09:44, 10 July 2026

The court upheld the acquittal of Viktor Berezhnoi in the case of the building collapse.

The panel on criminal cases of the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the acquittal in the case of the collapse of a building on Narimanova Street in Rostov-on-Don and recognized his right to rehabilitation.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on April 28, the former head of the administration of the Voroshilov district, Viktor Berezhnoi, was acquitted in the case of negligence. The judge concluded that there was no crime in the actions of the official. The residents of the building agreed with the court's position and demanded punishment for the real culprits. The prosecutor's office challenged the verdict, but the appellate instance upheld it; however, the cassation instance returned the case of Berezhnoi for a new hearing. Residents of the collapsed multi-storey building on Narimanova Street in Rostov-on-Don sent a complaint to the Supreme Court of Russia regarding the decision of the cassation court. The Supreme Court decided to review the case.

On January 27, 2024, the wall of a five-story building on Narimanova Street began to collapse, and 95 people were evacuated. Later, the first entrance of the building collapsed. In connection with the collapse, Viktor Berezhnoi was accused of negligence: according to the investigation, he knew that the building was recognized as emergency in 2020 but did not prevent the emergency situation. At the same time, the residents themselves do not consider Berezhnoi guilty and emphasize that he was the first official to arrive to the residents after the collapse, and it was he who decided to evacuate people.

The panel on criminal cases of the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the acquittal in the case of the collapse of a building on Narimanova Street in Rostov-on-Don. The decision recognized the right to rehabilitation of the former head of the administration of the Voroshilov district, Viktor Berezhnoi, the press service of the Supreme Court of Russia reported.

The decision was made due to the "absence of a crime in his actions." In the complaint to the Supreme Court of Russia, the lawyers stated that Berezhnoi, as the head of the district administration, did not have the authority for which he was accused of negligence.

Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/424818