Posted on Aug 6, 2023
The Russians hunting for cheap flats in occupied Mariupol
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It is one year since the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was largely destroyed by Russian forces and captured.
It is now being transformed and presented as a showcase for rule from Moscow - and some Russians are even hoping to buy homes there.
Russia claimed to have annexed Mariupol, along with all other occupied areas, following a series of referendums that have been widely condemned as sham exercises.
About 90% of the city's buildings were damaged or destroyed by Russian shelling during a gruelling two-month siege. Thousands of civilians were killed and about 350,000 people left, out of the pre-war population of 430,000, according to the UN.
It is now being transformed and presented as a showcase for rule from Moscow - and some Russians are even hoping to buy homes there.
Russia claimed to have annexed Mariupol, along with all other occupied areas, following a series of referendums that have been widely condemned as sham exercises.
About 90% of the city's buildings were damaged or destroyed by Russian shelling during a gruelling two-month siege. Thousands of civilians were killed and about 350,000 people left, out of the pre-war population of 430,000, according to the UN.
The Russians hunting for cheap flats in occupied Mariupol
Posted from bbc.com
Russia
Ukraine
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Posted 9 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Delays and restrictions
Officially, those whose houses have been destroyed or demolished can apply to get a flat in the newbuild estates going up.
Both Russian state TV and pro-Kremlin YouTube channels routinely show apparently happily families moving into their new homes.
Yet many locals, including the ones we spoke to, report that the process is agonisingly slow, and there are many restrictions in practice, resulting in the new buildings standing half-empty.
Svetlana (not her real name) says her grandmother is still waiting for a flat to replace the one she lost when her building was pulled down, months after being notified that she would get her new flat in March.
"People are put on some kind of waiting list and don't know where they'll get a flat," Svetlana, who left to live abroad after the war, told the BBC.
Alexander told the BBC that he believes flats are being given out "very sparingly and very selectively" to people who are "clearly of pro-Russian views".
A common reason for refusal - widely reported by Mariupol residents online - is if someone owns property other than their demolished flat, even a plot of land, a share in a flat or holiday cottage in the country.
One woman whose block was demolished, Anna, told local pro-Russian TV station Mariupol 24 she was denied a replacement flat because she owns an 8 sqm shed in a village 40km outside the city.
Her building, on Nakhimov Avenue, to the west of the city centre, is being replaced by a new block of flats, called Dom Na Nakhimova.
Built by a private Russian construction company, its website creates the impression of a luxury development, and it will be sold on the free market to mortgage holders.
"Right now, we don't have the means to buy a home with a mortgage," Anna told Mariupol 24. "How could we do that?"
Contacted by the BBC, the Dom Na Nakhimova developers said most of the flats were already booked, and gave the price for a 35 sqm flat as 3.55m roubles (about $37,500)."...
..."Delays and restrictions
Officially, those whose houses have been destroyed or demolished can apply to get a flat in the newbuild estates going up.
Both Russian state TV and pro-Kremlin YouTube channels routinely show apparently happily families moving into their new homes.
Yet many locals, including the ones we spoke to, report that the process is agonisingly slow, and there are many restrictions in practice, resulting in the new buildings standing half-empty.
Svetlana (not her real name) says her grandmother is still waiting for a flat to replace the one she lost when her building was pulled down, months after being notified that she would get her new flat in March.
"People are put on some kind of waiting list and don't know where they'll get a flat," Svetlana, who left to live abroad after the war, told the BBC.
Alexander told the BBC that he believes flats are being given out "very sparingly and very selectively" to people who are "clearly of pro-Russian views".
A common reason for refusal - widely reported by Mariupol residents online - is if someone owns property other than their demolished flat, even a plot of land, a share in a flat or holiday cottage in the country.
One woman whose block was demolished, Anna, told local pro-Russian TV station Mariupol 24 she was denied a replacement flat because she owns an 8 sqm shed in a village 40km outside the city.
Her building, on Nakhimov Avenue, to the west of the city centre, is being replaced by a new block of flats, called Dom Na Nakhimova.
Built by a private Russian construction company, its website creates the impression of a luxury development, and it will be sold on the free market to mortgage holders.
"Right now, we don't have the means to buy a home with a mortgage," Anna told Mariupol 24. "How could we do that?"
Contacted by the BBC, the Dom Na Nakhimova developers said most of the flats were already booked, and gave the price for a 35 sqm flat as 3.55m roubles (about $37,500)."...
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