IN BRIEF

Published: November 28, 2012 (Issue # 1737)

Imperial Interiors

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The dressing rooms of the Romanov dynasty and the chambers of their maids of honor became part of the permanent exhibition at Gatchina Palace last week.

The rooms have become part of an exhibition called “The Family Members of the Emperor Alexander III in Gatchina,” which forms part of the museum collection of the former royal estate at Gatchina.

Wardrobes, trunks and other everyday belongings can be seen in the imperial dressing rooms, as well as a unique object called a wardrobe-suitcase, in which one part serves as a wardrobe with coat hangers, while the other is meant for smaller items. Such suitcases were convenient for long journeys, and reflect the new approach to the packing and transport of luggage following the appearance of trains, cruise ships and automobiles.

The interiors of the rooms designated for maids of honor were designed in a simple, formal manner that emphasized the service function of the chambers. There were no decorative elements, only essential belongings, and the furniture was often old.

Less Speed in Finland

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The number of cases of Russians caught speeding when driving in Finland has halved, web portal Fontanka.ru reported.

The statistics on speeding improved after the introduction of the LVS unified information system at border crossing points on Finland’s eastern border in May 2012. Drivers caught exceeding the speed limit by Finnish video cameras are now issued with a fine when leaving Finland.

Since May, Russian drivers have been issued with 1,200 fines for speeding — almost twice fewer than during the same period last year.

Communal Living

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — About half a million city residents still live in communal apartments, of which there are more than 100,000, Sergei Filimonov, head of the city’s state housing organization Gorzhilobmen, was quoted as saying on Monday by Interfax news agency.

Filimonov said that when the program for resettling residents of communal apartments was launched in 2008, there were 116,000 such apartments in the city. In the past four years, city authorities have managed to resettle 13 percent of people living in communal apartments.

The difficulties in implementing the program are chiefly caused by residents’ unwillingness to move and the profitable use of rooms in these apartments by their owners for rental, the official said.

Filimonov said that this year, the city had allocated one billion rubles ($32 million) to the program, while in 2013 it will provide two billion rubles.

In May, City Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said that resettlement was being complicated by a decline in investor interest and rising prices for new apartments.

“If this trend continues to develop, communal apartments are at risk of surviving until the 22nd century,” Poltavchenko said.