Why communal apartments are not losing popularity among indigenous residents and visitors in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Palaces, avenues, royal architecture, fountains, beautiful suburbs... Petersburg ": courtyards-wells, described in such detail by Dostoevsky in" Crime and Punishment ", old houses, and many communal apartments.

Why are there situations in 2021 when several families live under one roof, share the same kitchen, one toilet? To answer this question, you need to dig a little into history. Until 1918, it was St. Petersburg that was the capital, and all business life was concentrated in it. All prosperous and wealthy citizens lived in St. Petersburg. The result of the revolutions was such a process as the distribution of common areas among the total number of residents, i.e. the "sharing" began. Later the capital was moved to Moscow, but the processes in St. Petersburg could no longer be stopped.

Now in St. Petersburg, like nowhere else, there are many apartments that are owned by several families. If you ask a person who grew up in a communal apartment, what he would like, perhaps everyone will answer roughly the same: "Personal space." Great luck if you are lucky with your neighbors and peace reigns in the house and there are no conflicts. But stories are very common when different families have questions in the mail, for example, related to the cleanliness of common areas (kitchen, toilet).

Many native Petersburgers live in communal apartments, mainly due to the proximity to the center. Separate apartments, the closer to the center, the more expensive. Not everyone can afford it. Here the question of priorities opens up: a separate but “distant” apartment, or a communal apartment, but you can walk along Nevsky Prospekt every day.

Communal apartments also attract visitors with their affordability and proximity to the center. Most of the visitors to St. Petersburg are students, and almost all universities are concentrated in the center.