I was looking at some pictures of the area of Leningrad where I lived and the descriptions state very poor, ugly and isolated.
When I lived there it seemed to me very spacious, modern compared to private houses of NYC, and only 1/2 hour by train to the center of the city.
Ahh, such pessimism. anyway this is the area where I lived:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/image...99be&no=3&tt=8 http://images.search.yahoo.com/image...b2c4&no=5&tt=8