This is the official name of the biggest state-sponsored looting imaginable. Russia is seizing thousands of residential and commercial properties from Ukrainian citizens.
The process is very straightforward. If you are not in Mariupol, lost your property documents during the occupation, or did not obtain a Russian passport, your apartment, house, or business is declared ownerless and transferred to the Russian Federation’s ownership. In this way, the occupying authorities simultaneously deprive thousands of evacuated Mariupol residents of their property rights in defiance of all international laws.
A new story – a forgotten past. Exactly one hundred years ago, Mariupol went through the same thing. Russians – Bolsheviks – were taking the last possessions from Ukrainians after the occupation. The deadly circle of history has closed.
However, historical analogies highlight not only the differences and similarities with the imperial past of the Russians. They demonstrate how much Russian cynicism towards Ukrainians has modernised.
If it were only about the evacuated Mariupol residents, it would still be illegal, but it would at least follow a certain inhumane logic. But this fully applies to people in the city as well.
A simple example: the Kalmiusky district of Mariupol. A five-story building that is almost undamaged. About 12 families live in the apartments of evacuated Mariupol residents, with the permission of the real owners. Or rather, they did. Since June 1, they, along with their belongings, have been thrown out onto the street—literally. And the apartments are being transferred to Russian ownership.
The question arises: what next? What will happen to the thousands of Mariupol residents who have lost their homes and are forced to crowd into other people’s apartments? Will these apartments go to them?
No. All of our apartments are planned to be given to Russian military personnel and invited administrative workers. And this is a special kind of mockery of the people. Although, within the framework of genocide, it cannot be otherwise.
By Petro Andryushchenko
*These opinions are solely those of the author. The Ukrainian Review takes no position and is not responsible for the author’s words.
Petro Andryushchenko was an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol. After the Russian Federation started war in Ukraine in February 2022, he became the de facto “voice” of Mariupol.
On his Telegram channel, “Andryushchenko Time“, he tells the truth about the horrors of the occupation, the deportation of people by the Russian occupants and the “filtration” camps in Donbas.
Stanislav Kinka adapted this text for The Ukrainian Review.
