"A Realized Backwater." Residents of a Karelian Village Renovated Their Own Community Center

People village of Kolatselga collected 100 thousand rubles and put in order A local community center. After painting the exterior walls blue, they named it "Cornflower." They renovated the interior three years ago. They also raised the money for the renovations and four plastic windows themselves. The Vedlozersky settlement administration helped purchase the wood.

"The community center hasn't seen even a cosmetic renovation for decades, let alone a major one. In the summer, we stack firewood brought for the club and clean the area around the mass graves [located near the community center]."- told then the inhabitants of Kolatselga.

According to the villagers, the community center is left without a full-time cultural worker, so they organize their own leisure activities, meetings, and celebrations. Their attitude toward their village can be judged by by posts in the Kolatselga group on VKontakte:

"Only when you get here do you realize that everything else that once seemed so typically Karelian is somehow inferior to Kolatselga. Either no one lives here, or only summer residents come here. Today, Kolatselga is a truly established backwater, preserving its pristine beauty."

Few residents remain in the village—mostly pensioners. But they are determined to preserve the local community center—"the heart and soul of the village."

People in Russian regions are increasingly forced to repair at their own expense, roads, clearing ponds, even build Bridges and dams. And in the comments under such posts, citizens have been asking for years: "Where do our taxes go?"

Photo: Zinaida Lomueva