Last week we looked at a Russian oligarch's yacht being seized by the authorities in Italy and at the UK announcing sanctions against 7 oligarchs for their ties to the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But today squatters in London provided us with an even better social architecture solution for the properties owned by Russian oligarchs.
In the early morning of Monday, a group of anarchist squatters occupied indeed a west-London mansion believed to be owned by billionaire energy tycoon Oleg Deripaska, founder of metals and hydropower company EN+, also on the list of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the British government.
Dubbed the London Makhnovists after Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno, who revolted against the Russian White Army in 1918-21, the group stood on the balcony of the mansion with a Ukrainian flag, banners stating "This property has been liberated" and "Putin go fuck yourself" in Ukrainian and English.
Short videos filmed inside the £25 million property in London's Belgravia (an area where many wealthy Russians bought mansions) that were posted on social media showed huge rooms with art on the walls and a grand piano. The mansion also features a home cinema, a Turkish steam bath and a gym.
Police forces were called, but on Twitter the group Resist London highlighted that the squatters "are using a version of the Section 6 notice known as the 'protest defense', in which they do not intend to live and sleep at the property, but are instead occupying it as a protest, on rotation."
The squatters explained indeed that no damage was done to the property and they weren't moving there, but were reclaiming 5 Belgrave Square, for Ukrainians fleeing the war, along with other refugees needing shelter.
In response, the prime minister's official spokesman stated that squatting in residential buildings is illegal. Besides, new legislation may be required to turn confiscated properties into shelters.
In the face of what has been going on in the last 20 days or so in Ukraine with civilians dying every day and refugees fleeing the country, occupying a building belonging to a Russian oligarch to assign it to people left with nothing is the most logical solution (this is actually not the first time squatters break into a Russian oligarch's house: in 2017 a group of squatters took over Andrey Goncharenko's Belgravia mansion). After all, when the authorities seize a property, they just lock it and leave it empty, why not assigning it to somebody in need?
In a message posted on social media, the squatters stated: "You occupy Ukraine, we occupy you," concluding with a final invitation to "Squat oligarchs' properties everywhere". The squatters' occupation makes you think about different spaces in our cities (think about abandoned houses, but confiscated properties as well) and about how they could be reinvented by architects who may transform them into social architectures destined to asylum seekers, refugees, the homeless and people in need.
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