All That is Foul and Noxious, or My Morning's Walk to Class

So for awhile now I have been meaning to post a photo essay of my walk to and from the university, or more specifically all of the foul and noxious entities and enterprises I encounter along the way. I think this is important on two counts. For one, it helps explain the radical personality shift some of you may have encountered in your interactions with me from the once beloved bright eyed and bubbly moppet to the incessantly grumbling narrow-eyed reprobate able to knock down old ladies with a single elbow I have regrettably become. And secondly, I think it helps add some color to the state of Russia's, well, state. Just these everyday indignities paint a picture of Russia's once modern infrastructure and the state of degradation to which it has sunk. We tend to segregate the world into North and South, developed and developing countries but I hope these pictures are argument enough that we need a new category for countries with international space stations, nuclear arms and "developed" identities that over the years of decay and disrepair have largely been reduced to literal piles of rubble.

And so I lead you out of my apartment block, which as I have previously illustrated in facebook posts is itself often foul and noxious, once reeking of human excrement that sat in a misshapen pile by the elevator for over two weeks, because while the post-Soviet Russian state transfered ownership of apartments to private citizens, it still maintains ownership of the public spaces in the buildings. This means that the local government is responsible for cleaning the lobbies and hallways of nearly every building in the city. Needless to say, they are not entirely efficient in this endeavor, hence the two-week old excrement. But I digress, I walk out into the fresh air, walk down a few small streets to the major thoroughfare and encounter the following efforts of construction:

Note the red and white striped tape that may have once cordoned off the construction but is now entangled in the mess of pipes and hoses coming out of the back of the truck.

Here's another angle. Please note the bizarrely crumbling piece of wood and gaping hole of which I will soon provide a close-up. Also remember that since this construction has popped up without warning this fine day in Kazan I now have to slip through the narrow space between the cones and the cars in order to proceed down the street.

The truck is looking very high tech. It is most likely a KAMAZ, made at the factory in Kazan.



This is the hole. Please note tree roots, broken pipes and new tubes stuffed with newspaper and soda bottles for "safety."

Coming back from the university in the evening, thinking I have another block to go before I reach the construction,  I am confronted with a mysterious pile of dirt. I walk into the street to circumvent it.

And find the nice men squatting by their hole on the other side. Again, the efforts at "fencing off" the construction are very helpful guys, thanks.

This is a little farther down the street.

And this is a bright new day and a new construction hole. Please note massive stones and cardboard box playing a critical role.

From the other side we see that they are still very into the coke bottles as a part of the technical process.

This is one evening that I decided to ride my beloved tram home. There were high winds that day. And if you look closely you can see that the shards of shattered glass and blown out frame of the tram stop.

They work by night.

This guy looks "official" but seems to be giving me a guilty look as he does his crossword and lowers wires from high voltage batteries into a manhole.

This is a heavily trafficked side street connecting the university to the main pedestrian boulevard of Baumana. Good that the cafe owners don't think the rubble in front of their building is a deterrent to customers and feel free to post their menu in the midst of it.

From the other side. I love the 1970s power-drill.

I also thought it would be important to provide some pictures of the sidewalks when they're NOT under construction.

Crumbling concrete along the edges.

Big holes and exposed metal bars that are particularly fun to deal with in the dark.

Random layers of constructions past.

Bits of metal coming out of the sidewalk. Artful until you break a heel.

This is what happens on a rainy day in Kazan. I was attempting to capture the extent to which the streets turn into full on rivers.

Pleasant, no?

Here is an old lady stranded on a stone in the middle of the street unable to go further without submerging her feet. The water here, in front of the tram stop naturally, is as I learned the hard way about 10 inches deep.

And here is a "progress" report of sorts. One of our gaping holes is now being paved over and for some reason tended to by older ladies in kerchiefs, employing the latest technology yet again.

Good work, team!

Except, *this* is what the street looks like for the next two weeks...

And then when all is said and done, here is the final fruit of all these labors. This by the way is fresh asphalt for pedestrians to walk through-- a sort of thank you from the city of Kazan, allowing you to take part of the street with you wherever you're going on the bottom of your shoes.

And the piles of rubble remain. Leaving behind all of the fond autumn memories and the distinct impression that Russia is busted!