More than a year after Russia regained control of parts of its Kursk border region, some displaced residents are still living in temporary accommodation, while heavily damaged border villages remain unsuitable for return. A Meduza correspondent visiting the region documented these conditions through interviews and on-the-ground observations.
People interviewed described obstacles to returning to Sudzha and other border settlements. Some have attempted to go back, but reconstruction in badly damaged areas is incomplete. In Kursk, displaced people are still living in a former hotel converted into temporary accommodation.
A security guard at one such center claimed that FSB officers visited roughly every two months and checked residents' phones for pro-Ukrainian views. This is one interviewee's account, not evidence of a practice at every accommodation center.
The fighting that began in August 2024 and continued in parts of the region until spring 2025 caused prolonged displacement. The report also described tensions between some local residents and displaced families.