Officials announced to the residents of barrack-type buildings who had gathered in Gagarin Square that emergency work had begun at the site of the rally. The reason was the bare wires allegedly found in the square.
Activists called the authorities’ arguments “an excuse to prevent a rally on the eve of the elections.” They found that officials had signed the order to carry out emergency work on June 9, the day before the action. The document was shown to the audience by an employee of the mayor’s office of Yakutsk.
At the action, the participants planned to adopt a resolution demanding the creation of a commission for the resettlement of emergency houses and guarantees for the relocation of residents by the end of 2024.
Protests in Yakutsk began in April after ramshackle houses were flooded with meltwater. The residents demanded to be resettled. On May 4, they recorded a video message to Vladimir Putin. The activists planned to go to the rally on May 27, but canceled it so as not to damage the reputation of the authorities.
