In a previous post, I described the aesthetics and practical implications of Russia’s apartment communities. This time I’m going to talk about single family housing, and since a lot of people are probably going to accuse of “spreading Russian disinformation” or whatever, here are some photos to prove what I’m saying.
Today, Maria and I walked my dog, Spazz. I brought him here from the USA and he’s a typical American who loves junk food.
I tried to get a picture of him for this post but he refused to look at the camera. Anyway. We decided to take a walk through a nearby village. Our first stop was the local church.
Outside the church there are two authentic World War II pillboxes, a relic of the 1941 siege of Moscow that people still pay their respects to.
Along the way a water truck passed us by. These trucks are meant to keep roads clean and free of dust and are a common sight around Russia in the warmer months.
Then we got to the houses. As you can see, this is a far cry from barren tundra, which is how Russia is usually portrayed in Hollywood-land.
The same way American suburbia evolved in style and taste over time, Russian suburbs are the same way, featuring a mish-mash of architecture from 50-70 years ago and newer homes from the 90s and 2000s. Some houses are in good taste, others… perhaps not so much.
Notice the apartments in the background.
The maintenance of the outer fences, structures, and exteriors of these properties is at the whim of the owners, which produces some visually intriguing contrasts. It’s possible to depict Russia as prosperous, or crumbling, without moving from where you’re standing. Prosperous Russia:
Crumbling Russia:
Prosperous Russia:
Crumbling Russia:
One aspect of this neighborhood I found intriguing was that I frequently saw laundry hung up to dry on the balconies and porches.
Obviously someone who owns a house like one of these can afford a dryer. A lot of Russian people just, apparently, don’t see the need for one so never bothered.
There is also a community of town houses (or duplexes as they’re frequently called in the USA).
Car ownership is somewhat a necessity in detached housing, but there are still several shopping centers within a reasonable walking distance, like this one:
That shopping center is busy and there’s an even busier highway beside it, with an unfortunate but necessary gap in the noise barrier. But there are so many trees you can barely hear the traffic.
Some workmen taking a break.
A little girl finds a cat.
A very silly dog barking through a hole in the gate. Woof woof woof.
Flowers at the mall.
A bus.
This is a first-hand visual of a middle class and upper-middle class community. These aren’t oligarchs, unless you think I’m an oligarch, since I’m staying in Maria’s apartment home directly adjacent to them. So I encourage everyone to save this post for the next time you see a troll on the internet wailing about miserable, impoverished Russia.
There is a frequently-repeated trope that Moscow and St. Petersburg are rich but everyone else in Russia is impoverished. I have photos from my travels over the summer, as well as some new ones, which I will be uploading shortly to show that this statement is obviously nonsense. But even if it was true… well, there are 16 million people in Moscow and 7 million in St. Petersburg, more than the entire population of the Netherlands. That’s a lot of affluent Russians. I have to wonder if the sheer numbers of affluent Russian tourists is at least part of the reason western Eurobros are so enraged and triggered.
Again, thank you to the people who donated to my page, Chris, Des Hanrahan, Someone, Longtrail, Dan Summerhill, and Pkreter. I greatly appreciate it. Right now I’m raising funds to pay for my next billing cycle to host the website. If you would like to help, you can donate here.
Ian Kummer
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Thanks a lot Ian. Eagerly waiting for more.
Thank you, readers saying they’re interested in pictures from Russia is what inspired me to upload more, and there is much more coming!
Those pictures are a great and interesting view/insight into a Foreign Land, as were the pictures of your trip to college on the 15th this month. People who have never had the opportunity to travel have been short changed.
Americans get far too little vacation time on average, and the media constantly reinforces this idea that almost everything outside the USA is bad and scary.
You’re good with your camera. Love the photos and look forward to more.
Hey Longtrail, yes definitely more coming!