The Prosecutor General's Office instructed the prosecutor's office of Kuban to consider Tatyana Pimenova's complaint against the same agency.

The General Prosecutor's Office redirected the complaint of a mother of many children, Tatyana Pimenova, to the prosecutor's office of the Krasnodar Territory, which challenges the actions and decisions of the regional prosecutor's office itself and seeks access to the materials of criminal cases regarding the violation of her family's housing rights. The lawyer pointed out that it is prohibited by law to forward a complaint to the authority whose actions are being challenged.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on August 25, the mother of many children from Tuapse, Tatyana Pimenova, complained to the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova, about the failure to fulfill the promised arrangement of an apartment for her family. On August 21, the authorities informed Pimenova that a benefactor was ready to purchase an apartment for them in Tuapse worth 15 million rubles, and the arrangement for the purchase and subsequent transfer of the housing was scheduled for August 24. On the appointed day, the documents were not provided to the family. In the Tuapse department of the Investigative Committee, Pimenova was told that the issue was unresolved, but the administration hoped to resolve it within a week.

On October 4, Tatyana Pimenova's family received an official response from the Prosecutor General's Office dated October 1, No. 15/1-559-2026 (a copy is available to "Caucasian Knot").

The letter states that Pimenova's appeal No. OGR-543943-26 regarding her disagreement with the refusal of the Investigative Management of the Investigative Committee of Russia (IM of the IC) for the Krasnodar Territory to familiarize her with the materials of criminal cases regarding the violation of housing rights, as well as on other issues, has been sent to the prosecutor of the Krasnodar Territory for consideration on the merits. The basis cited is paragraph 3.2 of the Instruction on the procedure for considering appeals in the prosecutor's offices of Russia.

Earlier, the deputy head of the Tuapse department of the Investigative Committee informed Pimenova that the materials of the criminal case had been sent to the Prosecutor General's Office to challenge the decisions of the regional prosecutor's office, and a refusal had come from Moscow, Pimenova said.

"The deputy head of the Tuapse Investigative Committee assured us that he sent the criminal case to the Prosecutor General's Office and a refusal came from there. I called the Prosecutor General's Office to ask if such a case existed. I was told that nothing had been received. Then I sent an official complaint. And now, on October 4, I receive a response dated October 1, where my statement that we are not being provided with procedural documents and the real state of affairs is being concealed is again sent back to the regional prosecutor! This is a vicious circle. We are simply being run around in a bureaucratic loop while five children grow up in unacceptable conditions. The state calls for childbirth in words, but in practice leaves large families alone with the arbitrariness of officials," she told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

The advertisement for the apartment chosen for the family on the CIAN service has been removed, but the documents for the housing have not been received by the spouses, Pimenova's husband Sergiy Kartashov said.

"The apartment has been removed from sale, but we have no documents in our hands. We don't even know whether it was really bought for us and the arrangement is being delayed, or whether someone else bought it, and we are just being deceived. There is no transparency," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

The response from the Prosecutor General's Office dated October 1 and Pimenova's previous complaint No. OGR-507214-26 dated September 7 were analyzed by lawyer Elena Pavlova. The response does not contain information on whether the materials of the criminal case were received by the Prosecutor General's Office and returns the application to the regional level, the lawyer pointed out. The agency, which is supposed to control the legality of other bodies, itself allowed serious violations of legislation, Pavlova believes.

"A typical procedural response that grossly violates the rights of a large family," she told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". "It's like asking a person: 'What is the weather like today?' And he replies: 'Thank you, I'm not hungry.' This response can be compared to a conversation with a deaf and blind person," the lawyer added.

Forwarding a complaint to the authority whose decisions are being challenged is prohibited by Article 10 of the Federal Law (FL) "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation," Pavlova pointed out.

"From a legal point of view, the family has challenged the actions and decisions of the prosecutor's office of the Krasnodar Territory and the Tuapse inter-district prosecutor's office, in particular, the decision of the first deputy prosecutor of the Tuapse inter-district prosecutor's office A. A. Smyslov dated 21.09.2026 No. Otv-20030048-567-26/507214. According to Article 10 of the FL "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation," forwarding a complaint to the authority or official whose decisions are being challenged is expressly prohibited. Redirecting the appeal to the prosecutor of the Krasnodar Territory effectively forces the regional agency to check itself," Pavlova said.

The refusal to provide Pimenova with procedural documents also violates her rights as a victim, as provided by Article 42 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (CPC RF), Pavlova noted.

"The response completely ignores the status of a mother of many children as a victim (Article 42 of the CPC RF). Pimenova is recognized as a victim in criminal cases No. 12502030016000072 and No. 12302030016000060, initiated due to the violation of housing rights. According to part 2 of Article 42 of the CPC RF, the victim has an unconditional right to familiarize themselves with the materials of the case and receive copies of procedural documents affecting their interests. The refusal of the IC and the prosecutor's office to provide a copy of the decision of the Prosecutor General's Office and the resolution of the inter-district prosecutor deprives her of the right to full protection," the lawyer pointed out.

The Prosecutor General's Office also did not respond to the question of whether materials from the investigative management were received and whether a decision was made on them, the lawyer continued.

"Evasion from answering the essence: the applicant asked for a clear answer: were the materials of the criminal case received from the IM of the IC for the Krasnodar Territory in the Prosecutor General's Office and was a procedural refusal made on them? The response from senior prosecutor S. V. Pysin completely ignored this key question, delegating the check to the regional prosecutor, who cannot know whether the materials of the check were received in the Prosecutor General's Office," she explained.

The family has the right to appeal the inaction in court or to the head of the Investigative Committee, Pavlova noted.

"This response from the Prosecutor General's Office does not even contain a logical justification. This is a manifestation of senseless departmental correspondence and red tape, hoping that the person will get tired and stop defending their rights. Concealing procedural documents from the victim and redirecting the complaint to the regional level, whose actions are being challenged, is a direct violation of Articles 42, 124 of the CPC RF and the FL "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation." The family has every right to appeal this inaction under Article 125 of the CPC RF in the Basmanny District Court of Moscow or to the head of the IC of Russia," the lawyer concluded.