Yards Discount

Travelling to Russia, while you're there be sure to see the "yard system" ...this is how Real Russia lives !

If you're travelling to Russia, please see the sights, the grand palaces , the stunning architecture and of course the tourist attractions, but for a real taste of "Real Russia", take a look behind the main roads at the yard system, for this is where a chapter of Soviet history has been written and is being lived with...daily.

One of the most striking differences that a Western foreigner will notice in Russia is the " yard system ". Housing in most of Russia in the last century has developed into roughly shaped quadrangles of four tenement blocks, each housing approximately one hundred individual flats, accessed from three main entrance doors.

You may want to see photographs of the Russian yard system

This was the answer to a pressing need across Russia for affordable, cheap and quick to build housing, and was achieved by using almost the same blueprint or set of plans throughout the development stage all across Russia.

The quadrangle, in theory owned by the State, was almost always built with communal living in mind, and each yard has two or sometimes three small childrens play areas for the families living in the flats. Nowadays some yards are being bought by co- operatives by the flat owners, renovated, fenced and turned into gated communities, perhaps a sign of Western influence.

The yard system is a refreshing alternative to the Western " fence everything in " territorial attitude and certainly one of the better results of the Communist dogma.

Over the last twenty years, and since the demise of the Soviet Union, the Western influence of the " me me me " generation has resulted in communal activities such as looking after the yard, collecting litter, gardening etc..being gradually curtailed. Worn out yards with poor roads, dangerous poorly maintained playgrounds and lack of funds has seen many yards fall into disrepair.

True, in many yards there is a poorly paid caretaker that looks after a very small area, sweeping up etc, paid from a social communal charge and in many yards it is common to see older people, usually women, taking great pleasure in planting a few colourful flowers. Unfortunately these communal areas need real investment, real money and a lot of constant attention to bring them alive, and as has been seen in the West, a poor housing area quickly breeds, depression, social malaise, and a dour hopeless atmosphere which quickly develops, if nothing is done, more severe social problems.

To a foreigner, the yard system has an open feel, anyone can walk through anyone elses yard, there are very few railings, fences or boundaries or as has become known in the West " gated communities ".

Russia has space and as yet, is not a country obsessed with privately owned territory.

Read about the Russian Dacha and other Russian property issues.

Some yards even have a small corner shop that sells bread and milk etc..

The heating system in these houses is archaic to say the least, regional pumping stations supply hot water for baths, showers and kitchens as well as the radiators. In some houses there are no thermostats, so in reality the temperature inside is very hot or very cold, and curiously enough for foreigners, every year for about two weeks the hot water supply is turned off at source for routine maintenance.

Modern properties are not affected by this Soviet central control authoritarian system. As well as no thermostats, it is common for the stopcock or tap to turn the water off for re-decoration etc, to be found in every third flat, meaning that your re-decoration may well depend on the goodwill and co-operation of several neighbours.

Each block of flats has a caretaker, usually an older resident, that undertakes some duties such as liaising with local administration and organising neighbourhood meetings to discuss renovations, gardens and other matters. In return for these duties the caretaker may get a discount on the ground rent of up to 50 %.

Flats in the yard system have either an internal rubbish chute system or a communal bin area, common in Europe, which is emptied daily without fail, paid for by communal charges levied on every individual flat. These systems appear to work very well.

The payment system for these Russian tenement blocks of flats is far more complicated than it has to be, each resident receives bills in a communal poorly secured internal letterbox ( no individual letterboxes on doors ) for electricity, gas, heating, water, ground rent, communal area charges and even a very small amount for the lighting and sweeping of the communal stairwell. Each bill involves a receipt that has to be paid in cash at the post office usually after a long time queuing. Internet and atm banking, at the time of writing is still very much a pipe dream for provincial Russian towns.

The principle of social housing en mass is well documented but flawed in modern society. The modern reality of these social housing projects is bleak and distressing. The often dark yards in the evening, poorly controlled door entry systems and the lack of a visible police presence, has created breeding grounds for drug dealing, excessive drinking and other anti-social behaviour out of sight of prying eyes. Locals and neighbours are often reluctant to call the police out of fear and a lack of confidence in the authorities.

This is not just a Russian problem, large scale housing developments all over the world have created similar situations out of misguided social engineering projects devoid of any humanitarian understanding. The balance sheet, unfortunately has too often been the dominating and decisive factor in providing affordable housing for a population.

About the Author

When I met my wife on the internet 7 years go I didn't follow the usual path of bringing her to my European country, I wanted to understand her background, her views and lifestyle...I moved to Siberia and still live here. The experiences need to be seen to be believed but you can read about them at www.rurev.com

If you want to understand your partner, understand Russia, start by looking at some real photographs and then read all about Russia at www.rurev.com

Does anyone know where you can buy discount fabric online?

There is only one local store near me which is always picked over and expensive. I thought I might try online- but who is safe to buy from, and has the best selections and prices (like $5 a yard and under)?

I've had good luck with fabricmartfabrics.com, fabrics-store.com, wazoodle.com, thaisilks.com (ok, not cheap, but not expensive for what they are), I've heard enough problems and mixups with Fabric Club that I'm leery, though those who are happy with it seem to be quite happy.

Most of the cheap fabrics I use for muslins, however, come from sales at stores more local to me, like Fabric Depot or Mill End or Pendleton.

Beast Mode Remix - Marshawn Lynch vs. BoB (The 67 yard touchdown against the Saints)

Tags: baby, competitor, discount, discount baby play yards, discount play yards, wedding_stuff, yardage

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 2:10 am and is filed under scrapbooking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.