For years, I have heard from friends about how there are too many people from the former Soviet states in Russia. Central Asians all get classified as Tajiks. I see a lot more of them in smaller towns in Russia, although the ruble fall has led to an exodus out of Moscow and back home for many of them.
Yesterday morning I was horrified to see that the dirty water from my kitchen sink was heading straight to the bathtub! When I called my landlady for help, she said she would let the Moscow housing department know, since such work is covered under her utility bills.
Within 20 minutes, two Tajiks turned up at my apartment. Incredibly nosy, they started asking me if I was involved with my landlady. Then one of them proposes to her! They both claim to have 2 wives a piece, but still fancy the Ukrainian woman who owns my flat.
They look at everything in the apartment and finally fix this awkward problem. Then they demand 1000 rubles! They get a fixed salary from the Moscow Government but insist that these are their charges. My landlady pays them and tells me that these people won't work otherwise. She says they earn close to 15,000 roubles a day in black money, which is shared with some people in power in Moscow and of course with police that stop them for document checks. These guys are of course legal, since the Moscow administration hired them, but they are happy to pay the cops and go on with their illegal activities.
Yesterday morning I was horrified to see that the dirty water from my kitchen sink was heading straight to the bathtub! When I called my landlady for help, she said she would let the Moscow housing department know, since such work is covered under her utility bills.
Within 20 minutes, two Tajiks turned up at my apartment. Incredibly nosy, they started asking me if I was involved with my landlady. Then one of them proposes to her! They both claim to have 2 wives a piece, but still fancy the Ukrainian woman who owns my flat.
They look at everything in the apartment and finally fix this awkward problem. Then they demand 1000 rubles! They get a fixed salary from the Moscow Government but insist that these are their charges. My landlady pays them and tells me that these people won't work otherwise. She says they earn close to 15,000 roubles a day in black money, which is shared with some people in power in Moscow and of course with police that stop them for document checks. These guys are of course legal, since the Moscow administration hired them, but they are happy to pay the cops and go on with their illegal activities.
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