Typical Russian Life in St. Petersburg (01/01/04)

Last updated 02/08/04                                                                                                                               

Some thoughts on typical Russian life will soon follow.

Pictures

Mama Vaya living room                Coffee/tea time is a common event                The only shrine to the Mehras in existence

Some typical views of a Russian apartment -- a tastefully decorated living room which can double as a bedroom (old Soviet apartments had few rooms, so it was a common practice to use the living room as a dining-room/bedroom as needed). Note the carpet on the wall behind Daria in the second picture -- this is to compensate for paper-thin walls that were installed in most Soviet-era flats (they also provide wonderful wall decor).

That's the front door in the background                Neighborhood building in the background                The next batch of Xmas trees?

Some views of the neighborhood where Mama Vaya (Daria's mom) lives. The big black door marking the entrance to the building is solid, if somewhat scary.

A monument to Lenin                Daria got her root-canals here                Daria swears this hill was bigger when she was a child

Some other views from the neighborhood. Soviet-era monuments dedicated to revolutionary leaders are quite common -- and even the metro station names serve as a reminder of the Socialist past (Proletarskaya is the name of the closest metro station). In the hill picture, Daria's holding a piece of cardboard in her hands. Kids use these as disposable snowboards to go down icy paths created in the hill (see the long streak in the hill behind her)... I guess I must be getting old because the thought of going down an icy incline (or even a flat patch) seems more dangerous than fun.

Yup, that's one big icicle 

This common sight is yet another reminder that you are definitely in Middle Winter!