The division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) in Yekaterinburg summed up the results of its activity in 2006. The agency received more than 2,000 complaints from the local residents, which is almost twice the previous year’s number. Complaints regarding unsuitable living conditions experienced a particularly dramatic increase. The city dwellers are mainly concerned with the poor state of entrances, hallways, and basements in their apartment blocks as well as low quality of cleaning and garbage collecting and lack of regular overhauls. People are also unhappy about the putting up of high-rise buildings right in their yards. A lot of complaints have to do with the operation of food stores located on the ground floors of apartment blocks, reports Rospotrebnadzor’s press officer.

The agency had to impose almost 10,000 RUR worth of fines for consumer rights and hygienic offenses last year, with 5% of offenders being legal entities. 770 warnings had to be issued and over 31,000 letters had to be sent to CEOs regarding the need to bring their businesses in compliance with the law.

Rospotrebnadzor’s experts drew up and placed with courts 50 reports on the administrative prosecution of a number of companies and filed an indefinite number of claims. 67 documents were sent to the law-enforcement agencies, and two suggestions relating to temporary nullification of certificates were made. Rospotrebnadzor also declared 20,000 tons of foods, 300,000 packs of cigarettes, and 3,000 consumer items defective.