KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR, ASIA TONIGHT: When the mayor of Moscow wanted to do something about the city's notorious traffic problems, there was one factor he did not count on: the power of one stubborn man. Steve Harrigan explains.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yury Zhdanov owns a two story he house with yard in Moscow that might be worth a million dollars if not for the noise. "They built a road here, they've built a road underneath," he says. "Up here there's another road, and from that side another road." The highway around the capital was planned to go through the house. Instead it will be just six meters away. Yury rejected the cities offer of a replacement apartment. He wants a house, like the one he lives in now, so he hired a lawyer. "It's a paradox," he says, "the courts say property rights cannot be violated, but local officials ignore the courts; that's the problem in Russia." Keeping that court date won't be easy. His last summons never arrived. (on camera): Yury Zhdanov has not gotten any mail in the past two years; that's because letter carriers say it is too dangerous to cross the street to his house. (voice-over): The 64-year-old retired engineer is all alone. His wife and son couldn't stand the noise and have gone to live with relatives. Yury says he'll stay until the very end. "It is not about me." he says, "even if I die here by fighting this battle, I'll be doing something for my country." It's a battle Yury has been fighting for some time. The city first tried to tear down the wooden house in 1980 to make way for the Olympics. Steve Harrigan, CNN, Moscow.
One Man's Battle Against Russian Road Expansion