KAZAN, Russia -- About 200 people have protested in the capital of the Russian region of Tatarstan, Kazan, calling for the resignation of the region's construction minister and other officials.
The September 16 protest was held by representatives of several groups representing people who have been paying mortgages on apartments in buildings that have not yet been completed. Construction on the projects has been halted after a wave of bank failures in the region earlier this year.
In March, regulators revoked the licenses of two banks and their affiliates in the region. Corruption investigations have been opened in connection with the banks' failures.
Participants in the September 16 demonstration collected signatures for an appeal to President Vladimir Putin, and said that the situation facing the "deceived borrowers" was "catastrophic."
The sanctioned demonstration was organized by the local branch of the Communist Party and included participants from other cities in Tatarstan, as well as people whose savings were frozen in the failed banks.
