February 17, 2014. In 2013, Russian citizens owed their communal housing services suppliers 259bn RUR. In the first month of 2014, this figure rose by another 3% and came to 267.25bn RUR on February 1, 2014. The federal constituencies that owe most in terms of housing bills are Central Federal District (22.5% of all debts are concentrated there), the Volga Federal District, and Ural Federal District (18.1% and 16.5%, respectively), Izvestiya refers to Sequoia Credit Consolidation (a debt-collecting agency) as reporting.

Last year, the Russian citizens’ communal housing services debts rose by 27%, Sequoia’s research findings state. The figure stood at 181bn RUR on January 1, 2013.

The Construction & Communal Housing Services Minister Mikhail Men said in November 2013 during the parliamentary hearings at the Duma that the Russian citizens’ debt had reached 248.3bn RUR.