The Russian authorities have decided to involve students in rebuilding the city of Mariupol, which was destroyed and occupied by the Russian army.
Russia’s state-run news agency TASS cited Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova as saying that brigades of Russian university students will be sent to restore infrastructure in Mariupol.
According to her, this summer Russian student brigades (RSOs) will participate in the restoration of the infrastructure of Mariupol. “This summer will open up new opportunities for you. I am sure that you will cope with all the tasks that you have to perform,” Mrs. Golikova said in video greeting to the opening of the 64th working semester of Russian student brigades.
She also clarified that Russian students have already been involved in the restoration of the Saur-Mohyla memorial complex in the Donetsk region, damaged as a result of hostilities.
In addition, Golikova said that RSOs are being recruited to work at enterprises of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation.
Recall, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported last October that Russian construction companies were sending migrant workers from Tajikistan to rebuild the devastated Mariupol. Those who agreed were promised to pay from 130,000 to 250,000 Russian rubles (RR) a month. In addition to high salaries, migrant workers were promised a “social package”: temporary housing and three meals a day.
Two months later, migrants from Tajikistan sent to restore Mariupol said that their employers had deceived them – they paid them only half of the promised salary.
Student construction brigades are temporary construction teams composed of students in universities and other institutions of higher education to work, usually during vacations. This form originated under the control of Komsomol of the Soviet Union. There are efforts to revive the approach in modern Russia and Belarus.
Mariupol is a city in Donetsk oblast, Ukraine. Since May 2022, Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk oblast.
