‘Building On Human Bones’: How Russia Is Remaking War-Ravaged Mariupol

Haly a
A temova,
a
E glish
teache ,
lived
i
Ma iupol
fo
almost
40
yea s,
at
Metallu gy
Ave ue
87.

“It’s
my
beloved
city.
Whe
I
look
at
the
photos,
it
b i gs
tea s
to
my
eyes.
I
k ow
eve y
c ack
i
the
asphalt,
eve y
t ee,”
she
told
DW.
He
apa tme t
block
i
the
city
o
the
Sea
of
Azov
was
st uck
by
a
missile
du i g
a
Russia
attack
i
Ma ch
2022.

Photog aphe
Yevhe
Sos ovsky
a d
his
wife
lived
i
the
house
ext
doo ,
Metallu gy
Ave ue
85,
fo
20
yea s.
“I
did
eve ythi g
myself,
all
the
i te io
e ovatio s,
a d
the
fu itu e,”
he
said.
“We
i vested
a
lot
i
it;
we
pla ed
to
spe d
ou
twilight
yea s
the e,
livi g
quietly.”
His
buildi g
also
caught
fi e
du i g
the
missile
attack,
a d
eside ts
we e
d ive
out
by
Russia
t oops.
They
we e ‘t
eve
allowed
to
take
food
o
clothi g
with
them.

Now
the e’s
a
pa ki g
lot
whe e
Sos ovsky’s
apa tme t
block
used
to
be.
Next
doo ,
whe e
A temova
o ce
lived,
sta ds
a
ew
buildi g.
The
Russia
buildi g
co t acto
Su-2007,
which
ope ates
i
the
Uk ai ia
egio s
occupied
by
Russia,
clea ed
seve al
buildi gs
o
Metallu gy
Ave ue
that
we e
dest oyed
i
the
wa
a d
co st ucted
high- ise
apa tme t
blocks
i
thei
place.
These
fo m
pa t
of
a
eside tial
complex
ow
k ow
as
the
Le i g adsky
Kva tal.

“They’ e
buildi g
o
huma
bo es,
a d
fast,
to
e adicate
the
t aces
of
thei
c imes,”
said
Sos ovsky.

DW
is
ot
allowed
i
to
the
Russia -occupied
pa ts
of
Uk ai e,
so
ca ot
epo t
di ectly
f om
city.
Howeve ,
it
is
possible
to
get
a
idea
of
what
life
is
like
i
Ma iupol
today
by
talki g
to
people
who
used
to
live
the e,
studyi g
satellite
images,
a d
doi g
esea ch
o li e.

Newcome s
be efit
f om
cheap
mo tgages

Ma y
people
who
have
moved
i to
the
ew
apa tme ts
o
Metallu gy
Ave ue
commu icate
with
each
othe
o li e
i
eighbo hood
fo ums.
F om
these
fo ums,
it’s
clea
that
the
majo ity
bought
the
apa tme ts
eithe
to
live
i
themselves,
o
to
e t
out.

I
chats,
they
ask
how
they
ca
get
fu itu e
delive ed
f om
Russia,
o
which
ki de ga te
o
school
they
should
choose
fo
thei
child e .
People
a e
emi ded
that
the
most
impo ta t
thi g
whe
submitti g
docume ts
is
that
they
should
be
of
Russia
o igi .

Not
eve yo e
has
fi ished
emodeli g
thei
apa tme ts,
a d
some
people
with
small
child e
take
the
oppo tu ity
to
complai :
“It’s
too
late!
Stop
the
goddam
e ovatio s!
O
maybe
you’ e
p o-Uk ai ia
a d
oppose
Russia
laws?”

Eco omist
Vyacheslav
Shi yaev
said
apa tme ts
i
the
ew
buildi gs
i
Ma iupol
a e
bei g
bought
p ima ily
by
i come s:
Russia
secu ity
pe so el,
officials
a d
people
wo ki g
i
milita y
logistics.
“I
additio ,
the e
a e
some
who
would
just
like
to
live
by
the
sea
but
ca ‘t
affo d
C imea
o
Sochi,”
he
said.

I
the
Russia -occupied
egio s,
people
a e
offe ed
cheap
mo tgages
at
a
a ual
i te est
ate
of
2%
fo
the
whole
pe iod
of
the
mo tgage
—
p ovided
the
bo owe
has
Russia
citize ship.
The
maximum
they
ca
bo ow
is
6
millio
ubles
(a ou d
&eu o;63,000/$72,000),
a d
they
must
be
able
to
put
dow
a
deposit
of
at
least
2%.

P ope ty
p ices
have
soa ed

Doze s
of
apa tme t
blocks
a e
bei g
built
i
Ma iupol,
a d
ma y
a e
al eady
occupied.
Russia
ba ks
epo t
that
the
po t
city
i
the
occupied
egio
tops
the
list
fo
mo tgage
loa s.
P ope ty
p ices
have
ise
by
a
thi d
i
just
o e
yea ,
p ima ily
because
of
the
coastal
locatio .

You
wo ‘t
fi d
a
locatio
like
this
i
Russia,
said
Shi yaev.
Howeve ,
he
poi ted
out
that
the
apa tme ts
a e
of
ve y
bad
quality.
“Co st uctio
compa ies
a e
cutti g
co e s
whe eve
they
ca ,
but
still
dema di g
exo bita t
p ices,”
he
said.

The
Le i g adsky
Kva tal
eside tial
complex,
15
buildi gs
of
12
to
15
floo s
each,
is
ea
the
ce te
of
tow
a d
just
10
mi utes’
d ive
f om
the
sea.
O e-
a d
two- oom
apa tme ts
cost
betwee
7.5
millio
a d
almost
10
millio
ubles
(&eu o;104,000).
Th ee- oom
apa tme ts
ca
be
bought
fo
upwa ds
of
10
millio
ubles.
Newcome s
to
the
egio
a e
offe ed
discou ts
of
up
to
12%.

I
the
chats,
people
livi g
i
the
complex
say
they
have
i su ed
thei
mo tgages
“agai st
wa
isks.”
If
thei
buildi g
is
dest oyed,
they
wo ‘t
have
to
pay
back
thei
loa .
They
will,
howeve ,
lose
thei
apa tme t.

Nobody
i
the
fo um
talks
about
the
fact
that
the e
we e
othe
people
livi g
o
the
site
of
Le i g adsky
Kva tal
just
a
few
yea s
ago.

Dead
a d
wou ded
i
Ma iupol

Acco di g
to
the
U ited
Natio s,
90%
of
the
buildi gs
i
Ma iupol
we e
damaged
o
dest oyed
i
the
2022
siege.
Media
outlets
estimate
that
te s
of
thousa ds
of
people
we e
killed.
Fo me
eside ts
of
Metallu gy
Ave ue
told
DW
of
eighbo s
who
we e
killed
o
i ju ed.

“A
ma
a d
his
so
f om
the
buildi g
ext
doo
we e
killed
whe
they
we t
out
to
fetch
wate ,”
said
A temova.
“I
house
umbe
89,
a
woma
was
bu ied
be eath
a
co c ete
slab
afte
a
missile
st ike
a d
died.
A
missile
st uck
the
fi st
floo
of
house
umbe
91,
a d
a
family
was
killed.”

A temova
he self
was
wou ded
by
sh ap el,
but
ma aged
to
leave
Ma iupol
with
he
elde ly
mothe
a d
he
so .
Sos ovsky
was
hit
by
a
bullet.
He
too
fled
the
city,
with
his
wife
a d
mothe -i -law.

Ma y
of
those
who
lived
i
buildi gs
that
we e
hit,
but
whose
apa tme ts
we e
ot
dest oyed,
have
emai ed
i
the
city.
Howeve ,
DW
was
told
that
the
occupyi g
autho ities
dema ded
they
leave
thei
apa tme ts
o etheless.
They
we e
p omised
ew
apa tme ts
i
excha ge.

But
a
sou ce
told
DW
that
o e
of
the
i habita ts
of
the
fo me
blocks
o
Metallu gy
Ave ue
was
allocated
a
apa tme t
i
the
ew
Le i g adsky
Kva tal
buildi gs.
A d
those
who
had
lost
eve ythi g
i
the
attacks
could
ot
affo d
a
mo tgage.
A othe
sou ce
told
DW
that
people
we e
put
i
accommodatio
o
the
outski ts
of
tow ,
o
else
i
hostels.

‘We
we e
obbed
of
ou
good
life’

The
majo ity
of
those
who
fled
do
u de sta d
why
thei
fo me
eighbo s
stayed
i
the
city.
Not
eve yo e
had
the
possibility
of
leavi g
Ma iupol
a d
sta ti g
agai
elsewhe e.

“The
local
populatio
is
bei g
pushed
out
of
Ma iupol,”
said
A temova,
who
ow
lives
i
Kyiv
with
he
so .
Like
othe s
DW
spoke
with
who
had
left
the
city,
she
said
Ma iupol
had
sta ted
to
develop
apidly
a
few
yea s
befo e
the
Russia
i vasio
i
ea ly
2022.
People
wa ted
to
live
the e.

“We
we e
obbed
of
ou
o di a y
life,
which
may
have
bee
u i te esti g
fo
some,
but
it
was
a
good
life.
We’d
go
to
ma ket,
k ew
whe e
to
buy
what;
we’d
have
a
coffee,
bump
i to
a
school
f ie d
with
he
dog
a d
say
hello,”
she
emembe ed.

Neithe
A temova
o
Sos ovsky
a e
co side i g
etu i g
to
thei
hometow
a d
e- egiste i g
thei
apa tme ts
acco di g
to
the
egulatio s
of
the
Russia
occupyi g
autho ity.
It’s
ot
eve
clea
whethe
o
ot
they
would
be
allowed
to
e te
the
zo e.
But
Uk ai e
is
ot
compe sati g
people
fo
the
loss
of
p ope ty
the e,
as
its
autho ities
ca ‘t
assess
the
situatio
without
access
to
the
occupied
egio .

“They’ e
buildi g
thei
shi y
ew
houses
o
what
used
to
be
a
g aveya d.
I’d
like
othi g
bette
tha
to
bomb
them,
but
o ly
whe
o
o e’s
i
the
buildi gs.
It’s
e ough
to
d ive
you
to
despai ,”
said
o e
fo me
eside t
of
Metallu gy
Ave ue.
He
too
lived
the e
fo
decades,
a d
emembe s
his
child’s
fi st
steps,
take
i
a
apa tme t
that
o
lo ge
exists.

This
is
how
he
desc ibes
the
city
today:
“I
the
ce te
it’s
still
OK,
but
if
you
go
just
a
little
to
the
left
o
ight
it
smells
of
death.”

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Welle,
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o

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