Garage
In the regions, iconic structures for every Soviet citizen – garages – are under threat of disappearing.
For anyone born in the USSR, a garage is sacred. More sacred for men than for women. Garages, in addition to the cars themselves, still contain potatoes and preserves for the winter, a samovar, an old washing machine, a Desna bicycle wheel, my first son's potty, and a stash from my wife lost 40 years ago—a half-liter bottle of Stolichnaya. In other words, strictly necessary things. A year ago, we lost a set of summer tires in the depths of my father's garage.
Garages were used to celebrate birthdays, the birth of children, the completion of car repairs, the sale of a car, and the purchase of a new one. Auto repair shops were opened there, friendships were formed, "necessary connections" were made, and everyone inevitably had a special kind of friend—garage neighbors. Young people may not understand, but even they cling tightly to their garages, for genetic memory is strong.
By pushing through garage cooperative development projects, officials and developers are causing more than just discontent. They've encroached on sacred grounds and are provoking public anger.
Garages and people
There's a pond near my house where, just 10 years ago, half the neighborhood swam. Along the road to it, there were several garages built like "shells." With the first warm weather, the men would gather, patch or build a new bridge, renovate the zip line, line the entrance to the water with tires, mow the grass, and spend the entire season chasing away noisy drinkers and bottle-breakers. The municipality demolished the garages as illegal, even though a local company had allocated the land to its employees some 60 years earlier. A couple of years later, the pond also "died": the bridge collapsed, the tires floated away, and the shore became a dump. With the departure of the garage community, an important location for the neighborhood disappeared.
"A garage (from the French "garage," from the nautical term "gare," meaning "dock, pier") is a building for parking and sometimes repairing cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles. The word "garage," which entered the English language in 1902, comes from the French word "garer," meaning "shelter," Wikipedia states.
It's hard to disagree: for the Soviet, and later Russian, people, the garage became a true refuge—from disagreements with their wives, work problems, and the cramped apartment. A garage can usually accommodate everything needed and unneeded, fix a child's bike, plane boards and build a shelf, and even start a business. A friend of mine bought two neighboring garages and now does auto repairs, while another uses them for storage—he sells small household items. A friend of mine owns a veterinary clinic and is an excellent veterinarian. What does this have to do with garages? As a child, she wasn't allowed to have a pet, so she would visit the garages near her home, where they always kept well-fed dogs. The girl would apply brilliant green to their wounds and call on grown-ups to help her treat the pack of ringworm, fleas, and other ailments. Now, in response to praise for her professionalism, the veterinarian laughs: "I've been practicing in garages since third grade!"
For my 74-year-old father, a trip to the garage is a ritual. He puts on his "garage" clothes so he doesn't mind getting dirty, grabs a "garage" bag with a large red checkered pattern—it holds several jars of pickles, squash caviar, and a couple of kilograms of potatoes—and takes a package for the garage dogs from the refrigerator—it contains bones, sausage skins, leftover porridge, and half-eaten cutlets. A motley pack of them greets him, nearly knocking him off his feet. He's retired, and a trip to the garage is a chore that keeps him alive. There, he needs to separate screws and nails into separate jars, whitewash the walls, and organize the basement. My mother never objected to his "garage" days: to take away my father's garage is to take away his life.
The auto cooperative is located in a decent place, almost in the city center, although right next to the railway, on the other side there is a ravine. After news When I was about to hear about the upcoming demolition of capital garages in another region, the devil made me ask my father if they had heard rumors about the liquidation of the cooperative.
"How can that be? We own both the land and the buildings. I built it with my own hands, with all my hard work, and then I had to endure hospitalization—I broke my back," he became agitated. I slept in the car, guarding the bricks. Then the guys and I started taking turns guarding them. And what about the potatoes, jam, and pickles? Where should I keep them? Should I abandon the dacha then? I have enough parts for three cars here, I've been collecting them my whole life. I learned here how to take a car apart, screw by screw, and put it back together blindly. I have a friend, Uncle Lyova, remember? From the garage next door, we were together for 50 years... he was. He died three years ago. Now I take his wife to the cemetery. So what do you mean, tear down the garages? Does that mean tear down my whole life along with it? Yes, I'm all for the garage... With my own hands... And to hell with ending up in prison!
But garages—both metal shells and permanent structures—are being torn down or are planned for demolition in many regions.
Garages and power
They began to be dismantled about 20 years ago. Somewhere for the construction of a new road, somewhere for housing development, and in some cities simply because they were an eyesore with their unsightly appearance. Some garage complexes are targeted for demolition as allegedly illegal. The mechanism is simple: the owners obtained land for the garages during the Soviet era, and the new government simply refused to issue permits for the land ownership, only to then outlaw them. For example, in Astrakhan, in one fell swoop demolished 1200 "illegal" garages. This begs the question: when did they become "illegal"? And if they were illegal from the start, how many years did the authorities turn a blind eye to it? The second option: the chairman, either by his own will or someone else's, didn't pay for a long time for the lease of land to the Civil Code. These were isolated cases, although painful for the owners. With the emergence of a new form of development - integrated development of the territory (MCT) - thousands of garages are under threat of demolition.
In Ryazan even in 2016 year demolished About 700 garages of the Cherezovsky cooperative. A major developer was supposed to build an embankment on this site soon. It still hasn't arrived. The developer offered 12 rubles for the metal garage.
In Ufa six years ago demolished 500 metal garages, a year ago for the sake of KRT announced demolition 300 capital garages, as well as the nearby forest.
Novosibirsk Over the past three years, authorities have demolished 8,7 metal garages, with 9,4 more to be demolished. New residential buildings have already appeared or are expected to appear in the places of the destroyed private properties.
In Tyumen for the sake of KRT confiscated 200 garages on Elizarova Street, more 42 garages are located on Daudelnaya Street.
In Samara two years ago for the construction of the Central Highway demolished "Shell" garages, although they promised not to touch them until 2025. Scrap metal buyers offered 15 thousand rubles for the garage.
In Moscow They're demolishing it for the sake of the KRT not only garages, but already multi-level parking lots.
A year ago, a project to dismantle thousands of Novosibirsk garages called The largest in Russia. This year, Tver was the worst-performing city in the same category. Significantly, there's no concrete discussion yet about demolishing the garage complex, but public hearings have already been held on the issue of converting the land for residential development. Most of the land is occupied by over 2000 brick garages.
Auto Cooperative No. 9 is one of the largest in Tver, with 2050 brick garages, many of which are privately owned. It is surrounded by the Tvervodokanal wastewater treatment plant, Correctional Colony No. 1, a chemical waste disposal site for Khimvolokno, and two cemeteries. The Tver regional government has decided to designate this area for a KRT.
Garage owners didn't appreciate the project: they didn't understand how the KRT was being planned on the site of their property. From the moment the first talks about the development arose, no one had asked them whether they were willing to part with their property for the common good. And if so, under what conditions. True, they don't even have the right to dictate the terms: the land under the KRT is being purchased at cadastral value, not market value. Officials, like claim The owners have already reduced the cadastral value of the land in the cooperative by two to three times. Garages and land are sold at 1,5 million rubles. fell up to 500 rubles. However, their market value reaches 2 million rubles.
The public hearing on changing the land's status from a municipal warehouse zone to a multi-story residential development zone was scheduled for the most inconvenient time possible—noon. This didn't stop the owners. to the hearings More than 500 people came. Officials were unable to answer any of the owners' questions, as the discussion was only about changing the land's status. Meanwhile, there wasn't a single abandoned garage in the cooperative.
For example, the Elena purchased the building 10 years ago.
The garage is next to the house, I park the car at night and during the winter. Last year, the governor [Igor Rudenya] replied that "no action is being taken," while the KRT project itself was being developed. Now they're hiding behind the idea of building a kindergarten, a school... I work in this field myself and know there won't be any kindergartens; they'll just build high-rises and knock them down. But the main thing is, on what grounds are they going to deprive us of our property? — the interlocutor was indignant in a conversation with NeMoskva.
Residents of nearby buildings are also outraged by the KRT project. The district's only school, No. 43, is overcrowded; a new one has been promised for over a decade, but has never been built. Construction of a new residential complex for 10,000 students will simply overwhelm the school, leading to unrelenting traffic congestion. Most garage owners will be left without their valuable property and their traditional way of life.
Chairman of the cooperative Anatoly Isaev saysIt's clear that the owners include children and veterans of the 1941-1945 war, pensioners, and the disabled, for whom a car is a way to live, not just exist. The garages are home to a vintage car club and a motorcycle club.
In all interviews Isaev especially emphasizesHe's "all for the president," and several garages belong to "SVO participants" or family members of deceased participants in the war with Ukraine. "And I don't understand why they're doing this now [demolishing, fanning the flames of conflict]," he complains.
In response to NeMoskva's request to comment on the upcoming demolition, Isaev responded: there's nothing specific to talk about yet.
However, as the owners have established, the dirty work of the interested parties is already in full swing: began written requests for the demolition of garages - allegedly from the owners themselves.
At the meeting, the owners agreed to protect their property by all legal means. They also hope that investors will not invest in the area between the sewer system and the cemeteries.
Garages and the Economy
A popular tragicomedy was filmed about garages. Eldara RyazanovaResearch is being conducted and books are even being written about “garage life”.
The first to take up the matter was a sociologist, professor, and head of the Department of Local Government at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Simon Kordonsky. He has concluded, that garages have their own economy—essentially, industries that help poor families survive. He compares "garage" activities like workshops to dacha farming or seasonal work. It's not a business, since garage activities result in a unique product, not a batch of goods. For example, 10 years ago, YouTube channel Naila PoroshinaThis master wizard rebuilds and improves carburetors in his garage, so much so that people come from all over the country to see him. His channel has over 600,000 subscribers.
"Provincial fishermen expect to be self-sufficient; they don't depend on the state, and they don't care," Kordonsky asserts. "It's another matter that the state is trying to bring them out of the shadows, to pressure them with legislation, to tax them. However, it's simply impossible to fit them into any regulations. People will find loopholes, albeit at some cost, and continue their fisheries."
In such a "garage economy" (Kordonsky's term - author's note) are involved on average 15% of the working-age population of large but poor cities in Russia.
During perestroika, entire industries sprang up in garages. Thus, in Kuznetsk (it is also called the furniture capital of Russia) modern furniture production originated Specifically, in garages. Some made tabletops, others made legs, and still others made stools. According to official data, there are currently about 150 furniture factories registered in Kuznetsk; unofficial estimates put the figure at 300. This means there's one furniture factory for every 266 Kuznetsk residents, including children and pensioners. These factories are, of course, based in modern workshops.
Nowadays, with housing and renting at incredibly high prices, garages are being converted into living and entertainment spaces. Those on a budget who desperately want to relax by the seaside can look for a budget garage—or rather, an extension. Such ads abound. For example, in Sochi, there's a 30-meter garage near the beach. can be removed for just 10 thousand rubles a month. Or option More expensive. There are plenty of residential garages in Sochi, so there's plenty to choose from now, but it's unlikely to be available during the swimming season. They're probably packed with vacationers. If you don't want to vacation in Sochi, you can choose a garage. in the village Divnomorskoye near Gelendzhik.
Garages began to adapt for photo studios, studios for relaxation and celebrations, even for saunas.
Co-authors of the book "Garage Workers" Sergey Seleev и Alexander Pavlov have described evolution of garagesAt first, it was a typical parking lot for cars, then it was converted into vegetable storage, with basements added, and then second floors were added for personal recreation. Later, the garages became places for trade, for business, and finally, for living.
Some experts claim that garages are becoming a thing of the past, replaced by off-street parking spaces and auto repair shops. However, in 2022, Avito published the following data: the number of potential garage buyers in Russia increased by 8% year-on-year in the third quarter of last year, and demand for them increased by 15% compared to the previous quarter.
Garages and urban planning
Not everyone shares this fondness for garages. Modern urbanists discuss garage cooperatives from the perspective of land efficiency.
Lev Vladov, who led the Chelyabinsk Urbanist project until February 2022, believes that garage cooperatives are no longer needed in cities.
— The typical Russian city differs from European cities in its low residential density. Garage cooperatives, which sprang up in Soviet times on vacant lots and outskirts, are now often found in the relative centers of urban development, as cities continue to grow.
A garage is an extremely inefficient and unattractive structure for the city (and its residents). It contributes nothing to the city's economy, brings nothing into the budget, and only takes up valuable space where residents could live and work without the need to buy a car—after all, all social functions would be close by.
Because garages today occupy valuable space for urban densification, which is crucial for the attractiveness of Russian city streets, new neighborhoods are being built on the outskirts and vacant lots, provoking the construction of new roads and highways, and consequently, an increasing demand for parking spaces, which systematically undermines the quality and happiness of city life.
In summary, the rules for garage ownership should be revised to encourage their sale for more efficient land use, and to allow city residents to profit from the ill-founded right of a private individual to own 30 square meters of land in the city center for virtually nothing—by raising the land tax on garage ownership to the citywide level.
On the topic of "Soviet garage legacy" in his LiveJournal reasoned Perm urban preservationist Denis GalitskyWhether a garage is necessary in a particular location depends on the local situation. Previously, car owners used their cars only for trips to the countryside or to the countryside, and only during the warmer months. Nowadays, cars are parked right by the entrance and used daily. Few people use garages as auto repair shops these days, as cars are much more complex.
"The fate of garage cooperatives varies in large and small cities, in the city center and on the outskirts. The larger the city and the closer it is to the center, the more expensive the land, making preserving garages uneconomical. Sooner or later, rows of garages will be replaced by more suitable residential or commercial development. But in smaller towns and on the outskirts, the garage use pattern, not much different from the Soviet era, may well persist."
Even if a garage cooperative has long served a different purpose, the municipality is obligated not to simply demolish it for another purpose, but to offer a different location—for example, relocating it to the outskirts. "This is urban development policy," the urbanist reminds. It's important to maintain communication with the public, and it's important to ensure the buyout price is reasonable, so that owners don't feel cheated.
"Progress cannot be stopped," concludes Galitsky, "garages will disappear, but this must be done in a way that is natural, without tragedies, and not perceived as a violation of property rights."
A retired architect Alexey Kiselev (his last name has been changed at his request) is also confident that the process of demolishing garages will accelerate. Municipal authorities don't care how much people need garages. They, like developers, are only interested in profit.
"Regarding the number of parking spaces when designing neighborhoods, I spoke to the city architect back in 2007: we already have almost one car per family, and we need to take that into account. If there are, say, two hundred thousand families in the city, there should be the same number of parking spaces. He laughed at me: who would let us do that? On the one hand, you get fines for illegal parking, on the other, there's nowhere to park legally. First they say: if there's no garage, there's no point in buying a car, then they just tear down the garages. Where's the logic?"
Regarding garage complexes: it's convenient for the population, but it's inconvenient for the developer and the lobby, because it takes up too much land that could be developed with commercial buildings.
We shouldn't be talking about garages so much as about urban development policy in general. I'll state a truism: this urban development policy is fundamentally flawed, if not criminal. In Russia, with its vast expanses, dense development is unacceptable; psychologists have proven that it has a detrimental effect on the human psyche. Russia has plenty of space for garages, high-rises, and low-rise housing—all without interfering with one another. But our "national leader" ordered to build Billions of square meters of housing are under their control, and they've begun building wherever and however they can. Not for the convenience of people, but for profit. Now they've even reached the point of "expropriating" property.
Garages and "cleansing"
There are reports that the first garages in Russia appeared in 1907, and for decades afterward, only state-owned motor pools existed. In the 1960s, a decree was issued establishing garage construction cooperatives—that is, they were essentially owned, but shared, cooperatively. In the 1980s, "shell garages" were invented—non-permanent garages that were officially considered not garages but carports. Thousands of them were purchased and installed in authorized locations. They began to be deemed illegal, "disfiguring the city's appearance," in 2006.
In both permanent and semi-permanent garages, boys grew up next to their fathers, absorbing the magic words: "Java," "carburetor," "suspension," "bearing," "engine," and growing up a little, learning a trade. Isn't this the continuity of generations, the legacy of the fathers that propagandists constantly harp on? Now these much-matured boys are trying here and there to protect their property, legalized with the country's changing formation. Because it suddenly turned out that property is only for a time, until the state requires it. The media even talks about dismantling garages. began to call "cleansing", by analogy with "cleansing the territory of the enemy."
Meanwhile, in Germany, the 18th-century story of King Frederick II still lingers. He wanted to build a park for himself, but was thwarted by a mill that was "an eyesore." He offered to buy it from a miller. The miller refused without hesitation—after all, it was the legacy of his ancestors, his business, his life. The king was surprised, asking, "Do you even understand who you're refusing? I could just take it away." The miller replied, "That's true, but there's a court in Berlin!"
In Russia, according to some estimates, least 5,5 million garages. The authorities have enough power to "cleanse" them all. But millions of "garage boys" may also have enough power to defend their property.
