Yury Kladov, a Rechnik resident and village representative, made the accusation at a press conference held on Friday by the federal land registration service, Rosreestr. He claimed that part of the documents needed to legally register the houses, thus theoretically annulling a court order to demolish them, were stolen by government authorities when the residents had filed them. Other necessary documents have been locked in state archives that residents have no access to, he said.

Kladov stressed that civil servants were free to access the documents.

Rosreestr deputy manager Galina Yelizarova rebutted by saying that none of the 80 rejected registrations filed by Rechnik residents in the past three years have been contested in court. Her colleague, Vadim Andropov, added that this was because the residents know they lack the necessary documents to register the homes – seeming to imply that such documents did not exist, as opposed to residents’ claims that the documents are being withheld by the state.

Kladov countered that Rechnik residents lacked faith that the courts would be a viable avenue to obtain registration for their homes, and would do nothing more than postpone the inevitable demolitions.

Moscow city authorities began demolishing buildings in Rechnik on January 21, after a court order deemed the buildings to have been illegally built. Residents maintain that the village was supposed to have fallen under a “dacha amnesty” program that legalized all of the villages similar to theirs, and point to neighboring estates featuring luxury villas as evidence that the city just wants to drive them out to develop the land.

Two weeks later, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev ordered the Prosecutor General to investigate the legality of the buildings, and demolitions were temporarily suspended. By that time, however, several dozen had already been razed. Residents, meanwhile, have attempted to gain refugee status in Germany and the United States, and began claiming genocide after 12 elderly residents died from the stress of losing their homes.

According to Rechnik resident Yury Kladov, the causes of death were all directly related to the constant psychological pressure and fear resulting from the violent destruction of their homes. Before passing away, he says, some of the elderly blamed the Moscow government directly for their impending deaths.

On this basis, Kladov asserts, the residents have reason to accuse the authorities of genocide.

The demolition of several dozen houses in the small Moscow village began on January 21, after a court ruled in favor of a claim by the Moscow government that the houses were built illegally. Residents maintain that the Soviet-era buildings fall under a “dacha amnesty” program that was implemented for other similar villages. Rechnik, they say, was simply forgotten, and charge that authorities now want to use the area’s prime real estate to build luxury villas.

Two Rechnik residents were hospitalized and 25 detained on January 21 after attempting to block demolition teams from reaching their homes. Since then, the village has employed a variety of measures to call attention to their plight, blocking traffic on Moscow’s main roads and appealing to the United States and Germany for refugee status. Sixty-four resident veterans have appealed to the Federal Veterans Council for support.

At a rally on Monday in central Moscow, Rechnik residents were joined by activists from a multitude of rights and opposition groups, burning a portrait of Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and calling for him to resign.

Sergei Udaltsov, activist and coordinator of the Left Front political organization, told the approximately 200 people gathered that the consequences of the demolitions in Rechnik stretch far beyond the village itself. “If they go to Rechnik today, then tomorrow they can go to any other Moscow neighborhood and evict us from our homes,” he said.

As of Tuesday, 22 Rechnik houses have been torn down, with at least another 15 slated for demolition.

Update 1/26/10: Excavators resumed house demolitions Tuesday morning, reneging on a statement on Monday that residents would be given several days to voluntarily leave their homes and for recent subzero temperatures to subside. Authorities say that as a court had ordered the demolitions, continuing to halt the demolitions would be in violation of judicial authority.

Meanwhile, residents have largely run out of food and fuel, and fear that they will not be allowed back into their homes if they leave to purchase more. They have additionally sent a delegation to the German and American embassies with a request to be taken in as refugees.

Also on Tuesday, Sergei Udaltsov, an activist leader supporting the residents, was arrested in Rechnik on unclear charges of extremism.

Residents of Rechnik, a small village on the outskirts of Moscow, have pledged “to stand until death” in the face of a city order to demolish their homes, reports Gazeta.ru.

At a meeting on Saturday between residents, activists, police, and government deputies, residents of the small village demanded that authorities put a moratorium on the demolition of their homes, which began Thursday night and is due to continue on Monday morning after a weekend break, as well as create a conciliation committee. They also voiced concern that police were not allowing ambulances through to the village.

On Thursday night, two Rechnik residents were hospitalized and about 25 detained after attempting to stop workers from bulldozing their homes. On Friday, home owners barricaded themselves inside one of several building slated to be razed, but were unable to hinder workers from continuing to demolish other homes. As of Sunday night, altogether six had been taken down.

Moscow city authorities brought the village to court after an environmental watchdog investigated Rechnik in 2006, concluding that the houses had been illegally built on land that had been set aside for collective gardens during Soviet times. Despite being illegal when they were built at the end of the 1950s, the houses in Rechnik were never torn down. Residents say that while other similar villages have long since been legalized through a “dacha amnesty” program, Rechnik had simply been forgotten. Moreover, they say, the village had not been notified of the court’s decision to tear down their homes and had not been invited to contest it.

“The village Vodnik and other similar garden associations also exist in rural Moscow, and it was a difficult situation, but they all fell under the amnesty,” said one resident. “But it’s as if we’re the only ones.” Despite promises that the houses would be replaced with a park, numerous residents expressed certainty that they would be replaced with “some kind of elite housing.”

Sergei Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front political organization and present at Saturday’s meeting in support of the protesters, said that the residents must necessarily be granted a moratorium until Moscow’s recent subzero temperatures subside. “This is simply inhumane – to kick people out into the streets in such cold,” he said.

Rechnik residents promised to use any means possible to stop police from evicting them, including blocking entrances to buildings by pouring water over the walkways, rendering them too icy to walk on. Additionally, one resident veteran threatened to set himself on fire, and another resident said that he would employ his pet leopard against police if necessary.

“We’re going to stand until death,” said Sergei Bobyshev, the leopard’s owner. “Yes, the leopard Cleopatra lives in my house, a very affectionate pet cat with the manners of a dog – she’s already four years old,” he said, adding that he had all the necessary legal documents for the unusual pet.

The village has additionally issued an appeal to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to personally intervene in the situation, apparently following the example of the town of Pikalevo, where residents successfully appealed to the prime minister in May after being denied long unpaid wages.

Vladimir Vasiliev, head of the State Duma commission on safety, urged residents to bring him all of the home ownership documents that they could find. Owners of the demolished buildings promptly handed him a large packet of papers. Public Chamber representative Anatoly Kuchern promised to investigate whether or not Rechnik was eligible for dacha amnesty.

Despite the weekend moratorium on demolitions, police had blocked off one of the only two roads to Rechnik on Sunday night, preventing residents from returning to their homes. Police claimed that they were blocking the road because a nearby nature preserve was closed.

Russia’s Prosecutor General and Internal Ministry are meanwhile investigating accusations of police misconduct during the demolitions on Thursday and Friday.