"I'm going to cry." Due to huge utility bills, the Museum of Soviet Childhood in Yekaterinburg may close.

The last receipt came for the amount 49 thousand rubles, the museum's director said on social media Irina Svetonosova. Moreover, “Soviet Childhood” is located in the basement of an old building, where, according to the director, renovations have never been done.

"I tried to figure it out, maybe there was some calculation error. No! Heating, building maintenance (what maintenance?), and capital repair fees (what capital repair?) are so expensive right now," Svetonosova writes. "<…> Debts are mounting, and there's no income from ticket sales yet. So, I started crying and wondering what to do."

Since the beginning of the year, Russians have been complaining en masse about rising utility rates—many are finding it unaffordable to pay for utilities. Volgograd region They even allowed people to pay for housing and utilities on credit. The Federal Antimonopoly Service responded to the complaints, conducted an investigation, and stated that there was no tariff increase, only a 1,7% adjustment due to the VAT increase. 

Irina Svetonosova is confident that in her case, the standard charges are much higher than actual consumption. However, she says the cost of installing meters in the building is prohibitive—between 600 and 1 million rubles. Installing meters only in the museum is impossible.

Irina Svetonosova is the founder of three private museums: "Soviet Life," "Soviet Childhood," and "Back to the 1990s." All funding comes from the sale of admission tickets and souvenirs. Irina's museums receive no government or foundation support.