Freezing water from burst pipes has turned a housing block in the Siberian city of Irkutsk into something more closely resembling an iceberg than a residential building. Despite its dilapidated appearance, the building remains home to a dozen families, though only four of them have valid social rent contracts.
"It's dangerous, it's dangerous to live here, it's not safe to leave children here on their own," resident Gulbakhor Kinzhaeva said.
According to Deputy Irkutsk Mayor Vladimir Prelovsky, the block was previously owned by the Russian Ministry of Defence and provided housing for the families of military personnel working at the Irkutsk Higher Military Aviation Engineering Academy.
Ms Kinzhaeva's husband worked for the academy for 25 years.
Following the reorganisation of the academy in 2009, most of its employees were rehoused, though a number of them remained in the building.
According to Mr Prelovsky, a bureaucratic mix-up that occurred when the property was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the local government means that documents confirming the right of the building's inhabitants to live there are missing.
The property also ceased to be maintained.
"Once your right to live in the building has been confirmed, the Irkutsk government will rehouse you in comfortable flats, also based on social rent contracts, as a matter of priority," Mr Prelovsky said.
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