Russian apartments are described in terms of rooms. So what we would call a 2BD apartment the Russians would call a three room apartment. The reason for this is that each room must have multiple purposes. Most couches can be made into a bed. I have never found hide-a-beds comfortable, but because the Russian couches will be used most nights as a bed they are more comfortable. So Elena and I are sleeping on a couch slightly smaller than an American double bed. Our daughter Stacy is sleeping on a cot.
The kitchen is tiny and when visitors come it is difficult to seat everyone. Storage is at a premium. So the result of this is that one has to shop more frequently. A lot of walking. Not a big problem in the summer but my mother-in-law broke her hip last winter doing her shopping. BTW, she is better and healed well. But the doctor said that when she travels she will set off the metal detectors.
My mother-in-law receives one bill for utilities that is all inclusive.
Cable TV for 8 channels costs $1 a month. The apartment has 30 channels but for some reason she has not complained about the free channels. The mix of channels is similar to what one would expect, but music and children's programing is a higher percentage of the total. There are 4 music channels, two for English music, one Russian pop music and one Russian traditional music. MUSIC CHANNELS ACTUALLY PLAY MUSIC! Wow. I prefer the Russian Pop music channel. If I see Snoop Dog one more time sing "I Want To Make You Sweat" I will go mad. I watched for a minute American Baseball and news about Peyton Manning’s neck injury. If you listen carefully you can hear the English.
Fees to the government for apartment repairs is $17 a month. (You can see why there is an air of disrepair in the apartments’ neighborhood.) All together the bill is about $100 a month. This sounds small to us, but with the low income in Russia it is difficult for most Russians to pay. No doubt the bill is subsidized to some degree.
The bill used to be based on the size of the apartment with no meter. But gradually meters are being installed, and the price is set in such a way as to encourage meters, especially for apartments with few residents.
Hot water is centrally heated for the whole community and piped to each apartment. This means that whole neighborhoods have good or bad hot water depending on the state of their equipment. Sometimes the hot water will stop while you are taking a shower, but worse is when the cold water stops! Heat is generated the same way with a central plant with hot water piped to radiators in each apartment.
The biggest problems I see is that 20 to 30 years from now there will have to be a substantial remodeling of these apartments. The government will have to do it, as the residents will not be able to afford it. This might be a ticking time bomb.
Since I have a job starting soon, (my first job—I am so proud!) I do not think we will come to visit Russia next year. But we will return in 2013 when the US economy fails.