Squatting in Ukraine

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Squatting in Ukraine (Ukrainian language: Сквот) is the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. From the 17th-century onwards, there have been waves of squatting in the Ukraine. In this century, squatting has been practiced by different groups such as artists, anarchists, Ukrainian nationalists, displaced Crimean Tatars returning to the region and refugees created by the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

History[]

Ukraine has experienced waves of squatting. From the 17th-century onwards, squatters claimed land on the steppe in what was then Muscovy and were legalized by the authorities in Moscow.[1] Peasants were then given land and expanded what they owned through squatting.[2] In the 18th-century, squatters settled land along the banks of the Inhulets and Tiasmyn rivers.[3] In addition, Russian traditionalist historians have refused to acknowledge Ukraine as a state and regard all Ukrainians as "squatters" on Russian lands.[4]

Exterior of building
Mykhailivska Street 18A in Kyiv, a squat from 1990 until 1994, photographed in 2012.

At the beginning of World War II, refugees came to Ukraine from Poland and squatted in cities such as Lviv.[5] Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR, people made informal shelters along the Dnieper, for example on the edge of Kremenchuk. The shacks often had telephone numbers written on a sign, to indicate ownership.[6] Between 1990 and 1994, there was the Parkomuna art squat in Kyiv, at Mykhailivska Street 18A (previously known as Paris Commune street). Artists associated with the space included Arsen Savadov.[7] and a book was published to accompany an exhibition about the project in 2019.[8] From 2005 onwards, there was the SOSka art squat in Kharkiv.[9]

Tatars[]

Empty houses
The village of Uskut after the deportation of its inhabitants in 1945

Crimean Tatars were deported from their homes as part of the Stalinist program of population transfer in the Soviet Union in the 1940s. When they returned, they found their properties lived in by others and thus began a movement of self-settlement (Ukrainian language:sama-zaxvat) in which they squatted land and hoped to stay long enough to gain legal tenure. Around 1,000 occupations occurred in southern Crimea between 1990 and 1995, of which 270 were permitted by the local authorities (and of these 147 proved to be uninhabitable).[10]: 245, 246 

The Soviet-era Criminal Code of Ukraine, enacted in 1961, did not legislate against squatters since the phenomenon was not widespread. After the protests of the returning Crimean Tatars, a new code was introduced in 2003 (retroactive to 2001) on the appeal of the Crimean Parliament. Following the law change, squatting in Crimea is punishable by fines, two years of hard labour and imprisonment.[10]: 246  In addition the use of dogs, chemicals and weapons was mandated to evict squats.[10]: 246  Matters then came to a head in Simeiz in 2004, when Tatars occupied land owned by a politician and he reacted by summoning Cossack mercenaries. The Cossacks demolished the informal settlement and a number of squatters were fined and imprisoned.[10]: 247  The following year, another conflict occurred in Koktebel when 2,000 soldiers were mobilized but the squatters were not evicted.[10]: 249, 250 

Protests continued in 2009, when Daniyal Ametov led a demonstration of 2,000 Tatars outside the Council of Ministers of Crimea.[11] After the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, around 10,000 Tatars have been forced to flee the area by the new government.[12]

Recent events[]

Exterior of building
The Honka house at the Mezhyhirya Residence

Following the Euromaidan protests in 2013, the government was concerned by armed militants who continued to squat buildings near to Maidan Nezalezhnosti.[13] The 2014 Ukrainian revolution followed, in which the president, Viktor Yanukovych, fled and the government was toppled. The opulent Honka house at Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya Residence was occupied by activists wanting to preserve it for the people of Ukraine.[14] It is owned by Tantalit, a company connected to Yanukovych which has had its assets frozen, and as of 2020 was still squatted.[14] During the War in Donbass, people displaced by conflict from places such as Pisky squatted in neighbouring villages such as Pervomaysk.[15]

During the Euromaidan, a squat was used as the headquarters of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion and later became a far-right social centre. Freedom House views the Azov as a threat to Ukrainian democracy.[16] Autonomia was an anarchist self-managed social centre established in Kharkiv in 2014. It provided aid to refugees from the Donbass and the Crimea and organised cultural events such as poetry readings, concerts and exhibitions. It was supported by artists such as Hito Steyerl, Serhiy Zhadan and Petr Pavlensky, then was evicted and demolished in 2018.[17] Economic instability caused by war led to dozens of squats in Kyiv. One well-known project is the 17b yard cafe.[18][19]

References[]

  1. ^ Davies, Brian (4 April 2014). Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500–1700. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-134-55283-2.
  2. ^ Friesen, L. (1992). "Mennonites and their Peasant Neighbours in Ukraine Before 1900". Journal of Mennonite Studies: 56–69.
  3. ^ Polonsʹka-Vasylenko, Natalija D. (1955). The Settlement of the Southern Ukraine (1750–1775). Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in the U.S. p. 22.
  4. ^ Kuzio, Taras (26 October 2020). "Western Histories of 'Russia' and Ukraine". E-International Relations. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  5. ^ Paul, Allen (15 March 2010). Katyn: Stalin's Massacre and the Triumph of Truth. Cornell University Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-5017-5720-4.
  6. ^ Cybriwsky, Roman Adrian (15 March 2018). Along Ukraine's River: A Social and Environmental History of the Dnipro. Central European University Press. p. 117, 141. ISBN 978-963-386-204-9.
  7. ^ Prudenko, Ianina. "HISTORY OF MEDIA ART IN UKRAINE. ARCHIVING EXPERIENCE". Open Archive of Ukrainian Media Art. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  8. ^ "ParCommune" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  9. ^ Babij, Larissa (24 July 2009). "A Short Guide to Contemporary Art in Ukraine ("Short Guide Series")". Art Margins. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e Izmirli, Idil P. (9 September 2008). "Return to the Golden Cradle: Postreturn Dynamics and Angst". In Buckley, Cynthia J.; Ruble, Blair A.; Hofmann, Erin Trouth (eds.). Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia. Woodrow Wilson Center Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9075-8. Archived from the original on 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  11. ^ Bureau (30 March 2009). "Crimean Tatars Demonstrate On Land Issue". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  12. ^ Jerome, David (2019). Examining War and Conflict around the World. ABC-CLIO. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-4408-5906-9.
  13. ^ Whalen, Jeanne (10 April 2014). "Protesters Still Hang Out Around Kiev 'Maidan,' Hanging On to Weapons Too". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  14. ^ a b Richter, Darmon (29 July 2020). "Occupy Mezhyhirya: Squatting the Mansion of Ukraine's Ex-President". Ex Utopia. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Squatting In Pervomaysk: Finding Refuge In Eastern Ukraine". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Почему Министерство ветеранов Украины сотрудничает с ультраправыми и чем это чревато для США". Беллингкэт (in Russian). 11 November 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  17. ^ Ridnyi, Mykola. "The squat is a squat". Ukrainian Encyclopedia of Architecture. Translated by Anna Kolomiytseva. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  18. ^ Chuzavkov, Sergei (7 July 2016). "AP Photos: Squatting flourishes in free-wheeling Kiev". AP News. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  19. ^ "From squats to hubs: What is the creative economy". Culture Partnership. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.

Further reading[]

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