How Russia confiscated the houses of Ukrainians in Mariupol. An emblematic building transformed into a real estate project

Russia sells Russian citizens the apartments in the former building of the House of Clocks, which belonged to the Ukrainians who fled the mariupol besieged in the first months of the invasion, reports Wall Street Journal.

Mariupol has become a symbol of Russian brutality and Ukrainian resistance during the siege on the Azovstal combined. At the same time, vast areas of the city were destroyed in bombardments. More recently, real estate agents have begun to promote the city, paradoxically complaining to its clean air.

The building was demolished by developers after Russia conquered Mariupol in a brutal assault that killed thousands of people, destroyed the housing fund and made the port city unrecognizable.

Now, in the presentation leaflets, developers seek to attract buyers from Russia, writing about the “majestic” architecture and the privileged location, just 15 minutes walk to sea. There is only one minus: the building suffered from damage during “military events”.

Many of the former tenants say they were deprived of their rights, after the building was sold largely to the newcomers from Russia.

“We, the former owners, have no right to be there,” says Elena Pudak. Her mother, who now lives in Germany, was the owner of a spacious apartment in the former building of the Clock House.

Once a landmark of the city, the Clock's house is now a symbol of the foundation of the city by Russia, – for economic and political purposes. And not only here: generally in occupied territories, the authorities appointed by Russia confiscated thousands of apartments after declaring them “without the owner”. The Ukrainians who would like to return would face large bureaucratic barriers to demonstrate their property rights or request damages.

In contrast, the newcomers from Russia enjoy a number of benefits, such as 2% mortgage rates in new real estate projects.

A woman from Siberia, who first visited Mariupol last year, was declared enchanted by the sunsets here. She bought an apartment that only needs minor repairs and plans to retire here, fulfilling her husband's dream of living next to the sea. Meanwhile, he will rent it to a woman in Moscow who lives and works in Mariupol.

On the other side, the inhabitants of the city say they have nowhere to return, and some do not want. Oleksandr Nosocenko, a former inhabitant, to say that a Russian military man was occupied by the seaside holiday. As a military man, Nosocenko could not return to Mariupol to request personal damages, and his wife, who went through the Russian siege, refuses to return from the principle.

A flourishing city reduced to ruin

The Clock's House, built in 1950, was one of the most coveted addresses in a flowering city. A new clock was installed on the occasion of repair works in 2021, an event that former mayor Vadim Boicenko called a symbol of the “Mariupol Renaissance”.

Only a few months later, the invasion came, followed by the siege. In March 2022, a rocket hit the clock's house, killing more tenants.

“Then we realized that we had no place to return,” said Pudak, who had fled the city with her husband and three children just days before, leaving the keys of her mother's apartment.

A real estate business

Mass relocation and destruction have created opportunities for the real estate market. As the workers began to remove the rubble, the real estate agents began to buy low -priced properties from the inhabitants who fled the war.

The tenants of the Clock House were scattered through Ukraine, Russia and Europe. But some of them were sheltered in the basement of the building until the water was infiltrated in the summer. Despite the damage, they hoped that the historical value of the building would ensure its preservation. According to a reconstruction plan of the Mariupol approved by Putin in 2022, the building was marked for restoration.

But towards the end of 2022 the bulldozers arrived, and the inhabitants looked powerless as the building is put to the ground.

According to Maria Tihovskaia, the president of the tenants' Association, three excavators were broken during demolition. “The house itself opposed destruction,” she said in a video posted online. Satellite images show that most of the building had been demolished until the beginning of 2023.

In any case, the tenants were expecting to receive apartments in the new building. For example, a decree of 2022 gave them the right to be relocated there. What they did not know was that the land had been allocated for reconstruction to a branch of Roskapstroi, subordinated to the Russian Ministry of Construction.

Ukrainians, good pay for dwellings destroyed in bombardments

Locals have realized that their hopes that they will be able to recover their homes are about to be shattered after, in July 2023, on a new Telegram channel they saw the construction plans of the new building.

New floors had been added, and the compartmentation was different: many spacious two -room apartments had been replaced with studios.

The tenants tried to be in order to get in touch with the developer, RKS Development. Meanwhile, the company has opened a sales office. Among the buyers was a real estate agent from Mariupol, who booked three apartments in the new watch house. “There was a lot of interest,” he said.

Most of the other buyers were from Russia, he added.

As for the former tenants, he says he understands their dissatisfaction, but accuses them of lack of interest.

“If they wanted to continue living there, they could pay an advance, like everyone else,” he said. This, although the price was almost three times higher than the compensation that the tenants say they received for their apartments. “It is not enough to buy a place for ever,” said one of them. .

Even if they were allowed, many of them say they opposed the principle: why should they be able to destroy Mariupol?

In less than a week, all the apartments were sold, the real estate agent said. According to a developer statement, most of the estimated cost of construction, about $ 10.5 million, was covered by future owners.

The United States has sanctioned Roskapstroi and its branches for the activity carried out in the busy Mariupol.

Unsuccessful steps besides authorities

Once the construction works started, the former tenants mobilized, using the official institutions of the Donetk People's Republic, installed by Russia in East Ukraine.

The answer: The law was modified, so that the inhabitants were no longer the right to be relocated to their former homes, but anywhere in the city.

In the case of Elena Pudak's mother, the woman tried to return to Mariupol to ask for damages for her apartment. But the woman was stopped at Seremetievo Airport in Moscow, the only entrance point for Ukrainian citizens who want to return to the occupied territories. Pudak suspects that the authorities are trying to prevent the Ukrainians from entering their properties.

Red without options, the inhabitants of the Clock House filed the process of the Donetk People's Republic, on the grounds that their rights of alleged citizens were violated. In a letter to Putin, they pleaded their cause. At the end of last year, the court rejected their claims.