Russia’s LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party) says forget apartments and build houses in Moscow

Moscow residents continue to engage in heated debates over Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin’s plans to demolish Soviet era apartment blocs known as Khrushchyovka, as most were built during the era of Nikita Khrushchev.

Today, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky offered a solution far more nuanced than the ‘stay or go’ arguments that many are having about the mid-20th century apartments.

Zhirinovsky has stated that the best and most beautiful buildings in Moscow came from the 18th and 19th centuries when low-rise buildings and small and medium sized houses went up around a growing Moscow city and region.

He said that the construction of the Soviet towers was a response to the wider rejection of communal living (коммуналка), in former single occupancy residences, a scheme pioneered in the early Soviet Union.

While the Soviet era Khrushchyovka did give people ‘a place of there own’, most of these buildings had no elevators or places to easily dispose of rubbish. Many are now thought of as eye sores as well.

But Zhirinovsky warned about replacing the Soviet buildings with modern skyscrapers that create a sense of alienation and overcrowding. He described the conditions as creating ‘hate’ among neighbours.

Instead, he proposed that new residential units should be spread out in the form of small and medium sized houses where everyone can easily live. He proposes small yards in these new houses so that those who drive can easily park on their own property thus clearing up streets and rendering redundant the need for massive parking garages.

What do you think of these proposals from the LDPR leader?