Corruption

Prosecutors launch probe into claims by ‘tractor rally’ protesters in south Russia

Prosecutors in southern Russia’s Krasnodar Region have launched an investigation into claims of illegal land grabs by major holdings. The claims were made by a group of farmers who have begun a tractor rally to Moscow to draw attention to their cause.

A statement posted on the Krasnodar Prosecutors’ Office website says the head of the agency, Leonid Korzhenik – together with the head of the regional administration, Veniamin Kondratyev, and several senior law enforcement officials – held a meeting with a group of farmers who earlier this week announced they were starting a 'tractor rally' to Moscow.

The farmers are seeking to deliver their complaints personally to the country’s top authorities, and said about 100 people in 17 tractors and several cars are taking part in the protest.

At the meeting, the farmers expressed their grievances over a number of major deals in the region in which large land plots ended up being given to major agricultural holdings, including several cases in which the property rights had been awarded by courts.

The protesters also claimed that their rights had been violated by court bailiffs who secured the execution of court rulings and investigators who held preliminary probes that ended in verdicts unfavorable to them.