Residents of the regions complained about the cold in the apartments: we will freeze before Europe

Svetlana (not her real name) is a military wife. The family lives in the village of Sputnik, Murmansk Region. This is a military settlement based on units of the Marine Corps, located 140 km from the capital of the Arctic. From the remarkable – rock musician Vladimir Kuzmin spent his childhood in the village.

– My husband is a military officer, a member of the NWO, – says Svetlana. – In 2020, we moved to Sputnik. We were given a cold one-room apartment. The heater worked around the clock from September to May. At our own peril and risk, we did not turn it off even at night. From the cold and damp, mold formed under the window and next to the front door. I didn’t have the strength to fight the cold. We declared the apartment unfit for habitation. And in 2022, we were allocated another housing, from where another family moved out.

The new two-room apartment turned out to be no better than the old one. The old window frames were cracking, the linoleum was bulging, the walls were peeling, the ceiling was falling off, the bathroom and sink were rusty.

– We made repairs: we changed the front door, insulated the windows, laid a laminate, – Svetlana continues. – We moved there in March, and my husband immediately left for a special operation. When the frost hit, living in the apartment became unbearable. No matter how the windows are insulated, it still blows decently from there, the floor is icy. I’m constantly catching a cold. Even the cat has cystitis from the cold, cannot go to the toilet. I do not turn off the heater, otherwise I will die. The corridor and kitchen are very fresh. Utility bills for a month run up to 9,000 rubles. The other day, someone from the management company came to us and measured the temperature. The room was 17 degrees. It would have been even colder without a heater. They promised to change the radiator as an experiment. To be honest, I’m tired of putting up with it. I will move in with relatives until my husband returns. I can’t imagine how families with children live in the village. People complain every year, but it’s all useless.

Svetlana sends me a link to a group on the social network where Sputnik residents discuss the problems of lack of heat.

“The electrics can’t handle the heaters. As a result, the microwave heats for a very long time or does not heat at all. The washing machine does not wash. It is impossible for a child to inhale, because the device does not work at full strength or does not pull.

“We have complete devastation and problems not only in heating. Problems in doors, windows, holes in floors, dirty basements, pipes, electricity, house foundations and climate. Employees of the Criminal Code say: “Your housing stock is cheaper to demolish than to repair.”

“The apartment is 16 degrees. I don’t get out from under the covers. Saved by heat guns. The house is full of holes, it blows from all the cracks.

– Cold is a serious problem for the north, – Svetlana believes. – Everywhere they shout that poor Europe will freeze, but it seems to me that we will freeze earlier. Imagine, our men are fighting, and they also have to worry about us that we are sick. There is also no pharmacy in the village.

Svetlana describes what a military camp is like.

– There are eight five-story buildings in the village. They are not fully populated. The entrances are shabby, they are not heated, plaster is crumbling from the walls, mice are running around. Some houses have never been renovated.

– Is there anything positive?

– There is. This year, the library and the children’s sports school were repaired and put into operation. There is a kindergarten, a school in a neighboring village 8 km away. Last year, Pyaterochka and a hardware store were opened.

– Where are you being treated?

– In a residential building there is a small feldsher-midwife station. When you get sick, you have to stand in line for an appointment in a cold entrance with a temperature.

– Is there entertainment in the village?

– There are no cafes, cinemas and entertainment. The military complain that the city does not have a gym for training, a swimming pool. They take physio (physical training) on ​​the street. Okay, still skiing in the winter, but what is it like in the off-season? In autumn and spring, the guys run cross-country over bumps.

Where do civilians work?

– There are few vacancies – in a store, a kindergarten, a military unit. The average salary with northern allowances for women is 29 thousand rubles. That’s how much I get. I work in the military.

Is it cold at work too?

– Very cold. You have to wrap up. You can forget about dresses and shoes. This year, the barracks are being slowly put into operation, it seems like the places are presented to the mobilized. The guys complain that they also freeze in them. Conscripts generally live in shabby cold wrecked barracks.

Why don’t the military themselves complain about the conditions?

– They are afraid that later it will not be sweet in the service. By the way, checks on our complaints are being carried out, but there is no result. We suspect that such a test is carefully prepared. They probably show what can be shown and presented in the best light.

“We warm ourselves in the kitchen when we cook”

Residents of Murmansk also filled up with appeals from the governor of the region. Almost every second complaint concerns problems with heating.

Murmansk resident Irina says: “The last two years it has become much colder in apartments. The temperature in the apartments did not rise above 19 degrees. With high humidity in the region, the feeling is very uncomfortable. I contacted the housing department, the hotline of the housing and communal services. A representative of the MES came to me, convinced me by phone that 18 degrees in the apartment is good for health. It may be useful, but we still freeze. At home we wear two pairs of socks, pull on warm pants and three cardigans. We sleep in this. It is impossible to ventilate the apartment, it becomes even colder. We warm ourselves in the kitchen while cooking, and put a heater in the nursery that threshes all day.

Angelina: “The batteries are cold, the floor is icy, the apartment is damp. This is taking into account the fact that our heater works non-stop. We measure the temperature with our thermometer, it comes out 14 degrees. And the MES came with their own, apparently twisted, it turned out within the normal range. The papers indicated that we had an icy floor and the batteries were weak, but everything was fine in terms of degrees.

Since the summer we have been fighting with the Criminal Code regarding the leakage of the roof. The court took place. They were required to make a roof. They reported that they had patched up the roof, but they did not stop dripping in the apartment. There was mold and streaks. The neighbors have the same situation with mold and heating. We are thinking of turning to the president, since it is impossible to live like this.”

Victoria: “In 2018, we took a mortgage on an apartment. The horror with heating began this year. Batteries barely get warm. I have been writing complaints since November, but there is no result. After I turned to the governor, they came to me from the local TV channel, MES and the management company came. MES looked for gaps in windows and doors. The heater worked at home, the temperature was 19.8. Nobody paid attention to the fact that the batteries were barely warm. My child does not get out of the hospital, he sleeps in clothes. There are a lot of pensioners at the entrance, they systematically apply to various services, but there is no help.”

“I want to meet the New Year not with a jaw shaking from the cold”

Residents of the Trans-Baikal city of Borzya with a population of about 30,000 people freeze to death due to an accident at a boiler house. The temperature in those parts at night drops to minus 35 degrees. The city administration reported on the provision of heat guns to those in need, first of all they promised to provide devices for large families and the disabled.

– The frost on the street began and something went wrong in the boiler room, – says a resident of Borzi. – As I understand it, the boilers “flyed” one after another. I woke up in the morning, it was minus 45 outside, I touched the batteries, but they were barely warm. Now at home we do not take off warm clothes, we sleep in a hat. This year the boilers have already failed twice. They are repaired, they break again. About a hundred houses are freezing in the city, which are connected to the central boiler house. Some shops and public institutions are also not heated. The teachers of our school said not to bring children, it is cold in the classrooms, it is impossible to sit on ice chairs.”

Another resident of Borzi confirmed the situation with heating: “During the entire heating season, the batteries were hot for 2-3 days. We cannot buy heaters, there is no extra money. We save ourselves with hot tea and warm clothes. We wash quickly, jump out of the bathroom and dress like an army in 45 seconds, so as not to zadubet. It is also cold in shopping centers, at school the heat does not reach the third floor. Recently, specialists from Chita came to us, they seem to have repaired the boiler room, but it is not known how soon the houses will heat up. And whether the boilers can withstand such a load is a big question. We now have one desire – to celebrate the New Year not in sheepskin coats, felt boots and with a jaw shaking from the cold.