Russian Homeowners Launch Protest Hunger Strike

KRASNOYARSK, Russia -- Prospective homeowners in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk are demanding apartments or their money back -- and have gone on hunger strike to push their point, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The 11 people who went on hunger strike on September 14 are demanding that the Stroitekhnika construction company either provide the apartments they have paid for or refund their money.

Stroitekhnika halted the construction of seven high-rise apartment blocks in Krasnoyarsk due to financial problems. A total of 900 local families have been fighting for several years to get their money back or the keys to their new apartments.

Aleksandr Chervyakov, a spokesman for Stroitekhnika's general director, told RFE/RL that the hunger strike came as "an unexpected surprise."

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