand defrauded shareholders in the region. The official figures are, of course, much more modest. At the end of last year, for example, just over a thousand citizens were included in the register of affected participants in shared construction. Moreover, the authorities then hastened to report that their number had decreased by almost three hundred people over the last three months.

Shareholders of the notorious long-term construction “Forces of Nature” in Murino received hope. They were promised that they would take the unfinished houses seriously. Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko and his deputies are rushing to the rescue. The issue price is 950 million rubles.

The defrauded investors themselves view such juggling with numbers with a fair amount of sarcasm. After all, the residential complex “Forces of Nature” alone managed to conclude 2,666 contracts. The developer promised to deliver the first phase, consisting of two buildings and designed for 1,850 apartments, at the end of 2014. The second, with almost 2,000 apartments, will be launched at the beginning of 2015. But, apparently, something went wrong, and people were left without real estate. And without money, of course.

Since then they have been fed with promises. The shareholders received the last portion quite recently - the developer agreed to let them go to the construction site on April 10 to assess the volume of work performed. True, not everyone. The debate about how many people who are not “loyal” to the developer have the right to look at “their home” has been going on for quite some time. One side insisted on the number 14, the other - that seven people would be enough. However, these conversations had exactly the same relation to reality as all previous promises. Shortly before hour “X” it became known that everything had changed and officially no one would be able to get to the construction site.

“We made our way in unofficially. What they saw was horrifying. The plaster layer, gypsum particle boards, gypsum blocks, and concrete floors are torn apart by water from the inside. Freezing and expanding in winter, it destroys buildings and is absorbed into the mineral wool of exterior panels and other building materials. As a result, mold and mildew have already appeared in the apartments. All these years we have been observing the deliberate destruction by the developer of property for which they paid a lot of money! A normal company, which actually plans to build and deliver houses, spends billions of other people’s money on finishing work, including “its own 632 million,” would allow this?” - asks Nikolai, one of those who once bought an apartment in the Forces of Nature residential complex.

The developer, apparently, is not taking any action to stop the destruction. “And so it will do,” as another famous builder from the cartoon of the same name once said. But is it possible to complete these buildings? Perhaps the answer to this question is much more relevant than all the previous ones. Here we are no longer talking about philosophy, justice, or even the potential punishment of the perpetrators, but about basic security.

It is difficult, without being a lawyer, to understand the intricacies of the current situation. To understand who is really to blame and why the initiators of this construction are still at large? Where to find a new investor, rumors about whose appearance periodically arise, instilling hope in shareholders, but always turn out to be “fake”? Who benefits from the court's decision, which declared the Murinskoye-1 residential complex bankrupt, but postponed the bankruptcy case of Romantika LLC, the second developer of the Forces of Nature residential complex?

Only one thing is clear. Refusal of shared housing construction and transition to a project financing mechanism with the participation of banks is the only sure way that will allow the country to forever get rid of such a shameful phenomenon as defrauded shareholders. Another thing is that this will no longer help people who bought apartments in “Forces of Nature”. But it’s still quite difficult to say who will help them.