Background
Anatoliy Burdov worked on the emergency response to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He was exposed to a huge amount of radioactive emissions. He was entitled to various social benefits, but the authorities refused to pay them. Mr Burdov took the government to court in Russia and won. Yet even then the authorities did not pay up, refusing to follow the courts’ judgments.
Mr Burdov’s case reflected a wider problem in Russia. Large groups of vulnerable people could not get court judgments enforced. This meant that pensions, child allowances and compensation for injury during military service went unpaid.