"He started to choke me." Minsk residents fought outside a developer's office over a preferential loan

Oleg, a Minsk resident, told Onliner about a conflict that occurred in front of the sales office of the "Severny Bereg" residential complex. Everything happened on August 6th — the day the developer opened sales for another building. In general, few launches at "Severny Bereg" go without a queue, and this time there was even a fight in it.

Павялічыць

— Apartment sales started at 9:00 AM on August 6th, — says the Minsk resident. — But a few days before that, a notebook with a list-queue appeared in the sales office, in which I signed up under number ten.

According to the "Severny Bereg" manager, this notebook has nothing to do with them; they said it was a "people's initiative" that they don't care about.

And so, anyone can come, join the queue, and buy an apartment.

Based on this notebook, a Telegram group was created, and shifts were started to be distributed 5 days before the start of sales — so that people would sit there and wait for something.

I wrote in the group that I couldn't do duty: I have a wife with an infant, and I work. Then this "people's initiative" simply moved me from 10th place to 15th.

On August 6th, the day sales started, I went to the "Severny Bereg" office on Sverdlova Street to join the live queue. There were already two people there; they started telling me about the list, about how a queue had already been formed here. To which I told them that I was in the live queue, and since there was no one here but them, I would be third.

I stood all night right by the door, and by 8 AM, more and more people were arriving.

At 09:00, the office doors opened, but I couldn't get in immediately — the person standing behind me grabbed me by the neck in a chokehold, started pulling me away from the entrance. I grabbed onto the door, then several other people started pulling me away.

The crowd went inside; I ended up being the last.

In general, doing shifts outside developers' doors is a long-standing practice among Minsk residents. Anyone who follows real estate news knows perfectly well that people, replacing each other, are around offices day and night, in winter frost and summer heat. This is precisely to ensure that no "outsider" gets into the coveted office first. The tradition has long been established and entrenched.

— Having entered the office, I went to the registration desk and told the girl to register me, since I was standing at the beginning and they simply pulled me from the doors (she saw this). But she simply ignored me. Then I called a manager, to which he said that people had a list and were being admitted according to it. I objected that the list meant nothing. However, nothing changed.

Another manager came up and asked why I hadn't signed up in the notebook. To which I showed her the notebook where I was listed under number ten. Here, people started shouting that that list meant nothing, they had a new one — on an A4 sheet, in which I was also there, but under number 15.

As a result, I was not registered under any number, neither ten nor 15. Although I was actually third.

At the same time, the person who attacked me was successfully registered, he was sold an apartment, although, I believe, he should have been kicked out of the building altogether, as he causes harm to the health of other people, at the very least, violates public order.

I called a police patrol, wrote a statement against this person, and had my injuries documented. I decided to publicize this story because everything that happened is barbaric. It's surprising that there's no security even in the sales office. And in general, it turns out to be a vicious circle, in which employees contradict themselves: they say that the list means nothing, and then register strictly according to it.

List or live queue?

Minsk's history knows much more scandalous situations outside developers' doors. In 2017, "queuers" even demanded the cancellation of the project declaration because "invaders" appeared on the porch early in the morning. But that was UKB and a meter for $610 in equivalent (ah, those were the days). And here — a commercial developer, an expensive "square," and a 1% loan.

Here's how "Riverside Development Limited" commented on the situation.

— We are aware of the incident that occurred on the day sales started for apartments in the "Severny Bereg" residential complex on August 6, 2026.

The start of sales generated high interest. For several days prior to the launch, those wishing to purchase apartments independently organized the waiting order. The queuing order established by citizens is not an initiative or an official tool of the developer. The company does not form duty schedules or other lists of those awaiting the start of sales, does not establish rules for participation in them, and does not regulate relations between citizens during the period of waiting for the office to open.

By the time the "Severny Bereg" sales office opened, the overwhelming majority of those gathered recognized the sequence that had formed among them and stated to the employees their readiness to register precisely in that order. In a situation where a large number of people were simultaneously at the entrance, office employees could not independently determine who among those present actually arrived first, second, or third, or resolve disputes about the queue that arose between them.

We will comment separately on the information regarding the use of physical force. The conflict between citizens occurred on the street, outside the sales office. The company is not empowered to ensure order outside the sales office. Since it concerns the actions of one individual towards another, competent state authorities are entitled to give a legal assessment of what happened.

The company categorically does not support any forms of aggression and regrets that the situation between those waiting escalated into a physical conflict.

For its part, the company is ready, if necessary, to assist law enforcement agencies in the framework of the incident investigation, the developer explained.

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