Tens of thousands of people lost their homes after russian shelling of Mariupol in 2022, and many residents still cannot receive the compensation promised by the “authorities”. At the same time, businessmen and politicians close to the russian government are earning billions of rubles from the construction of new homes, the russian opposition Telegram channel “Vot Tak” reported on August 31.
The outlet found that one of the main beneficiaries of the development of Mariupol is oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov. The “Republican Construction Company” (RCK) associated with him is building residential complexes in the city on the sites of demolished homes. According to “Vot Tak” estimates, the state-owned VTB bank has already allocated more than 26.5 billion rubles to RCK for construction in occupied Mariupol, Luhansk, and Henichesk — making Yevtushenkov the largest recipient of loans for mortgage development in the so-called new regions.
Another major player is United Russia party member Sergei Kolunov. The politician’s company is building more housing in Mariupol than any other developer. At the same time, Kolunov himself is deputy chairman of the State Duma Construction Committee. He is running for election again this year.
Another major developer is “YugStroyInvest”, a company owned by entrepreneur Yuri Ivanov (18.36 billion). He is an influential developer in southern russia. This summer, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Ivanov signed an agreement to build housing and infrastructure in Donetsk and Makiivka with investments of more than 100 billion rubles, so Ivanov will likely top the ranking of developers in the occupied Ukrainian regions in the coming years, “Vot Tak” notes.