Real Estate Terrorism
In Astrakhan, there are many old houses made of wood. In general, they are in poor condition, but they are quite beautiful and often they are still inhabited. Meanwhile, forces of urbanism and politics are hard at work, and the result is the construction of new high-rise apartment buildings. This is partly an effort to accommodate a population said to be growing, to show development and progress as world leaders meet in Astrakhan, the "Capital of the Caspian," and partly the kind of land speculation common all over the world.
To build these new towers, the land must be purchased from its owners and the existing houses must be cleared. This process is violent. In the pre-dawn hours, especially in spring, the people of the old wooden neighborhoods are woken by the smell of smoke, the sounds of fire. Their neighbors are burning. Firefighters eventually arrive, but sometimes the fire spreads to other houses. Everyone lives in fear of fire, and the contracts offered by the developers are unfair and they exploit this fear.
Meanwhile, the typical, anonymous, and crude version of Russian urbanism destroys the true heritage of old Astrakhan.
