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Incredible photo.  Your contributions have been fantastic, thanks.
by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Feb 1st, 2008 at 05:59:45 AM EST
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Well thank you for allowing me to share all these... :-)

This one is the reason I was in Leningrad ! To design small prefabricated "datchas" (three morrys, built in one day) that were one among thousands of the "joint-ventures" of that era !

I have fond memories of this work because we changed a factory that was making Kalaschnikov's butt and ammunition crates into a house building company !
We had to work with the district's soviets (ah, those babouchkas !) so it wouldn't be bought and capitalized by the new mafia... Wasn't without danger as one of our "banker" finished in the Neva with concrete shoes !!!

Those should still be at the Lenexpo site !

The first prototype...

Inside the second version, with local made furniture, Finnish style :-) !




"What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman

by margouillat (hemidactylus(dot)frenatus(at)wanadoo(dot)fr) on Fri Feb 1st, 2008 at 04:37:27 PM EST
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They are gorgeous, but I wouldn't like to drop a candle in one.
by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Feb 1st, 2008 at 04:47:24 PM EST
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Eh, eh... The usual flat of those times would have burned as quickly (maybe more) because of so many things in so small a space (not to speak of vodka, the local coin of the realm)!
The complete house (equipped) was about twenty thousand francs of that time... Quite a lot for the citizens of Leningrad!

Many negotiated with oversea firms they were working for... And many were crying when they had it, because it was the first time they owned a house (not the land)!

Quite an experience !

"What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman

by margouillat (hemidactylus(dot)frenatus(at)wanadoo(dot)fr) on Fri Feb 1st, 2008 at 04:59:00 PM EST
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