Last week’s post, From Dump to Soviet Palace – Part 1, and my post about living conditions in Moscow painted bleak pictures about Russian living conditions, but let me assure you that ideal apartments DO exist in Moscow, like my lovely little Soviet palace of a flat.
If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen that three weeks ago (already). I moved from a dump to a Soviet palace. It’s not a real palace, of course, but compared to the dump I was living in, it is!
More specifically, it’s veeeery Soviet. One of my Russian co-workers said that it’s a Soviet babushka’s dream with the rosy wallpaper, chandeliers, a huge rug on a wall as a decoration, china cabinet full of glasses, and pink bathroom.
My new room.
As I’m sitting in my new room writing this, I realize that for the first time since I’ve been in Russia, I feel like I’m at home. When I saw this apartment for the first time, it felt like I had stepped back in time.
I had another I’m really in Moscow moment. I guess it’s more like a general I’m really in Russia moment.
I’m settled into my new apartment, which is a palace compared to the dump.
This was left in my china cabinet. You know you’re in Russia when…
I mean:
♥ The wallpaper is intact.
♥ All the windows close.
♥ All the doors close.
♥ The bathroom sink is solid and not moving at all.
♥ All the kitchen cupboard doors are straight and close normally.
♥ The furniture in the kitchen is not falling apart.
♥ The toilet is perfectly fine, including the toilet seat.
♥ There is no mould anywhere.
♥ The mattress is clean.
♥ The oven works.
♥ The kitchen counter is perfect.
♥ All the elements on the stove work.
In a nutshell, everything is clean
and nothing is falling apart! ![😀]()
Imagine that! Have a look. ↓
My roommate has the bedroom with tons of closet space.
This is what’s covering the wall next to her bed. Having a rug covering a wall for decoration is very Soviet.
A clean, stable, functioning kitchen! Yay!
Good thing I love pink!
One feature about my Soviet palace that isn’t actually Soviet is the height. Soviet style apartments typically have very high ceilings. My friend was kind enough to snap a couple of shots so we could see her Soviet palace. 
↓
I LOVE her kitchen!
Notice the higher ceiling. It’s 3.10m high.
Of course, her apartment came with lovely chandeliers.
My friend’s apartment building. The flats are above the businesses, like the bank on the main floor.
Her building was first completed in the early 1950s for the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering, but it was torn down and rebuilt in 1956 because the builders didn’t follow construction rules.
Anyway, she shares her two-room apartment with a friend. They pay 60,000 rubles a month for rent, but if they decide to buy it, they’ll have to pay 13 to 14 million rubles!
She doesn’t live far from downtown, so you can imagine how much more an apartment in the city centre would cost.
Mine is far from the city centre. It’s cheaper, of course, but I don’t know how much my employer pays for it. It’s a one-bedroom with a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. I’ve learned from my students that it’s not uncommon for a whole family to live in an apartment like mine. All the kids share the bedroom and the parents use the living room.
When times were tougher, one whole family would live in one room, another family would live in the living room, and everyone would share the kitchen and the bathroom. That was considered to be normal, and even now, the idea of having a whole bedroom to yourself and not having to share with siblings is unbelievable.
You’ll only see apartment buildings in Moscow unless it’s an old, historical estate. A lot of Soviet buildings are five stories high, but there aren’t nearly as many Soviet buildings in Moscow as in St. Petersburg. My dump was on the 11th floor of a 17-storey building; this Soviet palace is on the 10th floor (of 17), and a lot of apartment buildings are that high or even higher. There are always buildings being torn down and rebuilt, and I wonder when that’s going to happen to my old building.
For the time being, I’m so happy to finally feel like I’m home in my Soviet palace. Of course, it’s not an actual palace, just like how my first apartment in Japan – Leo Palace – wasn’t an actual palace, but both certainly are compared to the dump I just got out of.
How would you like to live in a Soviet palace like mine?
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