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The Neighborhood
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Views of the streets and courtyards where some of our characters live.
A bridge over the river
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A view of a bridge not far from the apartments shown in Tours 1, 2, and 3, as well as in a few clips from Tour 4. 2007.
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Apartment building and environs
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This is where people from Tours 1-3 walk on their way to the metro. 2007.
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Streets
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A view of a street in a neighborhood which is home to some of the people featured in this virtual museum. 2007.
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Courtyard gate
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This fancy metal gate into the main courtyard was put up recently. The gate is not locked; it is used by many residents of communal apartments in the building. 2006.
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A central courtyard
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A view of the courtyard of the building where some of our characters live. Privately-owned apartments, created out of former communal apartments, face onto this courtyard, under guard and electronic monitoring (see the video cameras on the left). 2007.
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A house at the corner of Bolshoy and Karpovka
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Two streets often seen by Marina and Lena from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who lived here before the revolution?" (Tour 5). 2007.
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Bolshoy Prospekt: theater and television tower
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What Marina and Lena from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5) see on their way home from the Petrogradskaya metro stop. 2007.
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Bolshoy Prospekt, Tolstoy Square
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What Marina and Lena from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5) see every day as they leave the house. 2007.
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Apartment I. Common Areas
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A photographic "walk" through the common spaces of the apartment shown in video Tours 1 and 2.
The people in Tours 1-3 live here
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The people shown in Tours 1, 2, and 3 live in this neighborhood. 2007.
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Entrance
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Front door, used every day by the people from Tours 1-3. See also a close-up view. 2007.
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Entrance (close up)
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Beyond this door is the stairway to apartments in Tours 1-3. Behind the metal outer door, the old wooden door, with cardboard in place of glass, is visible. 2007.
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Window in the entrance hall
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First floor entrance hall shown in the clip "Stairwell" of the building in Tours 1-3. 2007.
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The door to where the janitor once lived
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The door to where the janitor, a Tatar, once lived (see the clip "Stairwell" from Tour 1). Someone placed a discarded refrigerator behind the elevator. Its handle is sticking out on the left. 2007.
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A repaired banister
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On the stairs of the building from Tours 1-3, the banister has been repaired but not restored; for several years there has been a gap here. See photo "A broken banister." 2007.
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The stairwell ceiling
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All of the apartments leading out onto this stairwell from Tours 1-3 are communal; see clip "Stairwell"; some of the original decor from 1917, when the building was built, has been preserved. 2007.
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Apartment door
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A typical apartment entrance in the building from Tours 1 and 2. The new wiring on the wall is the TV and Internet cable. 2007.
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Doorbells on an apartment door
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There are several bells at the door to the apartment, but it is not clear who they belong to. 2002.
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Apartment I floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment from Tours 1-2 (all clips), home to "auntie" Asya, Ekaterina Sergeevna, Masha, Sveta, and Natasha. 2006.
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Entryway and hallway
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Entryway and hallway with communal phone, table, and chair. We see "Auntie" Asya speaking on the phone in this same hallway in the clip "The Empty Room" (Tour 2), filmed 9 years after this photograph was taken. 1997.
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Partial view of an entryway
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Entryway from "The Empty Room," Tour 2. The door to the "empty room" is to the left of the cabinet. The little bookshelf is shown in this photo. Imported electronics were not widely available until the 1990s. 2007.
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Slippers on an bookcase
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Slippers are placed on this little bookcase near the door leading from the entryway into a room. This is the apartment seen in Tours 1 and 2. 2006.
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A former resident's room, now an "empty" one
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We see this "empty" room in the clip of the same name from Tour 2, where its history is related. In addition to the junk, there are wardrobes that are used by a family that had no other space for it. 2007.
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The ceiling in the "empty" room
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A corner of this empty room from the clip of the same name (Tour 2) was walled off when the apartment was modified. The bulb has been burned out for many years. 2007.
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Two shower curtains
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The second (green) plastic curtain is necessary because the tub hasn't been calked. The hose on the edge of the tub is the drain from one of the washing machines. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2 (e.g. clip "Washroom"). 2007.
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Sheets of newsprint to spread on the toilet seat
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This pouch on the inside of the lavatory door holds sheets of newsprint to be spread on the toilet seat. We see this lavatory in the clip "Lavatory & Hallway," Tour 2. The apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 2007.
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Shelves in the lavatory
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The "second" lavatory shown in the clip "Lavatory and Hallway," Tour 2. Traces of the sink which used to be here can be seen below the shelves. The cartons are of recent origin: in the USSR instant coffee was a rare item. 2007.
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Ilya washes teacups in the kitchen
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Ilya washes dishes (see Tour 1 and 2, where this same kitchen is shown 14 years later, and also the broken water heater 6 years later). 1992.
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The kitchen, one year after the video was shot
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Doors to the lavatory and the pantry. When dishes are washed here, they are placed on the oilcloth-covered stool. Kitchen from Tours 1 & 2 and the clip "Grandma Does the Dishes," Tour 7. 2007.
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Pantry
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Doors to the lavatory and the pantry (also seen in this photo). Kitchen from the clip "Grandma Does the Dishes," Tour 7, and from Tours 1 & 2. 2006.
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Sink, pipes, and pesticide chalk
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The white lines were drawn with pesticide chalk. This is the apartment's only sink. People do dishes here, brush their teeth, and wash up each morning. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2. See also close-up. 2007.
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Cleaning your section of a communal kitchen
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Auntie Asya cleans her section of the kitchen. 1998.
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A corner of a communal kitchen
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Kitchen tables with dishes and shelves; a shirt and socks are drying. See a close-up photo of the socks. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 1997.
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Meatballs and laundry in the kitchen
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In the kitchen, Oksana is making meatballs that she will fry (Russian kotlety). 1998.
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Pantry
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We see this pantry in the clip "Kitchen" from Tour 2. When people didn't have refrigerators, pots and pans with cooked food were put here. The pantry window was kept slightly open even in winter. 2007
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Common area cleaning schedule
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The common area cleaning schedule is posted on the kitchen wall. It mentions "newcomers," among other residents. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 2007.
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Documents crucial to the life of the apartment
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The common-area cleaning schedule and lists tallying electricity and phone payments are usually posted in the kitchen. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 2006.
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Kitchen floor
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The floor had to be repaired after a sewage pipe disintegrated: the pipe rusted completely through (see the story about this in the clip "Hallway & Kitchen" from Tour 1). 2006.
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Service entrance
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The door to the back stairs, with a hook, commonly found in such spots, serving as a lock. Ilya is shown opening this door in the clip "Who Pays and Cleans?", Tour 2. 2007.
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Service stairwell ceiling
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The service stairwell of the building from Tours 1, 2, and 3 has a new plastic pipe, new cable antennas and telephone wires. Fluorescent bulbs installed at one time have not been used in a while. Instead, a naked bulb illuminates the stairwell. 2007.
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The back staircase leads to the courtyard
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We see Ilya go out onto this back staircase in the clip "Who Pays and Cleans?" from Tour 2. 2007.
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Hanging laundry on the terrace
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One of the neighbors hangs laundry on the terrace on the roof. 2002.
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Courtyard and rear facade of building
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Windows on the top floor belong to the apartment which we see in Tours 1-2, for example in "Where He Slept." Ilya's former room has windows that open onto the little balcony. 2007.
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Apartment I. Rooms
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Photographs showing some residents' rooms in the apartment from video Tours 1 and 2.
Apartment I floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment from Tours 1-2 (all clips), home to "auntie" Asya, Ekaterina Sergeevna, Masha, Sveta, and Natasha. 2006.
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"Auntie" Asya in her room
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This photo was taken six months before the clip "At Auntie Asya's," (Tour 1) was shot. On top of the television is a handmade wooden calendar. Its numbers were burned into the wood. Fresh hothouse carnations are sold year round. January 2006.
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Asya serving her guests
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The guests found their hostess doing housework: the feather bed is airing on the armchair (see also "Airing out a pillow and a blanket"). In the corner is a sideboard of a type commonly found in such rooms. 2006.
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The holy corner on the sideboard, 2000
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Icons and other religious objects photographed in "Auntie" Asya's room in 2000. We see this room in clip "At Auntie Asya's" (Tour 1). See also a close-up photo. 2000.
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Holy corner on the sideboard, 2006
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Asya (see clip "At Auntie Asya's", Tour 1) has set up a holy corner with pussy willow branches and a samovar on the sideboard (see close-up). Clotheslines are hung across the room. 2006.
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Icon corner on the sideboard, 2006 (close up)
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Icons, pussy willow branches, pages with prayers written on them, and a small icon lamp share space with a thoroughly secular decorative squirrel. See this icon corner in 2000. 2006.
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Airing out a pillow and a blanket
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Asya is serving tea to guests in her room (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1). The pillow and blanket have been stripped from the bed shown in this photo. 2006.
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Bedding on the sofa
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In Asya's room (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1), there are two places to sleep; during the day she rests on the sofa. In this photo, she uses it to air out the blanket. 2006.
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A tea party at Asya's
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Guests are drinking tea (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1). On the table, among other things, are medicines and a bowl of hot cereal. On the refrigerator is a breadbox. Laundry is drying on the clothesline. 2006.
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Asya's guests before drinking tea
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In "Auntie" Asya's room (clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1). On the refrigerator is a breadbox. Clotheslines hang across the room. Over the door is a built-in cabinet. Other things are stored in the wardrobe. 2006.
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The stove is decorated with the image of a swan
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The upper part of a stove in Asya's room (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1). In front of the stove there are clotheslines for drying laundry. 2006.
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Canned goods in the stove
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Asya no longer fires up the stove even in the winter (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1). She has instead set it up as a cupboard for canned goods. Communal apartments often have tiled stoves and fireplaces. 2006.
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Asya fills a thermos
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A mirror on the inside door and a coat rack in Asya's room (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1). Over the head of the bed is a small icon. Medicinal herbs steep in a thermos. The double door protects against hallway noise. 2006.
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Newspaper for changing shoes
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When she enters her room, Auntie Asya (see videoclip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1) removes her street shoes and dons slippers. Newspaper is spread out so that her unshod feet don't touch the floor in the process. 2006.
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Auntie Asya and the carpet over the bed
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Asya (see clip "At Auntie Asya's," Tour 1) in her room. The bedding has been removed for airing. Carpets commonly hang in living areas over beds or sofas. 2006.
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Asya sees her guests to the door
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An open window ("fortochka"). The clothing storage unit ("wardrobe") typical of the late 1960s, the shelves, the vase on the television and the vases on the wardrobe are common among tenants of Asya's generation. 2006.
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A room where seven people lived
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A sideboard, desk, and cupboard in a row: an awkward makeshift layout. This room, where half a century ago seven people lived, is now rented by a student. See "Where He Slept" (Tour 1). 2006.
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Entrance to a room
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A sort of entryway is created using a refrigerator and bookshelf. See videoclip "Where He Slept" Tour 1. 2006.
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Visiting a student
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Across from the entrance to the room where Sveta, a student, is living temporarily, (see clip "Where He Slept," Tour 1) a visitor sees the back of a bookshelf which partly walls off the bed. 2006.
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Marks on the parquet from a wood stove
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Ilya (see clip "Where He Slept") shows the children a spot on the floor burned by a cinder from the wood-burning stove which stood there during the Siege of Leningrad. 2006.
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Traces of recently removed partitions
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When seven people lived in the room shown in the clip "Where He Slept," Tour 1, the room was partitioned into three sections; now one student lives here temporarily. Renovations are planned. 2006.
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Apartment II. Common Areas
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A photographic "walk" through the common spaces of the apartment shown in video Tour 3.
Apartment II floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment from Tour 3 (all clips), home to Sasha, Yulia, Tatyana, Iraida Yakovlevna, Anna Matveevna, Nina Vasilievna, Sonya, and Savva. 2006.
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Doorbells on an apartment door
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Doorbells on the door to a big apartment in the building from Tours 1-3, as seen for example in clip "Stairwell." 2007.
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Hallway between entrance and kitchen
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The bricked up archway, columns, and geometric tiles of this hallway from Tour 3 reveal the degree to which renovations of the 1920s diverged from the original plan of the building. 2007.
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The hallway of a large apartment
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The entryway and hallway leading to the kitchen of the apartment shown in the clips from Tour 3. See also the photo of this hallway four years later. 2002.
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Slippers in the entryway with columns
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In the entryway, slippers belonging to several residents sit next to plaster columns made to look like lazurite. The apartment is from Tour 3. 2006.
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The "empty" room
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The inside of the "empty" room on a sunny spring day. 1998.
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In the washroom
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These buckets and basins in the washroom of the apartment shown in Tour 3 belong to various residents. On the floor under the bench is an electric centrifuge for squeezing out wet laundry. 2005.
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Laundry on clotheslines, basins and buckets
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Children's sheets are drying in the bathroom which was filmed nine years later in the clip "A New Shower" (Tour 3). There is dirty laundry in the basin. 1997.
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In the lavatory
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This is one of two lavatories in the large apartment from Tour 3. Usually people spread newspaper on the shared toilet seat before they use it. 1997.
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Part of a kitchen and an open door to the hallway
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Part of the kitchen of the large apartment from Tour 3. Front and center is a pink hot-water bottle. A payment chart and an envelope for collecting money are tacked to the door. 2007.
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A door serves as a bulletin board
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A list of monthly electric charges and an envelope for phone bills hang on the always-open door between the kitchen and the hallway of the apartment seen in "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3). 2007.
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A corner of the kitchen: a sink and a toilet seat
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A child's toilet seat is kept in the kitchen, by the door to the hallway. 2006.
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A woman in the kitchen
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A tenant in the kitchen that is shown in "Cooking Saltimbocca", Tour 3. 2006.
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Sink and New Year's poster
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One of the young residents of the large apartment from Tour 3 has decorated the kitchen wall with a New Year's poster. This kitchen is shown in the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3. 2006.
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Sonya with a cigarette, table, cabinet
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Sonya smokes a cigarette, standing next to her kitchen table and wall cabinet. 2006.
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You can wash your hair in the kitchen
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In the kitchen: Kristina has just washed her hair. 1997.
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Lining up for the kitchen sink
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The kitchen has only one hot-water faucet, so sometimes people have to line up to use it. 1998.
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Half-cleaned stove
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In the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," (Tour 3) we learn that two families use this stove; one of them cleans the stove less carefully. The bucket, broom, and dustpan are for cleaning the common areas. 2006.
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Water-heater and soot on the wall
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A water heater which was put in with no ventilation, and new pipes which bring hot water to the bathroom. Apartment from Tour 3, where various innovations are mentioned in the clip "I Won't Do Anything Else." 2006.
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New pipes and hot water
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New plastic pipes installed by the neighbor (see clip "I Won't Do Anything Else," Tour 3) lead from the water-heater in the kitchen to the bathroom, which now has hot water (see clip "A New Shower", Tour 3). 2007.
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Two gas stoves
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A partial view of the kitchen, seen in the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3. 2006. A can hanging over the stove on the left holds used matches. 2006.
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Passage to kitchen extension
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The kitchen from the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3. The passage leads to the extension shown in "Anna Matveevna," Tour 3. 2006.
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Kitchen extension
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A passage from the main part of the kitchen to a small extension which was the room off the kitchen. This apartment is shown in Tour 3. 2006.
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Work area in the kitchen of a large apartment
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The kitchen of the apartment from Tour 3 (see for instance, the clip "Anna Matveevna") consists of two workspaces. This photograph shows the space between the large work area and the small one. 2007.
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Anna Matveevna's little corner in the kitchen
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This workspace in the kitchen of a large apartment we see in clip "Anna Matveevna" (Tour 3). The lace curtains hanging down from the shelves and the overturned pots reflect domestic practices of rural culture. 2007.
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Anna Matveevna in the kitchen extension
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Anna Matveevna (see clip "Anna Matveevna," Tour 3) has hung a padlock on her kitchen cabinet. There is a similar one on the door to her room. 2006.
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Little cabinet and table, soup
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Anna Matveevna and two other families cook in this extension of the kitchen, seen in the clip "Anna Matveevna" (Tour 3). 2006.
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Little crocks of soup
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Dishes and little crocks of okroshka (a cold soup whose main ingredient is kvass, a drink made from fermented bread) are on the table in the kitchen extension where Anna Matveevna (see clip "Anna Matveevna") does her cooking. Apartment from Tour 3. 2006.
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Apartment II. Rooms
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Photographs showing some residents' rooms in the apartment from video Tour 3.
Apartment II floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment from Tour 3 (all clips), home to Sasha, Yulia, Tatyana, Iraida Yakovlevna, Anna Matveevna, Nina Vasilievna, Sonya, and Savva. 2006.
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Door to Anna Matveevna's room
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Anna Matveevna (from the clip "Anna Matveevna," Tour 3) is the very elderly resident of this room. She has placed a lock on her door. There is also a padlock on her kitchen cabinet. 2006.
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Anna Matveevna's room
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This room belongs to the very elderly Anna Matveevna (see clip "Anna Matveevna" of tour 3). See also her portrait and mirror. 2002.
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Anna Matveevna
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A portrait of an old woman in the room in which she has spent the greater part of her life. 2004.
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Nina Vasilievna and Anna Matveevna
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Nina Vasilievna and Anna Matveevna, who have spent all their lives together, in Anna Matveevna's room. 2002.
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Anna Matveevna's sideboard
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Inside the elderly woman's room.
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Pussy willows, icons, candle in a jar
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Cards and pictures of icons on a standing mirror make a kind of icon corner. 2006.
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Fruit and teakettles
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A teakettle and a teapot in the room of Anna Matveevna, the oldest resident of the apartment shown in Tour 3. The burn marks are no doubt reminders of a time when the teakettle was left too long on the stove. 2006.
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Table with teakettles
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A fragment of the interior of the room of Nina Vasilievna, an old woman. 2006.
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Table with teakettles (close-up)
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This is the only table in the room of the elderly woman from the clip "Nina Vasilievna," Tour 3. See also photo "Table with teakettles". 2006.
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Teakettle, pot, bowl, thermos
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On a table in the room shown in clip "Nina Vasilievna," Tour 3, bread crusts, saved for the birds; Leningraders who lived through the Siege do not throw out bread. 2006.
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Nina Vasilievna and her album
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Nina Vasilievna (see the clip about her in Tour 3) displays her album, which, along with photos, contains greeting cards she has received over the years. 2006.
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View onto arched windows
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The window of Nina Vasilievna's room (seen in the clip "Nina Vasilievna" from Tour 3) looks onto a courtyard; from her window you can see the enormous arched windows of an indoor garden. 2006.
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Television and unplugged refrigerator
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Beneath the icon are a television and a refrigerator, both unplugged (room from the clip "Nina Vasilievna," Tour 3). Perhaps the resident does not use these appliances; there is another TV in the room. 2006.
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Nina Vasilievna
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One of the oldest residents of a large apartment in her room, during an interview. This interview is shown in the clip "Nina Vasilievna," Tour 3. 2006.
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Nina Vasilievna and Anna Matveevna
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These elderly women have lived almost their entire lives in adjacent rooms in a large communal apartment, in daily contact. See the clips "Anna Matveevna" and "Nina Vasilievna" (Tour 3). 2006.
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In Iraida Yakovlevna's room
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A decorated wall in Iraida Yakovlevna's room (she appears in the clip "A Room For Her Daughter," in Tour 3). 2006.
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Mirror, lamp, icon
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The decor in Iraida Yakovlevna's room (she appears in the clip "A Room For Her Daughter," in Tour 3), includes an icon and a photograph of an actress from an illustrated magazine. 2006.
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Sideboard, photographs
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A sideboard with dishes for special occasions, knickknacks and family photographs, in the room of former janitor Iraida Yakovlevna, seen in the clip "A Room For Her Daughter" from Tour 3. 2006.
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Iraida Yakovlevna
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Former janitor Iraida Yakovlevna (shown in the clip "A Room for Her Daughter" from Tour 3). The carpets on the walls are a typical decorating touch. 2006.
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Part of a room
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The students Savva and Sonya live in this room (see the end of the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3); their parents now live in a different place, even though many of their things are still here. 2007.
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A hanging lamp and the plaster ceiling molding
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In the room where Savva and Sonya live, (clip "Cooking Saltimbocca" from Tour 3), satyrs are depicted in the plaster moldings on the ceiling. 2007.
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Chandelier and caissoned ceiling
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A chandelier and six-meter high caissoned ceiling of one of the rooms were Savva and Sonya live (see clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3). 2007.
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Brass window handles and latches
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Room in a large communal apartment from Tour 3. The window frames, handles, and latches have been preserved since the building was built in 1917. 2007.
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Window, frame and latch
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In this room, part of the old brass window-latch was covered with oil paint during the last renovations, even though the current residents are very proud of the pre-revolutionary decor. This is the apartment from Tour 3. 2007.
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Apartment III. Common Areas and Rooms
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A photographic "walk" through the common spaces and family rooms of the apartment that is home to Sveta, Ksyusha, and Alla Ignatevna (clips 1-2 in Tour 4 and 5-6 in Tour 5).
Apartment III floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment that is home to Sveta, Ksyusha, and Alla Ignatevna (clips 1-2 in Tour 4 and 5-6 in Tour 5). 2006.
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The washroom in a small apartment
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The buckets and basins belong to various residents, while the clotheslines are shared by all. Sveta and Anya use the small cupboard. This washroom is shown in the clip "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4. 2006.
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The "empty" room
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The common storage room of the small apartment seen in the clip "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4. 2006.
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An antique sideboard in a communal apartment
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Some residents have up-to-date kitchen furniture, but here someone has decided to use an old sideboard. This kitchen is shown at the beginning of the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4. 2006.
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Sveta and two sinks
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Sveta (shown in the clip, "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4) at the sink, which can also be seen in close-up in the photo "Two sinks, sponges, soap." 2006.
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Two sinks, sponges, soap (close-up)
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Sponges (each family has their own) for washing dishes in the apartment where Sveta lives (clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4). 2006.
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Plant on windowsill, four sponges
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By the kitchen sink of the small apartment (clip "A Rented Room with Icons," Tour 4) are sponges for washing dishes (one for each family). The toothbrushes on the windowsill and stool are not used for brushing teeth. 2006.
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Four stoves
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In the mid-sized apartment from the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," are four stoves from a time when there were many more residents here. See also this close up. 2006.
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Two stoves, burnt teakettle
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Contrary to communal apartment tradition, the students have decorated the kitchen with a picture. Apartment from the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4. See also the photo "Loudspeaker on the wall." 2006.
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Sveta and loudspeaker
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Sveta (shown in the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4) turns on the cable radio loudspeaker hanging in the kitchen. 2006.
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Loudspeaker on the wall (close-up)
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Many apartments still have cable radio speakers, not only in the rooms but in the kitchen as well. This is the kitchen from the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4. 2006.
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Table, stove, cabinet
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The conversation in "There Shouldn't Be Any Communal Apartments," Tour 5, takes place in this room, also seen in "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4. The room is rented by two students. See also the close-up. 2006.
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Icon corner
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The owner of this room rents it complete with icon corner. (See the clip "A Rented Room With Icons" Tour 4). 2006.
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The icon in the holy corner
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This icon depicting many saints belongs to the owner of this room, not to the short-term tenants. See clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4. 2006.
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Table, bed, cabinet
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The room of the students Sveta and Anya from the clip "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4; the reflection in the mirror is of guests seated at the table. 2006.
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Objects on the table
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Two students rent this room together. One of them is Sveta from the clip "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4. 2006.
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Locks on a room door
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A padlock on Alla Ignatevna's door provides additional protection. Apartment from the clip "The Archangel Michael," Tour 5. 2006.
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A corner of Alla's room
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In the room of the woman from the clip "The Archangel Michael," Tour 5. 2006.
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Alla's desk (close-up)
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The desk of the woman whose room is shown in the clip "The Archangel Michael," Tour 5. 2006.
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Mantelpiece, table, icons (close-up)
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The woman who lives in this room is shown in the clip "The Archangel Michael," Tour 5. The portrait of her ancestor (on the mantelpiece) was taken before 1917. See also a more detailed photograph of her desk. 2006.
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Dining area delimited by furniture
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Alla Ignatevna (clip "The Archangel Michael," Tour 5) has only one room, and she used her furniture to create an entryway, a dining area, and a sleeping area (see video). 2006.
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Apartment IV. Common Areas
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A photographic "walk" through the common spaces of the apartment that is home to Kamila, Lena, and Yulya from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5).
Apartment IV floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment that is home to Kamila, Lena, and Yulya from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Entrance to a large apartment
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Each family has its own doorbell, and in addition there is a common bell for the entire apartment, to which everyone is supposed to respond. This apartment is shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2002.
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Different neighbors, different doorbells
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As new residents move in, they are assigned doorbells and nameplates which belonged to previous residents. They then make them over as they see fit. 2003.
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Entrance hall, arch, wallpaper
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The entrance hall of this apartment is registered as a cultural monument, protected by the government. 1997.
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Entryway with carved arch and wallpaper
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Entryway of the apartment in "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. For the same entrance hall in 1997, see "Entrance hall, arch, wallpaper." 2003.
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On the cabinet, overflow from the storage room
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Junk on the cabinet in the apartment entryway seen in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2002.
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A door that has been through a lot
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The door in the carved arch in the apartment entry from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5, bears the marks of several fights among residents and guests. 2002.
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Carved arch in the entryway
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A carved arch in the entryway of this large apartment, shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5), is protected by the government. 2002.
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Wallpaper and an old-fashioned electric cord
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Bits of original decor (under government protection) look as they did 80 years ago. The electric cord has not been replaced in over 50 years. The apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2002.
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Rent and telephone bills
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Rent and phone bills brought up by the janitor have been placed in front of the mirror in the entryway. See the close up with explanations. The apartment is from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2003.
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Apartment bills
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Bills for the apartment and communal services, one resident's overdue bill. 2003.
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A door which is always locked
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This door in the entryway of the large apartment from the videoclip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5) is always locked. The rooms were redesigned in such a way that the door is not used. 2002.
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Curtain and wires
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The wires for the doorbells, telephone, and TV antenna run above the curtain covering the door to a room where some residents live. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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In the hallway
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In one of two hallways in this apartment, a resident is doing something next to his door. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Electricity corner
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The wires and meters in this apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5) were installed at different times: the prewar twisted double-stranded wire with ceramic insulators was never removed. 2002.
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Hallway
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In this hallway next to the residents' rooms there are coat racks, shelves for shoes, and all sorts of stuff including a refrigerator, freeing up more space in the rooms. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Slippers in the hallway
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Beer bottles on a trunk, a birch log and slippers in a communal hallway. The apartment is from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Shoes, boots, and slippers in the hallway
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Some tenants leave their coats and shoes in the hallway, by the door to their room. 1997.
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The "empty" room
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Old furniture, boxes, and bicycles: the typical contents of a common closet in the apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. See also the closer shot photo. 1997.
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Contents of the storage room (close-up)
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There is clutter up to the ceiling in the empty room (see clip "The Empty Room," Tour 2, about such storage rooms). See also the bare hooks in this same room. 1998.
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A written request to neighbors
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In the "empty" room in the apartment shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5) there is something fragile under the carpet. 1998.
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Bathroom with a window
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The bathroom of the apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5; one pane of glass has been replaced by paper sheeting. See also "Bath sponges hanging in the bathroom." 1998.
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Bath sponges hanging in the bathroom
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Various kinds of bath sponges ("mochalki") hang in the bathroom. See also the wide shot, "Bathroom with a window". 1997.
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A room for drying laundry
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This apartment has a special room next to the kitchen for drying laundry; basins are kept here. The apartment is from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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A room for drying laundry
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In this large apartment, a special room next to the kitchen is used for drying laundry. This apartment is shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5). 2002.
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Two elderly residents in the kitchen
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The view of the kitchen through the open door from the small extension leading to the service stairwell. The apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Two elderly residents in the kitchen
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Life in the kitchen: residents, saltcellars on the wall, and a serving table. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Half of kitchen
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The kitchen of the large apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5) is somewhat cramped: the photo shows about one half of the kitchen's total area. 2006.
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Door to the service staircase
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View from the kitchen to the extension, designated as a place for smoking. The door leading to the service staircase has been stripped for painting. We see this apartment in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya." 2006.
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Kitchen and smoking room
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A place for people to smoke by the back staircase; view from the kitchen. See the same view nine years later. 1997.
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Kitchen in a large apartment
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View of a communal kitchen with its exit to the back staircase; it is set up as a place for people to smoke. See the same kitchen several years later. 1997.
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Kitchen sinks
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Around the sink are stripes made with pesticide chalk. 1997.
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Two sinks
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There are two sinks with hot water in the kitchen of the large apartment shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5). See a close-up in another photo. 2006.
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Kitchen extension
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The passage leading to a separate part of the kitchen of the large apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya." 2006.
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Kitchen window
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A kitchen shelf and the view from the window of the kitchen shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2006.
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Dishes, telephone, and a place to hang notes
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In the kitchen shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5: cable radio, a list related to collecting monthly payments, and a cleaning schedule. 2006.
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Radio, list, telephone
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A corner of the kitchen from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5) with the common area cleaning schedule and a phone extension (the other one is in the entryway). 2006.
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Common area cleaning schedule
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The common area cleaning schedule is posted on the kitchen door. (See the essay.) Nine years later in the same kitchen the schedule is posted on the wall. 1998.
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Apartment IV. Rooms
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Photographs showing some residents' rooms in the apartment that is home to Kamila, Lena, and Yulya from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5).
Apartment IV floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment that is home to Kamila, Lena, and Yulya from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Kamila, Slawomir, bicycles
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Kamila, renting this room seen in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" from Tour 5, chats with Slawomir beside an old wardrobe, on top of which the room's permanent residents store their bicycles. 2006.
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Kamila by the piano
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This antique mirrored cabinet and upright piano are in the room rented by Kamila, who is featured in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya." 2006.
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View of a room which has been partitioned
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This is how Kamila's room from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5, appeared in 1997. A look at the ceiling reveals that the space here was partitioned into several separate areas.
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Furniture from various eras
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In this partial view of a room (compare with wide shot), antique furniture stands next to a mass-produced set of shelves from the 1970s. There is a mirrored cabinet in the background on the left side. 1998.
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Lena and her pictures
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Lena, who is an artist, moved into this apartment several years ago. The apartment is shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2006.
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A loft in Yulya's room
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A loft in Yulya's room, seen in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5, increases usable space; the person sitting up in the loft is Yulya's son Savva. 2006.
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Kamila, Great Dane, leaves
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Kamila visiting her landlady and her landlady's son. This apartment and some of its residents are shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. The leaves glued to the wall are Yulya's original design and handiwork. 2006.
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A room with large windows
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The room of Maria Yakovlevna, the apartment's oldest resident; on the ceiling are traces of a leak. 2002.
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Part of the room in the mirror
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The apartment's oldest resident lives in this room. Part of the room is reflected in the mirror. The sideboard was left by the pre-revolutionary owners of this apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2002.
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The brightest room in the apartment
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Part of a room damaged by a leak. This is the room of the oldest resident of the apartment in "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. See also this close-up. 2002.
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Vase
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Probably this vase was left by the prerevolutionary owners. It is shown in the view of the room belonging to the oldest resident of the large apartment featured in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2002.
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Traces of a leak on the ceiling
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The ceiling will have to be replastered because of a leak caused by the upstairs neighbors.
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A basin on the parquet.
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The leak is the fault of the upstairs neighbors who are doing renovations. This apartment is shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5); see an interview with the woman who lives in this room. 2002.
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Teapots on the samovar table
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Part of a room in the large apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. The room belongs to the apartment's oldest resident. See also this wide shot and the interview "The Oldest Tenant..," Tour 8. 2002.
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Portable radio
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This 1970s transistor radio is shown here in the room of the oldest resident of the large apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2002.
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A clock from a turn-of-the-century buffet
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This room still has the furniture of its prerevolutionary residents. See the interview with the elderly woman who lives here. 2002.
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On the shelf
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The oldest resident of the apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5) has figurines, a bust of Lenin, and a box of cookies on her cabinet shelf. See an interview with the resident of this room. 2002.
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Apartment V. Common Areas
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A photographic "walk" through the common spaces of the apartment that is home to Vadim, Lena, and Eduard (clips 7-10 in Tour 5 and clip 3 in Tour 4).
Apartment V floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment that is home to Vadim, Lena, and Eduard (clips 7-10 in Tour 5 and clip 3 in Tour 4). 2006.
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Entrance arch, Slawomir
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Slawomir on the staircase of the building which is home to Vadim and Lena, shown in the clip "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard, shown in the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," (Tour 5). 2006.
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Mailboxes at entryway, staircase
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Mailboxes in the entry hall of the building which is home to Vadim and Lena from "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker." (5)2006.
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A hallway cluttered with stuff, arch, cat
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Cabinets, boxes, and a coat rack in a cluttered hallway of the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena from "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard from "Edik the Cabinetmaker" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Hallway, cats, people
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Cats and cleaning implements in a cluttered hallway in the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena from the clip "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Hallway, arch, furniture, cats
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Part of the hallway and entrance in a small apartment. To the right is a bookshelf which belongs to Vadim and Lena from the clip "If All This Were Yours..." 2006.
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Hallway, cabinets, boxes
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In the hallway of the apartment which is home to Vadim, Lena (from the clip "We Laughed and Cried"), and Eduard (from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker"), Tour 5, there is old furniture dating from various eras. 2006.
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Hallway, electric meter, wires
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Electric and telephone wires in the hallway of the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena from the clip "If All This Were Yours..." from Tour 4 and Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5. 2006.
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Electric meters, fuses, wires
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Electrical and telephone wires in the hallway of the small apartment shown in the clip "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) have been run along the wall somewhat carelessly. 2006.
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Cabinet, little table, electric meter
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There are always empty containers in the pantry or the hallway. This apartment is home to Vadim and Lena (clip "If All This Were Yours..." from Tour 4) as well as to Edik (clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5). 2006.
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Hallway, refrigerator, cot
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In the hallway (opposite the washroom) of the apartment which is home to Vadim, Lena (from "We Laughed and Cried") and Eduard (from "Edik the Cabinetmaker"), Tour 5, we see a refrigerator, a cot, and various clutter. 2006.
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Kitchen shelves, tables
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Tables and shelves along the wall in the kitchen of the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena from the clip "If All This Were Yours," Tour 4 and also to Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5. 2006.
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Laundry and a hot water bottle on a line
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Laundry on clotheslines and a hot water bottle in the bathroom of the apartment where Vadim and Lena (from the clip "We Laughed and Cried") and Edik (from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker") live, Tour 5. 2006.
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Tables, sink, window
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In the kitchen of the apartment that is home to Vadim and Lena (clip "If All This Were Yours...," Tour 4) as well as to Eduard ("Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5). See closer. 2006.
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Table, shelf, sink
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The sink in the kitchen of the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena (clip "If All This Were Yours," Tour 4) and to Edik ("Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5). The pipe leading to the sink is from a water heater that was removed long ago. 2006.
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A clock, a model ship and a wire
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In the hallway one can see where the apartment phone used to hang. 2006.
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A sign in the hallway, hung as a joke
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Just outside the door to his study (clip "If all this were yours...", Tour 5) as a joke Vadim has hung a sign taken from a store. Such signs are seen in many public places in Russia. 2006.
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Apartment V. Rooms
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Photographs showing some residents' rooms in the apartment that is home to Vadim, Lena, and Eduard (clips 7-10 in Tour 5 and clip 3 in Tour 4).
Apartment V floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment that is home to Vadim, Lena, and Eduard (clips 7-10 in Tour 5 and clip 3 in Tour 4). 2006.
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Table, loft, antlers
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This is a view of Vadim and Lena's living room. We see them in the clips "We Laughed and Cried" and "Jew Rugs," Tour 5. Lofts serve to increase usable space. 2006.
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Loft and antlers in an academic's room
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Lofts create useful extra space in the two rooms of an art historian and his wife, seen in clips "How Many Tenants?" and "If All This Were Yours..." 2006.
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Vadim and Lena
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Lena and her husband Vadim (shown in the clips "We Laughed and Cried," and "Jew Rugs," Tour 5) are seated at a table in the room which serves as the living room. 2006.
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Slawomir, cabinet with antique dishes
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Slawomir is listening to Vadim and Lena, who are seated across the table, telling stories. The cabinet with glass doors behind Slawomir contains knickknacks and antique dishes. Room from Clips 8 and 9 in Tour 5. 2006.
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Round stove, address plaque
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Address plaque as a decorative detail, interior of the home of a family of the educated classes. 2006.
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An open "fortochka" window
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The "fortochka" (ventilation window, transom) in Vadim's study (he is shown in the clip "If All This Were Yours...", Tour 4) is typical of doubled-framed windows in most old St. Petersburg apartment buildings. 2006.
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A sign in a room, self-satire
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Vadim's room, with a sign, intended satirically, about cleanliness. Vadim is shown in "How Many Tenants?" (Tour 5). Similar decorations are shown here and here. 2006.
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Eduard and his tables
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Filming in the room of Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," where most of the space is taken up with tables made by the room's tenant; the photo shows the legs of one table. 2006.
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Eduard the carpenter, table, books
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Eduard (from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5), displays a table he made. 2006.
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Eduard's books
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In the room belonging to the cabinetmaker (who appears in the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker") the bookshelf holds works by Homer, Goethe, Tolstoy, and Balzac and also the Maritime Encyclopedia. 2006.
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Apartment VI. Common Areas and Rooms
|
A photographic "walk" through the common spaces and family rooms of the apartment that is home to Marina, Lena, and Vlad from Tour 5 (clips 2-4).
Apartment VI floor plan
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Floor plan of the apartment that is home to Marina, Lena, and Vlad from Tour 5 (clips 2-4). 2006.
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In front of the staircase and elevator
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Mailboxes and a recess in the entryway of the building where Marina and Lena live. (Clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" in Tour 5). 2007.
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What Marina and Lena see in their entryway
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Announcements and a little door in the wall. This entryway is used by Marina and Lena from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2007.
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Traces of decoration in the entryway of a building
|
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A bricked-up stove and window frame. This is the building of Lena and Marina from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2007.
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Writing on a window
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In a stairwell where there are many communal apartments (including the apartment from the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" of Tour 5) the window has several panes of colored glass which date back to the early twentieth century. 2006.
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Entryway
|
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The door to the apartment shown in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?", Tour 5, leads to the entryway. The photo "Armchairs in entryway" shows what is to the left, around the corner. 2006.
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Armchairs in entryway
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A telephone and smoking corner has been set up across from the entrance in this small apartment (clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?", Tour 5); see also photo "Entryway." 2006.
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Lena, coats
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Lena from the clip "Over A Cup of Tea" (Tour 5) in the entryway; this same apartment is shown in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Hall, storage loft
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In the hallway of the apartment from the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5) things are kept in storage lofts, children have been allowed to draw all over the wallpaper and renovations have never been done. 2006.
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Chart: Who gets to use the bathroom
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Times that each tenant can use the bathroom in the morning and evening are indicated on a chart. 2006.
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Couch in kitchen
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Lena is shown in this kitchen in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). The couch (highly unusual in a communal kitchen) is a place for talking with neighbors while having a smoke and a cup of coffee. 2006.
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A kitchen shelf
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In the kitchen of an apartment whose residents care particularly about coziness, (clip "Who Lived Here Before...?" Tour 5), a shelf holds empty juice bottles, light bulbs, and electric fuses. At right are potholders belonging to one of the families. 2006.
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Kitchen television
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This television goes on when tenants are puttering about the kitchen or is viewed from a seat on the couch. It is highly unusual to have either a television or a couch in the kitchen of a communal apartment. 2006.
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Stove, kitchen table, sink, and garbage pails
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In the kitchen of the small apartment shown in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5), there is a work station (shown here) and a relaxation area (see photo "Couch in kitchen.") 2006.
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Sink and sponges
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These five bottles of dishwashing detergent belong to different residents. This kitchen is shown in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). See a close-up of the sink and the shelf. 2006.
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Sink and sponges (close-up)
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This is where the residents of the small apartment shown in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" Tour 5, wash their dishes. On the tile above the sink is a black cockroach trap. 2006.
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Multi-colored linoleum
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A patched-together linoleum floor in the kitchen seen in the clip "Who Lived Here before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Lena's and Marina's rooms
|
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A diagram showing the rooms from the clip "I Know Their Footsteps," Tour 5: entryway, Marina's room, and the common room with its "compartment" for Lena and "Vlad's corner," walled-off by a cabinet. 2006.
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Vlad
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Marina's son Vlad in the entryway of the apartment from "Over A Cup of Tea," Tour 5. 2006.
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Lena's door
|
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Дверь в общую комнату Лены, Марины и Влада в прихожей квартиры из клипа «Чаепитие», видеоэкскурсия 5. 2006.
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Marina holding a mug; stove and bookcase
|
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Marina from the clips "Carpeting on the Staircase" (Tour 8) and "I Know Their Footsteps" (Tour 5) in the living room (see diagram). 2006.
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Sideboard and stove
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A functioning stove in the room from the clip "Over A Cup of Tea," Tour 5. This part of the room (see diagram) serves as the living room. 2006.
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Lena's sideboard
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The sideboard in Lena's room. An ironing board is crammed between the sideboard and the stove. The room from the clips "Over A Cup of Tea," "I Know Their Footsteps," (Tour 5) and "Robbers and Ghosts" (Tour 6). 2006.
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Marina makes tea
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Marina ("I Know Their Footsteps," Tour 5) brews tea to drink with guests. Tea is drunk from large mugs (as is instant coffee, a can of which is also on the table). The vacuum cleaner is in its customary spot. 2006.
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Icon and picture
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This is the "holy corner" in the room shown in the clip "Over A Cup of Tea," Tour 5. Long before the religious revival which took place during perestroika, icons came into vogue as a decorating accent in the homes of the intelligentsia. 2006.
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Computer in bay window
|
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The corner belonging to high school student Vlad (see diagram), which is walled off by a cabinet, has a desk in front of a bay window. See also the photo "Vlad's bed." 2006.
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Vlad's bed
|
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This corner, walled off by a cabinet (see diagram), belongs to Vlad, a high school student who is the son of Marina, seen in "I Know Their Footsteps" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2006.
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Part of ceiling
|
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The room is divided into three sections (see diagram), so the chandelier is off-center. Lena and Marina, from the clip "I Know Their Footsteps," Tour 5, live here. 2006.
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Computer and photographs
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Lena from the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5), in the room of her daughter Marina. Marina and her son Vlad are shown in the photographs on the wall. 2006.
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Marina's media center
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The media center in Marina's room. She is seen in the clip "I Know Their Footsteps," Tour 5. See also the diagram of the rooms where she lives with her mother and son. 2006.
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Photographs from other apartments
|
Photographs taken in apartments that are not represented in video tours.
The end of a hallway, leading to the kitchen
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The one and only water heater in a large apartment stands in the hallway. 1997.
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The corner of a kitchen with sinks and loudspeaker
|
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The corner of a kitchen has two sinks with cold water taps, and a little shelf on which a loudspeaker sits. There is no film of this apartment, but there is a floor plan and several other photographs. 1997.
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Cable radio in the kitchen
|
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Here's a cable radio speaker. There is no hot water in the kitchen despite a water heater in the hall. See the same kitchen here. 1997.
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Partial view of a kitchen
|
|
Kitchen in a mid-sized apartment. To the left, a schedule for paying the lighting bill is tacked to the door. Empty glass jars are saved for preserving cabbage and cucumbers. See another photo of this kitchen. 1997.
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The kitchen in a mid-sized apartment
|
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To the left is the door to the service staircase (with traces of pesticide chalk on it), and to the right is the door to the hallway, where the water heater is. 1997.
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A lavatory with a calendar on the wall
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A calendar, long out of date and no longer used for its original purpose, conceals damage to the wall. 1997.
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Request to lock the upper lock of a door
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This announcement on an apartment door requests that the residents think about security and use the stronger upper lock. 2000.
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Telephone corner in a small apartment
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The shared telephone in the hallway of a small apartment. 2000.
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A wood stove in the kitchen
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A kitchen with its original wood stove in a mid-sized apartment.
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Part of a kitchen
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In this picture of the kitchen of a medium-sized apartment, we see how the space in and around a special cupboard has been turned into a kind of pantry. 1998.
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Stuff fills up the space
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Kitchen utensils share space with packaging materials, as in the storage room. See also a wider view of this area and a general view of this kitchen. 1998.
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Rules for using the bathroom
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On the door to the bathroom is an appeal to residents not to use the bathroom at night, as the person who posted the note lives in the room next door. 2000.
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Instructions for cleaning the bathtub
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In a note on the bathroom wall, the apartment steward alerts residents to the fact that the recently painted bathtub must be treated with care. 2000.
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Partial view of the bathroom
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A partial view of the bathroom in a small apartment. One sign on the wall gives instructions for cleaning the bathtub. 2006.
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A room rented by a student
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To the right is a sideboard and to the left a wardrobe. On top of both are things belonging to the person from whom the student is renting. In the corner, a round wood stove stands, a remnant of earlier times. 2000.
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A baby grand between bed and refrigerator
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A large part of one room (serving as bedroom, living room, dining room, and office) is taken up by a baby grand.
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Volodya's room: boxes on top of the cabinet
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Part of the interior of a room: a table, couch, rug, wall hooks, cabinet, boxes. 1997.
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Volodya's room: table and couch
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Part of the interior of a room: a dining table, a couch, wall hooks. 1997.
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An improvised refrigerator between window frames
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Cooked dishes and certain food items are often set between the kitchen window frames even when there is a refrigerator, as is usually now the case. Each resident has his or her own place there. 1997.
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Volodya's room; door to the balcony
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This room has a door to the balcony which, according to the person who lives in it, makes the neighbors envious. 1997.
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Doorbells on the door of a medium-sized apartment
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Some doorbells give no indication of the names of their owners, while others have, instead of a name-plate, something temporary, like the residents themselves. 1998.
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Storage room in a small apartment
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Various items are stored in a room with traces of a leak on the ceiling. Laundry is also dried there. 1997.
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Towels and shoes
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Shoes dry on the radiator in the bathroom of a small apartment. 1998.
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Fixtures from a past time: socket and switch
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Things that are not used, like this socket and switch, nonetheless remain in place if they are not bothering anybody. 1997.
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A room rented from co-tenants
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Part of the interior of a room that some tenants are renting from other tenants. 1997.
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Entryway of a former dormitory
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Entryway of an apartment set up like a closet and area for clothes drying. 2007.
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Child in hallway
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The hallway is good for playing and riding a toy car. 2007.
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A little girl at the door to her room
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A little girl plays without supervision in a communal hallway full of things. 2007.
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A column in the hallway
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Furniture and a column in a hallway. The building once belonged to an institution; people who worked there could get rooms in apartments in the building.
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Kitchen, overview
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A communal kitchen in the building that used to belong to an institution; only the employees could get rooms. See also this and this close-up photos of the window. 2007.
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Kitchen window
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Kitchen window heaped with snow, a New Year's tree buried in it. Orange trees grown from seeds. Fermented cabbage and onions on the windowsill. Cf. photo and wide shot. 2007.
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Onions on a windowsill
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Kitchen in a former employee housing unit. Green onion tops and fermented cabbage are popular foods. Note the snowdrift outside. See also this photo and the wide view. 2007.
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Outside the lavatory
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There used to be toilets or sinks here as well. 2007.
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Private versus communal space
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The difference between a hallway rug and a private one. 2007.
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Three light switches
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Next to the lavatory door are three light switches, one for each family. 1997.
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Three bulbs in the lavatory
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In this lavatory, each family has their own bulb.
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Partial view of a kitchen
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A kitchen shows remnants of the past. The history of the apartment is discussed in the interview "The apartment long ago." 1998.
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Door with hooks
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At some point in the past, this service entrance was used more often; the hooks remain from that time. The door locks only from the inside, using these hooks. 2002.
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Archive: People in their rooms
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People photographed in their rooms.
Anna Matveevna
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A portrait of an old woman in the room in which she has spent the greater part of her life. 2004.
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Kamila by the piano
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This antique mirrored cabinet and upright piano are in the room rented by Kamila, who is featured in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya." 2006.
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Lena and her pictures
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Lena, who is an artist, moved into this apartment several years ago. The apartment is shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2006.
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Iraida Yakovlevna
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Former janitor Iraida Yakovlevna (shown in the clip "A Room for Her Daughter" from Tour 3). The carpets on the walls are a typical decorating touch. 2006.
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Marina holding a mug; stove and bookcase
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Marina from the clips "Carpeting on the Staircase" (Tour 8) and "I Know Their Footsteps" (Tour 5) in the living room (see diagram). 2006.
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Vadim and Lena
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Lena and her husband Vadim (shown in the clips "We Laughed and Cried," and "Jew Rugs," Tour 5) are seated at a table in the room which serves as the living room. 2006.
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Eduard and his tables
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Filming in the room of Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," where most of the space is taken up with tables made by the room's tenant; the photo shows the legs of one table. 2006.
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"Auntie" Asya in her room
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This photo was taken six months before the clip "At Auntie Asya's," (Tour 1) was shot. On top of the television is a handmade wooden calendar. Its numbers were burned into the wood. Fresh hothouse carnations are sold year round. January 2006.
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Elizaveta Vikentevna in her room
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E.V. is shown in the clips about Grandma, Tour 7. Elderly people often save empty jars, although this is unnecessary. Jars may be found in kitchens and sometimes in "empty" rooms. On the sideboard are portraits of E.V.'s parents. 1998.
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Archive: Kitchens
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Photographs taken in kitchens.
Two elderly residents in the kitchen
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Life in the kitchen: residents, saltcellars on the wall, and a serving table. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Kitchen in a large apartment
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View of a communal kitchen with its exit to the back staircase; it is set up as a place for people to smoke. See the same kitchen several years later. 1997.
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Kitchen and smoking room
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A place for people to smoke by the back staircase; view from the kitchen. See the same view nine years later. 1997.
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Kitchen sinks
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Around the sink are stripes made with pesticide chalk. 1997.
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Two elderly residents in the kitchen
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The view of the kitchen through the open door from the small extension leading to the service stairwell. The apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Half of kitchen
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The kitchen of the large apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5) is somewhat cramped: the photo shows about one half of the kitchen's total area. 2006.
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Kitchen window
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A kitchen shelf and the view from the window of the kitchen shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2006.
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Kitchen extension
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The passage leading to a separate part of the kitchen of the large apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya." 2006.
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Two sinks
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There are two sinks with hot water in the kitchen of the large apartment shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5). See a close-up in another photo. 2006.
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Door to the service staircase
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View from the kitchen to the extension, designated as a place for smoking. The door leading to the service staircase has been stripped for painting. We see this apartment in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya." 2006.
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Dishes, telephone, and a place to hang notes
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In the kitchen shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5: cable radio, a list related to collecting monthly payments, and a cleaning schedule. 2006.
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Sonya with a cigarette, table, cabinet
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Sonya smokes a cigarette, standing next to her kitchen table and wall cabinet. 2006.
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Kitchen table at the window
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Slawomir put his video camera on a kitchen table which did not belong to his hosts, an act which could cause a ruckus. This kitchen appears in the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3. 2006.
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Sink with cold water faucet, detergents
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Of the two kitchen sinks, this is the one without hot water. 2006.
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Water-heater and soot on the wall
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A water heater which was put in with no ventilation, and new pipes which bring hot water to the bathroom. Apartment from Tour 3, where various innovations are mentioned in the clip "I Won't Do Anything Else." 2006.
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Half-cleaned stove (close-up)
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Two families use this stove, and each one cleans only their own half (or not). 2006.
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Heating water in a bucket
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When the water heater in the apartment shown in Tour 3 is out of service, water for washing and laundry is heated in a bucket on the stove. Two families cook on this stove. See the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca," Tour 3, 2007.
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Mother with a towel around her head
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Tatyana and her daughter Anya in the kitchen of the apartment from Tour 3 during the filming of the clip "Cooking Saltimbocca." 2006.
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Little cabinet and table, soup
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Anna Matveevna and two other families cook in this extension of the kitchen, seen in the clip "Anna Matveevna" (Tour 3). 2006.
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Anna Matveevna in the kitchen extension
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Anna Matveevna (see clip "Anna Matveevna," Tour 3) has hung a padlock on her kitchen cabinet. There is a similar one on the door to her room. 2006.
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Little crocks of soup
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Dishes and little crocks of okroshka (a cold soup whose main ingredient is kvass, a drink made from fermented bread) are on the table in the kitchen extension where Anna Matveevna (see clip "Anna Matveevna") does her cooking. Apartment from Tour 3. 2006.
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You can wash your hair in the kitchen
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In the kitchen: Kristina has just washed her hair. 1997.
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Lining up for the kitchen sink
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The kitchen has only one hot-water faucet, so sometimes people have to line up to use it. 1998.
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A woman in the kitchen
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A tenant in the kitchen that is shown in "Cooking Saltimbocca", Tour 3. 2006.
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Ilya washes teacups in the kitchen
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Ilya washes dishes (see Tour 1 and 2, where this same kitchen is shown 14 years later, and also the broken water heater 6 years later). 1992.
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Water heater and soot on the wall
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Part of a kitchen with lamp, sink, and water heater; there is soot on the wall. 1992.
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New pipes and hot water
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New plastic pipes installed by the neighbor (see clip "I Won't Do Anything Else," Tour 3) lead from the water-heater in the kitchen to the bathroom, which now has hot water (see clip "A New Shower", Tour 3). 2007.
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Cleaning your section of a communal kitchen
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Auntie Asya cleans her section of the kitchen. 1998.
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Meatballs and laundry in the kitchen
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In the kitchen, Oksana is making meatballs that she will fry (Russian kotlety). 1998.
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A corner of a communal kitchen
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Kitchen tables with dishes and shelves; a shirt and socks are drying. See a close-up photo of the socks. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 1997.
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The kitchen, one year after the video was shot
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Doors to the lavatory and the pantry. When dishes are washed here, they are placed on the oilcloth-covered stool. Kitchen from Tours 1 & 2 and the clip "Grandma Does the Dishes," Tour 7. 2007.
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Pantry
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Doors to the lavatory and the pantry (also seen in this photo). Kitchen from the clip "Grandma Does the Dishes," Tour 7, and from Tours 1 & 2. 2006.
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Sink, pipes, and pesticide chalk
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The white lines were drawn with pesticide chalk. This is the apartment's only sink. People do dishes here, brush their teeth, and wash up each morning. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2. See also close-up. 2007.
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Sink, pipes, and pesticide chalk (close-up)
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Everyone washes dishes in their own basin, which they place on a rubber mat so that the dishes do not touch the sink. This is the apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 2007.
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Faucets in a kitchen
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One of these two faucets doesn't shut off, and a thin stream of water constantly flows. See the same faucets a year later. This kitchen is shown in Tours 1 and 2. 2006.
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Kitchen floor
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The floor had to be repaired after a sewage pipe disintegrated: the pipe rusted completely through (see the story about this in the clip "Hallway & Kitchen" from Tour 1). 2006.
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Pantry
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We see this pantry in the clip "Kitchen" from Tour 2. When people didn't have refrigerators, pots and pans with cooked food were put here. The pantry window was kept slightly open even in winter. 2007
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Sink and sponges
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These five bottles of dishwashing detergent belong to different residents. This kitchen is shown in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). See a close-up of the sink and the shelf. 2006.
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Couch in kitchen
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Lena is shown in this kitchen in the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). The couch (highly unusual in a communal kitchen) is a place for talking with neighbors while having a smoke and a cup of coffee. 2006.
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Table, shelf, sink
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The sink in the kitchen of the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena (clip "If All This Were Yours," Tour 4) and to Edik ("Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5). The pipe leading to the sink is from a water heater that was removed long ago. 2006.
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Four stoves
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In the mid-sized apartment from the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," are four stoves from a time when there were many more residents here. See also this close up. 2006.
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Sveta and loudspeaker
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Sveta (shown in the clip "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4) turns on the cable radio loudspeaker hanging in the kitchen. 2006.
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Sveta and two sinks
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Sveta (shown in the clip, "A Rented Room With Icons," Tour 4) at the sink, which can also be seen in close-up in the photo "Two sinks, sponges, soap." 2006.
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Plant on windowsill, four sponges
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By the kitchen sink of the small apartment (clip "A Rented Room with Icons," Tour 4) are sponges for washing dishes (one for each family). The toothbrushes on the windowsill and stool are not used for brushing teeth. 2006.
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Partial view of a kitchen
|
|
A kitchen shows remnants of the past. The history of the apartment is discussed in the interview "The apartment long ago." 1998.
|
An improvised refrigerator between window frames
|
|
Cooked dishes and certain food items are often set between the kitchen window frames even when there is a refrigerator, as is usually now the case. Each resident has his or her own place there. 1997.
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Cable radio in the kitchen
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|
Here's a cable radio speaker. There is no hot water in the kitchen despite a water heater in the hall. See the same kitchen here. 1997.
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The corner of a kitchen with sinks and loudspeaker
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The corner of a kitchen has two sinks with cold water taps, and a little shelf on which a loudspeaker sits. There is no film of this apartment, but there is a floor plan and several other photographs. 1997.
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The kitchen in a mid-sized apartment
|
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To the left is the door to the service staircase (with traces of pesticide chalk on it), and to the right is the door to the hallway, where the water heater is. 1997.
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Partial view of a kitchen
|
|
Kitchen in a mid-sized apartment. To the left, a schedule for paying the lighting bill is tacked to the door. Empty glass jars are saved for preserving cabbage and cucumbers. See another photo of this kitchen. 1997.
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A wood stove in the kitchen
|
|
A kitchen with its original wood stove in a mid-sized apartment.
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Stuff fills up the space
|
|
Kitchen utensils share space with packaging materials, as in the storage room. See also a wider view of this area and a general view of this kitchen. 1998.
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Part of a kitchen
|
|
In this picture of the kitchen of a medium-sized apartment, we see how the space in and around a special cupboard has been turned into a kind of pantry. 1998.
|
Kitchen, overview
|
|
A communal kitchen in the building that used to belong to an institution; only the employees could get rooms. See also this and this close-up photos of the window. 2007.
|
Kitchen window
|
|
Kitchen window heaped with snow, a New Year's tree buried in it. Orange trees grown from seeds. Fermented cabbage and onions on the windowsill. Cf. photo and wide shot. 2007.
|
Onions on a windowsill
|
|
Kitchen in a former employee housing unit. Green onion tops and fermented cabbage are popular foods. Note the snowdrift outside. See also this photo and the wide view. 2007.
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|
|
|
Archive: Hallways
|
Photographs showing what entryways and hallways look like.
Partial view of an entryway
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|
Entryway from "The Empty Room," Tour 2. The door to the "empty room" is to the left of the cabinet. The little bookshelf is shown in this photo. Imported electronics were not widely available until the 1990s. 2007.
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Entryway and hallway
|
|
Entryway and hallway with communal phone, table, and chair. We see "Auntie" Asya speaking on the phone in this same hallway in the clip "The Empty Room" (Tour 2), filmed 9 years after this photograph was taken. 1997.
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Cabinets and clutter in the entryway
|
|
Junk on top of cabinets in front of the entrance to the "empty" room (Tours 1 & 2). An earlier photo shows fewer things. The storage units, locked, hold clothing. The cartons are of recent origin. 2007.
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Hallway between entrance and kitchen
|
|
The bricked up archway, columns, and geometric tiles of this hallway from Tour 3 reveal the degree to which renovations of the 1920s diverged from the original plan of the building. 2007.
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Slippers on an bookcase
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|
Slippers are placed on this little bookcase near the door leading from the entryway into a room. This is the apartment seen in Tours 1 and 2. 2006.
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A column in the hallway
|
|
Furniture and a column in a hallway. The building once belonged to an institution; people who worked there could get rooms in apartments in the building.
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A little girl at the door to her room
|
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A little girl plays without supervision in a communal hallway full of things. 2007.
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Child in hallway
|
|
The hallway is good for playing and riding a toy car. 2007.
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Private versus communal space
|
|
The difference between a hallway rug and a private one. 2007.
|
Entryway with carved arch and wallpaper
|
|
Entryway of the apartment in "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. For the same entrance hall in 1997, see "Entrance hall, arch, wallpaper." 2003.
|
A door that has been through a lot
|
|
The door in the carved arch in the apartment entry from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5, bears the marks of several fights among residents and guests. 2002.
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Carved arch in the entryway
|
|
A carved arch in the entryway of this large apartment, shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5), is protected by the government. 2002.
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Wallpaper and an old-fashioned electric cord
|
|
Bits of original decor (under government protection) look as they did 80 years ago. The electric cord has not been replaced in over 50 years. The apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2002.
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Curtain and wires
|
|
The wires for the doorbells, telephone, and TV antenna run above the curtain covering the door to a room where some residents live. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
|
A door which is always locked
|
|
This door in the entryway of the large apartment from the videoclip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5) is always locked. The rooms were redesigned in such a way that the door is not used. 2002.
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On the cabinet, overflow from the storage room
|
|
Junk on the cabinet in the apartment entryway seen in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2002.
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Rent and telephone bills
|
|
Rent and phone bills brought up by the janitor have been placed in front of the mirror in the entryway. See the close up with explanations. The apartment is from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 2003.
|
Hallway
|
|
In this hallway next to the residents' rooms there are coat racks, shelves for shoes, and all sorts of stuff including a refrigerator, freeing up more space in the rooms. Apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Hall, storage loft
|
|
In the hallway of the apartment from the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5) things are kept in storage lofts, children have been allowed to draw all over the wallpaper and renovations have never been done. 2006.
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A hallway cluttered with stuff, arch, cat
|
|
Cabinets, boxes, and a coat rack in a cluttered hallway of the apartment which is home to Vadim and Lena from "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard from "Edik the Cabinetmaker" (Tour 5). 2006.
|
Hallway, cabinets, boxes
|
|
In the hallway of the apartment which is home to Vadim, Lena (from the clip "We Laughed and Cried"), and Eduard (from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker"), Tour 5, there is old furniture dating from various eras. 2006.
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Hallway, refrigerator, cot
|
|
In the hallway (opposite the washroom) of the apartment which is home to Vadim, Lena (from "We Laughed and Cried") and Eduard (from "Edik the Cabinetmaker"), Tour 5, we see a refrigerator, a cot, and various clutter. 2006.
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Cabinet, little table, electric meter
|
|
There are always empty containers in the pantry or the hallway. This apartment is home to Vadim and Lena (clip "If All This Were Yours..." from Tour 4) as well as to Edik (clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," Tour 5). 2006.
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Door to Anna Matveevna's room
|
|
Anna Matveevna (from the clip "Anna Matveevna," Tour 3) is the very elderly resident of this room. She has placed a lock on her door. There is also a padlock on her kitchen cabinet. 2006.
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Security devices on Lena's door
|
|
This is the door that the "crook woman" violated when she "cleaned out" Lena's family ("Robbers and Ghosts," Tour 6). No new locks were installed after the alleged incident. 2006.
|
Locks on a room door
|
|
A padlock on Alla Ignatevna's door provides additional protection. Apartment from the clip "The Archangel Michael," Tour 5. 2006.
|
A clock, a model ship and a wire
|
|
In the hallway one can see where the apartment phone used to hang. 2006.
|
A sign in the hallway, hung as a joke
|
|
Just outside the door to his study (clip "If all this were yours...", Tour 5) as a joke Vadim has hung a sign taken from a store. Such signs are seen in many public places in Russia. 2006.
|
The end of a hallway, leading to the kitchen
|
|
The one and only water heater in a large apartment stands in the hallway. 1997.
|
Door with hooks
|
|
At some point in the past, this service entrance was used more often; the hooks remain from that time. The door locks only from the inside, using these hooks. 2002.
|
Request to lock the upper lock of a door
|
|
This announcement on an apartment door requests that the residents think about security and use the stronger upper lock. 2000.
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|
|
|
Archive: "Empty" room
|
Photographs taken in the so-called "empty" rooms, i.e. communal storage rooms.
The "empty" room
|
|
The common storage room of the small apartment seen in the clip "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4. 2006.
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Storage room in a small apartment
|
|
Various items are stored in a room with traces of a leak on the ceiling. Laundry is also dried there. 1997.
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The "empty" room
|
|
Old furniture, boxes, and bicycles: the typical contents of a common closet in the apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. See also the closer shot photo. 1997.
|
A written request to neighbors
|
|
In the "empty" room in the apartment shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," (Tour 5) there is something fragile under the carpet. 1998.
|
Bare hooks in the empty room
|
|
Space remaining in the storage room after the recent death of a neighbor. This is the apartment from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" in Tour 5. 1997.
|
Cabinets and clutter in the entryway
|
|
Junk on top of cabinets in front of the entrance to the "empty" room (Tours 1 & 2). An earlier photo shows fewer things. The storage units, locked, hold clothing. The cartons are of recent origin. 2007.
|
A former resident's room, now an "empty" one
|
|
We see this "empty" room in the clip of the same name from Tour 2, where its history is related. In addition to the junk, there are wardrobes that are used by a family that had no other space for it. 2007.
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The ceiling in the "empty" room
|
|
A corner of this empty room from the clip of the same name (Tour 2) was walled off when the apartment was modified. The bulb has been burned out for many years. 2007.
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The "empty" room
|
|
The inside of the "empty" room on a sunny spring day. 1998.
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|
|
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Archive: Washrooms and lavatories
|
Photographs taken in washrooms or bathrooms, rooms for drying laundry, and lavatories.
Chart: Who gets to use the bathroom
|
|
Times that each tenant can use the bathroom in the morning and evening are indicated on a chart. 2006.
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The washroom in a small apartment
|
|
The buckets and basins belong to various residents, while the clotheslines are shared by all. Sveta and Anya use the small cupboard. This washroom is shown in the clip "No Hallway, No Bath Either," Tour 4. 2006.
|
In the washroom
|
|
These buckets and basins in the washroom of the apartment shown in Tour 3 belong to various residents. On the floor under the bench is an electric centrifuge for squeezing out wet laundry. 2005.
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Laundry, clean and dirty
|
|
In the bathroom (see "A New Shower," Tour 3), we see laundry which may belong to various residents. Clean laundry is folded in a stack on the small cupboard, while dirty laundry is in basins on top of the washing machine. 1997.
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Laundry on clotheslines, basins and buckets
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Children's sheets are drying in the bathroom which was filmed nine years later in the clip "A New Shower" (Tour 3). There is dirty laundry in the basin. 1997.
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Two shower curtains
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The second (green) plastic curtain is necessary because the tub hasn't been calked. The hose on the edge of the tub is the drain from one of the washing machines. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2 (e.g. clip "Washroom"). 2007.
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A cooking pot in the washroom
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These kitchen utensils are stored in the washroom because they are used for boiling and laundering some items of clothing (and perhaps diapers). Apartment from Tours 1 and 2 (e.g. clip "Washroom"). 2007.
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Hooks on a bathroom door
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When using the shower, tenants hang their clothes on these hooks, on a door that hasn't been repainted in decades. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2 (e.g. clip "Washroom"). 2007.
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Bathroom with a window
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The bathroom of the apartment from "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5; one pane of glass has been replaced by paper sheeting. See also "Bath sponges hanging in the bathroom." 1998.
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Bath sponges hanging in the bathroom
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Various kinds of bath sponges ("mochalki") hang in the bathroom. See also the wide shot, "Bathroom with a window". 1997.
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A room for drying laundry
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This apartment has a special room next to the kitchen for drying laundry; basins are kept here. The apartment is from the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya," Tour 5. 1997.
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Rules for using the bathroom
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On the door to the bathroom is an appeal to residents not to use the bathroom at night, as the person who posted the note lives in the room next door. 2000.
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Partial view of the bathroom
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A partial view of the bathroom in a small apartment. One sign on the wall gives instructions for cleaning the bathtub. 2006.
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Towels and shoes
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Shoes dry on the radiator in the bathroom of a small apartment. 1998.
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A makeshift mirror
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This washroom does not have a mirror for general use, but the owners of the bottom shelf keep a makeshift mirror for their private use. Apartment from Tours 1 and 2 (e.g. clip "Washroom"). 2007.
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In the lavatory
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This is one of two lavatories in the large apartment from Tour 3. Usually people spread newspaper on the shared toilet seat before they use it. 1997.
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Shelves in the lavatory
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The "second" lavatory shown in the clip "Lavatory and Hallway," Tour 2. Traces of the sink which used to be here can be seen below the shelves. The cartons are of recent origin: in the USSR instant coffee was a rare item. 2007.
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Sheets of newsprint to spread on the toilet seat
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This pouch on the inside of the lavatory door holds sheets of newsprint to be spread on the toilet seat. We see this lavatory in the clip "Lavatory & Hallway," Tour 2. The apartment from Tours 1 and 2. 2007.
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A lavatory with a calendar on the wall
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A calendar, long out of date and no longer used for its original purpose, conceals damage to the wall. 1997.
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Three bulbs in the lavatory
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In this lavatory, each family has their own bulb.
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Three light switches
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Next to the lavatory door are three light switches, one for each family. 1997.
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City maps
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Various maps of St. Petersburg.
Map of Leningrad: 1976
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This map of St. Petersburg (Leningrad) in 1976 is reproduced from «Историко-географический атлас». Москва, Главное управление геодезии и картографии, 1977. Page 116. Copyright © Federal'nyj kartografo-geodezicheskij fond, 1977. Used by permission.
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Map of Leningrad: 1933
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This map of St. Petersburg (Leningrad) in 1933 is reproduced from «Историко-географический атлас». Москва, Главное управление геодезии и картографии, 1977. Page 116. Copyright © Federal'nyj kartografo-geodezicheskij fond, 1977. Used by permission.
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Map of St. Petersburg: 1917
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This map of St. Petersburg in 1917 is reproduced from «Историко-географический атлас». Москва, Главное управление геодезии и картографии, 1977. Page 116. Copyright © Federal'nyj kartografo-geodezicheskij fond, 1977. Used by permission.
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City development: Leningrad, 1980
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The map of planned city development for Leningrad by 1980. From «Историко-географический атлас». Москва, Главное управление геодезии и картографии, 1977. Page 119. Copyright © Federal'nyj kartografo-geodezicheskij fond, 1977. Used by permission.
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Map of Leningrad: 1945
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This map of St. Petersburg (Leningrad) in 1945 is reproduced from «Историко-географический атлас». Москва, Главное управление геодезии и картографии, 1977. Page 116. Copyright © Federal'nyj kartografo-geodezicheskij fond, 1977. Used by permission.
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Archive: Stairwells and balconies
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Photographs showing building entry halls, stairwells, and balconies.
Entrance arch, Slawomir
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Slawomir on the staircase of the building which is home to Vadim and Lena, shown in the clip "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard, shown in the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker," (Tour 5). 2006.
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Mailboxes at entryway, staircase
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Mailboxes in the entry hall of the building which is home to Vadim and Lena from "If All This Were Yours..." (Tour 4) and Eduard from the clip "Edik the Cabinetmaker." (5)2006.
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Traces of decoration in the entryway of a building
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A bricked-up stove and window frame. This is the building of Lena and Marina from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2007.
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In front of the staircase and elevator
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Mailboxes and a recess in the entryway of the building where Marina and Lena live. (Clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" in Tour 5). 2007.
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What Marina and Lena see in their entryway
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Announcements and a little door in the wall. This entryway is used by Marina and Lena from the clips "Over a Cup of Tea" and "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" (Tour 5). 2007.
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Detail of the interior of a stairwell
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Stucco moldings and statue in the entrance to a building next to the one in Tours 1-3. The apartments in this stairway are communal. 2007.
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Window in the entrance hall
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First floor entrance hall shown in the clip "Stairwell" of the building in Tours 1-3. 2007.
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The door to where the janitor once lived
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The door to where the janitor, a Tatar, once lived (see the clip "Stairwell" from Tour 1). Someone placed a discarded refrigerator behind the elevator. Its handle is sticking out on the left. 2007.
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A repaired banister
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On the stairs of the building from Tours 1-3, the banister has been repaired but not restored; for several years there has been a gap here. See photo "A broken banister." 2007.
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A partially broken banister
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A broken banister in a historical building. 1997.
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The stairwell ceiling
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All of the apartments leading out onto this stairwell from Tours 1-3 are communal; see clip "Stairwell"; some of the original decor from 1917, when the building was built, has been preserved. 2007.
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Apartment door
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A typical apartment entrance in the building from Tours 1 and 2. The new wiring on the wall is the TV and Internet cable. 2007.
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Doorbells on an apartment door
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There are several bells at the door to the apartment, but it is not clear who they belong to. 2002.
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Whose bell is this?
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Next to the bell are traces of paper from a typewritten list with the number of rings assigned to each tenant. See notes on doorbells in "Doorbells on an apartment door." 2007.
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Doorbells on the door of a medium-sized apartment
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Some doorbells give no indication of the names of their owners, while others have, instead of a name-plate, something temporary, like the residents themselves. 1998.
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Different neighbors, different doorbells
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As new residents move in, they are assigned doorbells and nameplates which belonged to previous residents. They then make them over as they see fit. 2003.
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Entrance to a large apartment
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Each family has its own doorbell, and in addition there is a common bell for the entire apartment, to which everyone is supposed to respond. This apartment is shown in the clip "Kamila, Lena, and Yulya" (Tour 5). 2002.
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Staircase window, railing
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In a stairwell where there are many communal apartments (including the apartment from the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" of Tour 5) the window has several panes of colored glass which date back to the early twentieth century. 2006.
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Writing on a window
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In a stairwell where there are many communal apartments (including the apartment from the clip "Who Lived Here Before the Revolution?" of Tour 5) the window has several panes of colored glass which date back to the early twentieth century. 2006.
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Restored stairway
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A stairway of the building from Tours 1-3. Here, communal apartments are mixed in with luxurious private apartments, whose owners have restored part of the stairway (notice the left side of the photo) and installed a security system downstairs. 2007.
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Entryway of a former dormitory
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Entryway of an apartment set up like a closet and area for clothes drying. 2007.
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Windows of top-floor communal apartments
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The building shown in Tours 1-3; the facade facing the courtyard. In the separate apartments in the building next door, well-to-do residents have installed energy-efficient vinyl window panes. 2007.
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Roof, balcony
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The top floor of the facade of the building from Tours 1-3, which opens onto the courtyard. One of the families living in this communal apartment has the good fortune to have a balcony. 2007.
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Hanging laundry on the terrace
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One of the neighbors hangs laundry on the terrace on the roof. 2002.
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Door to the roof garden and part of the terrace
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The door from a room onto the terrace, which residents of the apartment from Tours 1 and 2 can use. People use this door in the clip "The Roof Garden" in Tour 1. 2007.
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Clothesline on the terrace
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On this terrace from the clip "The Roof Garden" (Tour 1), there is a place for old junk, plants in boxes, and clotheslines. See also a 2002 photo of this terrace. 2007
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Savva and Sonya's windows, seen from the courtyard
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Part of the facade of the apartment building from Tours 1-3, facing into the courtyard. The bay windows beneath the balcony are part of Savva and Sonya's room (see clip "Cooking Saltimbocca"). 2006.
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On the roof garden
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Car tires, a satellite dish, and window onto the staircase: a view of the terrace seen in the clip "The Roof Garden" from Tour 1. 2007.
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Volodya's room; door to the balcony
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This room has a door to the balcony which, according to the person who lives in it, makes the neighbors envious. 1997.
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