Marina Yermakova, the head of Serdobsk in Russia’s Penza region, resigned on February 12 after a wave of online harassment. The trigger was a post about the awarding of two state housing certificates to families whose members, investigators later said, had previously been foreign citizens and then obtained Russian citizenship.
On February 10, Yermakova published a photo from the ceremony where the certificates for home purchases were presented. After that, hundreds of hostile comments appeared under her posts and on the city administration’s social media pages. Some included xenophobic language and accusations that housing support was being given to “newcomers” while local residents remained on waiting lists.
On February 12, the situation drew the attention of Investigative Committee chairman Alexander Bastrykin. The agency said local residents in need of better housing conditions had been waiting a long time, while the decision was made in favor of families “with a migration history,” leading some citizens to suspect a possible corrupt element.
The next day, a criminal case was opened in the Penza region on negligence in the issuance of certificates to large families under Part 1 of Article 293 of the Russian Criminal Code. Investigators say that in February 2026, Serdobsk officials unlawfully issued the documents to two families whose members had previously been foreign nationals. The inquiry is also expected to examine whether the rights of other applicants were violated.
“The level of pressure on me on social media has gone beyond all imaginable limits. Insults, threats, slander,” Yermakova said in explaining her resignation.
The outlet notes that this is not the first such case. Similar public controversies over housing certificates previously emerged in Nizhnekamsk and the Skopin district, where complaints and social media backlash were also followed by checks from the Investigative Committee.