Annex 1. Questionnaire.

As every question contains a part of the answer, reading this questionnaire would give you an idea about some things not commented in the main body of the report. If a question about any practice or habit is being formulated, it is because it has been observed somewhere.

This questionnaire does not represent the sequence and the amount of questions that have been proposed to the informers during the interviews. In spite of interrogative forms used for the questions, it is rather a field guide for collecting information, showing the topics that fell within the scope of our inquiry. We kept these topics, not precise formulations, in mind while conducting interviews. Of course, many things are evident from observation or turn out to be redundant in the interview.

General data.

For how long have you been living in this apartment? Did you relatives live here before you? How many rooms do you occupy? How many people are you? Who is “otvetstvennyi kvartiros’iomshchik“ (“the responsible tenant”)?

How many rooms there are in the apartment? How many tenants? Give a characteristic of age, social and national structure of the community.

Duties and the communal tidying up (“uborka”).

What is included into the obligations of the person on duty? Which is the way he actually performs his duties? Do all the tenants take part in uborka? Do all of them accomplish the duties? The duration and sequence of turns. Are there cases when the turns are exchanged, their duration varies, etc.? The use of contracted workers from inside / outside the apartment for uborka. Who buys the detergents for uborka? Do the tools for uborka belong to the collective, or each one uses his own tools? Which is the procedure of formal acceptance of uborka and the take over of turns? Are there conflicts concerning cleanness between the person on duty and other neighbours? Conflicts of the neighbours with a person on duty who doesn’t accomplish well his obligations?

Do children and teenagers participate in uborka?

The calculation of electric power expenditure. Which is the procedure? Do all the neighbours know how to do it? Can this work be entrusted to everyone?

How the turn is established? The way in which “obshchii shchet” is calculated. What is done with the rest of the division? Which is the precision of change given by the money collector? Which is the way to calculate privileges?

What is done about the indebted persons? Have the fines ever be paid for delay in payments? Who pays the collective bill in the bank?

Which is the way to pay the interurban telephone calls?

Where receipts and payment documents are kept?

Is there a cashier in the apartment? Who collects the money for public needs? Which is the way to pay in extreme cases (repairs of the geyser, etc.)?

Can money collecting for the communal bill or for public needs lead to a conflict?

Do you remember cases when a public affair (such a the installation of a shower) was entirely sponsored by a tenant?

How the bulbs for illumination of public places are paid? Are there cases when the tenants put their own bulbs in the kitchen, the staircase landing, etc.?

Places of common use. Kitchen. Cooking. Hygiene.

Where are the foodstuffs and the cooked meals stored? Where are pans and pots kept? Are the refrigerators in the kitchen?

Is it possible for some neighbours to use some other neighbours’ pans (tableware), with the owner’s consent? Is it made secretly, without the owner’s permission?

Are there any kitchen tools or pans intended for common use?

How the cookers and burners are distributed between the tenants? Is this a fair distribution?

Do all the neighbours cook meals at once, or there is a notable difference in their schedules?

Is it admissible to use another tenant’s cooker, burner or stove?

Which is the way to light the fire? Whose are the matches?

Do the housewives discuss culinary problems between them? Do they taste each other’s meals? If so, what kinds of meals are tasted?

Do men cook? What kind of meals?

Is cooking smell a cause of conflicts? How often and in which way is the kitchen ventilated?

Is the kitchen used for taking meals?

Is the cleanness of each one’s corner in the kitchen his private affair? How often is the kitchen cleaned up (the floor washed, the sinks and cookers cleaned)? Whose are the detergents and the cleaning tools?

Are there cockroaches or ants in the apartment? What measures are taken against them?

Do neighbours leave for a long time dirty dishes on their kitchen tables? If so, do other neighbours express their negative attitude to this fact?

Is the geyser always in a working condition? When it is broken, which is the way to wash the dishes? How the access to the tap is organised when someone is washing dishes?

Where is the garbage collected? Who brings it to dump? Which is the way to treat scraps? How garbage removal was arranged before?

Do people drink water from the tap? Is some water stored in the kitchen for cases of water supply disconnection?

Is any of the kitchen sinks used for tooth-brushing and washing up? If so, is it acceptable to be in the kitchen wearing but a vest? With the torso naked?

Is any sink in the kitchen used for laundry?

Who pays the electric power for the illumination of the kitchen? Where are switches and sockets placed? What domestic appliance is used in the kitchen?

Are there any plants in the kitchen? Who cares for them?

Do animals (cats and dogs) have access to the kitchen?

Bathroom. Personal hygiene.

The illumination of the bathroom. Is it sufficient? How is it organised (where are the switches located)?

Is there hot water supply? Where is the geyser located?

Where tubs, basins, washing tools and detergents are stored?

How are the shelves distributed between neighbours? Do you remember the origins of this distribution? Do you think it is fair?

Where are the washing machines located? Which sockets are used for the washing machines? Are these sockets possible to disconnect?

How and how often the bath is cleaned? Is it regarded as possible to bath children right in the common bath?

Are there any basins or tubs intended for common use (or used by more than one family)? Do people secretly use the neighbours’ basins (or suspected to do so)?

How often obstructions of the sewer (“zasor”) occur? How is the guilty established? Do anyone of the neighbours know how to eliminate the obstructions with available tools?

How the order of repair service is paid?

Where clean clothes are dried? Where dirty clothes are kept before laundry? Do hooks and ropes belong to definite tenants?

If clips are used for fixing clothes on the ropes, are they of common use, or private?

Does queuing exist to use the bathroom? How are the turns established? Is it usual to let pass other people (say, while making laundry)? When making laundry, is the bathroom door closed on the latch?

Are there neighbours who do not use the bathroom? Use it very rarely?

Is the bathroom ever used for purposes other than hygiene

(e.g., to punish children, to print photographs, to store a motor-bike)? Is the bath ever used for purposes different than hygiene (e.g., washing vegetables, washing domestic animals, etc.)? Is it criticised by neighbours?

Toilets. Lumber-rooms. Corridor. Staircase landing.

Are satisfied with how clean are the public places in the apartment? Who is responsible for it? Which is the way to maintain it?

Illumination of the toilets (switches, bulb, expenditure).

Do neighbours use individual lavatory seats? If so, where are they kept? Is there toilet paper for common use? In case that there are more than one toilet, which is the difference between them? Do neighbours have preferences concerning the use of this or that toilet? Are the toilets used to store lumber (or cleaning tools)?

How is the lumber-room space distributed between tenants? How appeared this distribution? Do you well know what things are kept in your zone of the lumber-room? Are there things that have not been used for years? Where are they located? Have you ever thought about the possibility to bring them to dump?

Is the lumber-room ever cleaned and put in order? Do you remember any discussions about modifications in the lumber-room? Where bicycles, skis, sledges are stored?

Do tenants keep overcoats and footwear outside of their room (in the corridor, in the antechamber)? If so, where?

Where shoes are brushed?

Are children allowed to play in the corridor? antechamber? kitchen?

Where people smoke in the apartment? Is it usual to go to the staircase landing to smoke?

Who and how often cleans the landing before the apartment? Who puts new bulbs there?

Telephone.

Where the telephone is located? Who takes the receiver more often than others? How are the neighbours called to the telephone? Are electric bells used for this purpose?

Are there any problems with neighbours’ discontent of using telephone late at night and early in the morning?

How long telephone conversations usually are?

Do neighbours ever hurry each other when speaking by telephone? If so, how it is common to react to these demands?

Are there parallel telephones in the apartment? Are they provided with a blocking device? How were they installed? Is there an official licence to install parallel telephones?

Which is the way to fix interurban calls and other paid telephone services?

Is there a telephone directory by the telephone? the list of emergency numbers? Where do you look for the telephone number, when you need to call a doctor?

Can you ask your neighbours to answer the telephone for you and to take a message?

Can a telephone conversation be heard from the kitchen? some neighbours’ rooms? If so, do the speakers take it into account in what the content of the conversation is concerned?

Is it normal to be present at a neighbours telephone conversations? If someone is smoking or brushing shoes in the same place where you speak by telephone, is it possible for you to ask that person leave you alone?

Neighbours’ relations.

Is there an obvious leader in the apartment? Who is the main decision-maker? Are there collective discussions? any usual mechanism to resolving questions? Whose is the initiative in collective household and economic issues (repairs, buying things for common use)? or all things are left to themselves, in a haphazard way?

Who is responsible for the interaction with local housing administration (and its head technician)? Do you know personally your head technician (Russian: “tehnik”)? Have you ever been to ZHEK? What was the cause? Do you know your dvornik? Have you ever talked to him?

Which are the grounds of authority in the apartment? Who is the most influent person? Is he (she), at the same time, the older? the most wealthy? the most physically strong? having the most numerous family? Does he dictate his opinion to public?

Who are more influent in the social life of the apartment, men or women? Which is the men’s role in the questions important for the community?

Which are the relations between the relatives (kin families) living in the apartment?

Is hired labour used in the apartment? between the neighbours (for laundry, dishes washing, baby-sitting etc.)? Are lessons being given for money or any other remuneration? Which?

Is it true about your apartment that there is an ambience of mutual help? How is it notable from the everyday activities in the apartment?

If someone has fallen ill, can he count with the neighbours’ aid? Is it normal to ask a glass of boiled water? a pan?

Do neighbour women aid each other in personal care procedures (such as dyeing hair)?

Is it common among neighbours to borrow and to lend money?

Are there openly unfriendly and aggressive relations between some neighbours? Why? Are there any groupings of neighbours? On which ground?

How significant is the difference in the standard of living between the neighbours? Are low income tenants more or less systematically helped by their wealthier neighbours? Is the wealthy condition exhibited, or dissimulated? Are their wealth and recently acquired things discussed by neighbours in the absence of the possessors? Do you think people envy each other?

When new clothes are bought, are they in any way presented to neighbours? Is the information on the price available?

Do any tenants have a mobile phone? a car? Can a neighbour count with a neighbour’s help in transportation to or from the airport or railway station? in bringing things to the dacha?

Is it possible to say that there is a public opinion? In which cases the solidarity of neighbours is evident?

Do you know how your neighbours voted in the last elections? Are the elections debated in the apartment?

Do you know which newspapers and magazines are read by your neighbours? Do neighbours exchange with interesting articles? books?

Do any neighbours go to church? Do they do it together?

Do neighbours visit each other’s rooms? With which purposes and in which circumstances? Have you been to all the rooms of the apartment? Is it normal to ask a neighbour to let you watch a film by television in his room, if your tv-set has broken?

What forms of joint leisure are in use (to play chess or cards, take tea, play music, etc.)? Do children play together? Do similar relations exist with neighbours from other apartments in the same staircase?

How is the New Year celebrated? Where Christmas trees are kept before they are installed in the rooms? Is a Christmas tree usually installed in a public place? Are any gifts prepared to neighbours? Do neighbours visit each other during the New Year’s Eve? Do some neighbours organise a common banquet?

How are the birthdays celebrated? Do neighbours take part? Do you know exactly the age of some neighbours? The dates of their birthdays? What kind of presents, if any, are given? What do you give? Why?

Do you remember weddings in the apartment? Describe how has it affect the life of the apartment. Where was celebrated the banquet? Did neighbours give any presents? Did the newly-wed remain to live in the apartment?

Do you remember any neighbours to die? Did any neighbours take part in the funerals? Were they invited to funeral repast?

Are there conflicts between generations in the apartment? Is it true that the young people more often violate the order and disturb the neighbours (loud music, many guests, dirt in public places, etc.)?

How do the neighbours react to all these?

Do neighbours express discontent about frequent visits to some tenants? Describe how guests usually behave.

Are neighbours visited by their relatives from other cities?

Does someone of the tenants lend his room? If so, has it been previously accorded with neighbours? How were presented to the tenants the new neighbours (who have rented the room)?

Do you remember the first period of your living in this apartment? the same about other people? How are newcomers incorporated into the apartment’s life? How neighbours let them feel that they were newcomers? Were they helped in some way?

Are there any problems on national ground? What is curious and strange in the way of life of other nationalities that have lived in your apartment? These habits, have they modified the life of the apartment?

Do you believe someone of your neighbours has strange habits? Which ones? Are you aware of the professional activities of your neighbours? Do anybody work at home?

Do your remember any love stories between the neighbours? Are some neighbours suspected (or known) to have intimate relations?

To which extent neighbours are acquainted with intimate life of each other? Do details of family conflicts open to other tenants?

Are you satisfied with existing level of sound-proofing?

How the life of the apartment changes in summer? Who remains in the city? How this fact influences the maintenance of order and cleanness?

Does anyone of your neighbours let the keys of his rooms to some other tenants.

Deviant behaviour.

Are there drunkard and alcoholics in the apartment? Do anybody in the apartments use drugs? Describe their way of life. Which problems for joint living originate from such way of life? How are these problems resolved?

To which extent are you personally and other neighbours tolerant to the drug addicts and alcoholics? Describe your personal relations with them.

Is anybody of neighbours registered in psychiatric health centre? Can you say that some neighbours have something wrong with the head? How you arrange to deal with them? How do you protect yourself of neighbours’ abnormal behaviours?

Are there any problems with elderly people living in the apartment? If they live alone, how do they manage to cope with householding tasks? Are neighbours affected with their senile absent-mindedness, suspiciousness, slovenliness?

Have there been cases of theft in the apartment? What were the objects? How it became known? Describe how the investigation was arranged. Has a serious theft anyhow modified the way of life in the apartment? Do any neighbours suspect (or know) that some other neighbours systematically steal small things? Are these suspicions grounded?

Conflicts.

Which are the most frequents causes of conflicts? Do the conflicts have the form of loud “communal scandals”? Who takes part in the scandals? Where are they performed?

Describe your participation in scandals. When have it been the last time? How has the conflict resolved? How far came the verbal insults?

Is it possible to achieve a socially useful result by means of a scandal (e.g., to make someone accomplish his duties on “uborka”, to reduce the volume of music, etc.)? Have you ever use violence to neighbours? Have you ever been a victim of a neighbour’s violence?

Is there a man who plays the role of a judge in reconciliation of the parties of a scandal? If so, what allows to this person to play this role?

Do you know personally your “uchastkovyi”? How often do you see him? What was the cause of his last visit to your apartment?

Are there any chronic, continuous conflicts in the apartment? Why do you think they are developing in this way?

Children. Domestic animals.

Is it true that children’s plays and pranks bother the tenants? What is special about your neighbours’ methods of child-rearing? Do you believe they are correct?

Do neighbours discuss children and their education between them?

Are there any problems about having domestic animals in the apartment?

Relations of neighbours from different apartments of the same building.

What relations have you and your neighbours with other apartments’ inhabitants? Do you greet some of them at the staircase? Do you know their names? Have you ever been in other apartments on your staircase?

Is the noise from other apartments heard in your room or in the corridor? How is the question of leakage usually arranged?

Security.

Are you afraid of entering at night in the building? Is the illumination of the staircase sufficient in the evenings? Where the light is turned on? Who does it?

Do you know in which apartments of your building alcoholics, drug addicts, and criminals live?

Did any accidents happen on your staircase (violent fighting, murder, rape)? Have you or your neighbours been victims of violence in the entrance, staircase, or elevator?

How often acts of vandalism (windows, bulbs, or banisters broken) occur on your staircase? Are there any graffiti on the walls? Does their content refer to the inhabitants of your building?

Do teenagers (bomzh, hooligans) meet in groups on your staircase? Are there traces of drugs consumption?

Is the garret available for the use of the building dwellers? Have you been there? Who is keeping the key of the garret door?

Are there cats on the main staircase? on the black staircase?

Are there rats in the building?

Have ever been discussed any measures to provide for security and cleanness in the entrance and on the staircase (e.g., installation of a coded lock)? If so, who was the initiator?

Is the entrance door of the apartment always locked? Do all the neighbours have keys? Apart from the main lock, are there any chains or hooks? How many buttons are there on the entrance door? Who usually reacts to the common door-bell? Have there been cases of theft by strangers? any intents to penetrate to the apartment by strangers?

Are the rooms’ doors locked when the tenants go to the kitchen? to the street?

Local history.

Do you know who was the former owner of the apartment?

Who was the owner of the building? When and who built the building? What was before on this place?

What do you know about former inhabitants of the apartment? What was special about them? any distinguished personality?

What were the gone customs, different from the actual ones (before the war, before the repairs)? What periods may be found in the history of the apartment?

Have the building been damaged during the war? What is known about the period of blockade?

Are the actual neighbours in touch with people who have moved from the apartment? Do former dwellers ever visit the apartment? What do you know about outstanding people who have lived in your building?

Have there been any intents of “rasselenie” and privatisation? Describe the attitude of the neighbours to this matter. Do you know their requirements? Are any privatised apartments in your building?

Are there any stories told about strange and unexplained cases? treasures? ghosts? Do you know what is located in the basement? Have you ever been there?