Communal Apartment

According to a Russian broadcast of "Vesti" (Вести = news) that I just watched, about 200,000 families in Moscow still live in communal apartments. (I think the region was Moscow...my comprehension isn't always that amazing.) Talk about crazy! I though those had been consigned to the dustbin of history, considering how much people universally revile them.

There seems to be a government push to get people out of these communal apartments. However, they interviewed some people who lived in communal apartments, and they didn't seem entirely keen to leave. Some people complained about feeling like they lived "in a train station." An old lady said she never actually bathed in the apartment, but preferred to go to communal baths instead. Still, a young woman explained that she doesn't want to leave the apartment because it is in a good location in the city. She'd rather live in a communal apartment in the center than a private apartment in the boonies. Given the sprawling size of Moscow, this is understandable.

My fellow Fulbright colleague here said she had seen such apartments in Poland. I myself have never actually seen one. Interesting issue! The more things change, the more they stay the same...

For a compelling depiction of the, ahem, romantic possibilities of living in a communal apartment, see the excellent film East-West.

This picture is from a site (http://kommunalka.colgate.edu/) that has virtual tours of communal apartments.