4.  The applicant was born in 1964 and lives in Volgograd. 5.  In 1986 the applicant was engaged in emergency operations at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. As a result he suffered from extensive exposure to radioactive emissions. In 1997 he underwent medical examinations which established a link between his poor health and his involvement in the Chernobyl events. The applicant was awarded compensation, to be paid monthly. 6.  In 2000 the applicant brought proceedings against the Welfare Office of the Krasnooktyabrskiy District of the Volgograd Region (Управление социальной защиты населения Краснооктябрьского района Волгоградской области - “the defendant”) for an increase in the compensation, for the increase to be backdated and for recovery of the unpaid amount. The applicant considered that the amount of compensation had been determined incorrectly. 7.  On 5 October 2000 the Krasnooktyabrskiy District Court of Volgograd upheld the applicant's action and awarded him a lump sum of 113,707.59 Russian roubles (RUB) and monthly payments of RUB 4,051.88, to be paid before the date of the subsequent medical examination, which was made in June 2002. 8.  On 24 April 2002 the lump sum, and on 29 April 2003 and on 30 May 2003 the arrears of the monthly payments, were credited to the applicant's account, so that the judgment was enforced in full. 9.  On 13 February 2004, at the defendant's request, the Presidium of the Volgograd Regional Court quashed the judgment of 5 October 2000 and remitted the case for a fresh examination. The basis for this decision was that the District Court had applied the substantive law incorrectly. 10.  On 4 June 2004 the Krasnooktyabrskiy District Court of Volgograd terminated the proceedings due to the applicant's failure to appear. The applicant did not appeal. Instead, he brought another set of proceedings with the same court, claiming adjustment of monthly payments and seeking damages for 1997-2007. 11.  After several sets of proceedings, by a final judgment of 16 August 2007 the Krasnooktyabrskiy District Court of Volgograd granted the applicant's claims in part, i.e. lowering the amounts previously awarded by the judgment of 5 October 2000. It took into account that the latter judgment had been quashed on 13 February 2004, recalculated the sums paid under it and deducted the difference from the sums awarded. The judgment entered into force on 3 September 2007.