Oksana Mazina
Oksana, a native of Mariupol, had been residing in the city for years. At first, she worked as a hot metal stamping operator at the Mariupol Illich Steel and Iron Works and later as a supermarket saleswoman.
Due to the Russo-Ukrainian war escalation and the aggravation of the situation in Mariupol, on March 5, 2022, Oksana, together with her daughter Yelyzaveta Fatieieva, Yelyzaveta’s then-boyfriend Dmytro Murantsev, and their cat, came to the Drama Theater seeking to evacuate the city. As a result of the Russian Federation Armed Forces disrupting the "regime of silence," she and her family were forced to take sheltсer inside the Theater. While staying here, Oksana hardly ever left the building and mostly was in the basement.
On March 16, when the Russian Federation Armed Forces attacked the Theater building, Oksana, Yelyzaveta, and Dmytro were taking cover in a bomb shelter. That is why they remained unharmed and, lately, managed to leave Mariupol.
The video above is a short version of a five-hour interview with Oksana using a technique called situated testimony. Oksana helped us learn about the social interactions and mutual aid that emerged within the theater and model and adjust the architecture of the building’s premises in detail.
The interview was created with the financial support of European Union, International Renaissance Foundation
This publication/interview was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.
