Annex 2. GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS

Some Russian words referring to CA everyday life are explained here. These words are used in the observed CAs in St.Petersburg. Their meaning is absent from or not clearly enough expressed in the existing dictionaries.

Bandit - a representative of a social group appeared in post-Soviet period; a member of a criminal community occupied with racket. It is mentioned here because the bandits are the main outside danger for CA collective, related to the possible consequences of deviant behaviour inside the apartment.

Blokadnik, m / Blokadnitsa, f - old CA dwellers who have survived the period of military blockade of the city during the 1941 - 1945 war. Blokadniks enjoy some privileges in payments and the distribution of the living space.

Bomzh - acronym from “(litso) Bez Opredelennogo Mesta ZHitel’stva”, that is, ‘a person without a definite dwelling place’; tramp or beggar, potential companion of CA deviant personalities.

Bufet - sideboard, the most important piece of furniture for the interiors of CA private rooms of classical period; see also “servant”.

Chernaia lestnitsa - black staircase, leading to the yard; usually a very dirty place of bomzh and drunkards’ meetings.

Chernyi khod - the same as chernaia lestnitsa, or the back door of the apartment leading to chernaia lestnitsa; usually it communicates with the kitchen.

Dezhurnyi - person on duty, temporarily responsible for communal hygiene in the apartment, who should regularly perform uborka;

Dezhurstvo - state of being on duty, or the set of responsibilities that dezhurstvo includes // “Sdavat’ dezhurstvo” = to pass formally the turn of duty”

Domovoi komitet (obsolete) - in classical CA period, a committee formed of the most active dwellers of the building with the purpose to enforce the order and to resolve conflicts; once upon a time it was a real authority.

Dvornik - the worker responsible for cleanness and order on a definite territory in the yard and on the street by the building; since 1950-ies, night-watch of dvorniks on their territory was suspended and they gradually became much less significant personages.

Nagoret’ - “to burn away”, to consume a certain amount of electric power //“Skol’ko za proshlyi mes’ats nagorelo?” = how much the expenditure is worth for the last month?

Kaznachei - CA community cashier, entitled to collect and to keep obshchestvennye den’gi (community funds).

Kladovka - usually small lumber-room, mostly with no window; cf. pustaia komnata.

Kommunalka - usual way to refer to communal apartment.

Kvartupolnomochennyi (obsolete) - an official representative of CA community; formerly, a link between housing administration, domovoi komitet and the community; the main local authority and judge in CA during the classic period.

L’gota - privilege in payment, distribution of the living space, etc., enjoyed by blokadniks, veterans of war, disabled persons, families with many children, etc.

L’gotnik - a person who enjoys privileges.

Makulatura - waste paper fit for pulp; piled old newspapers and magazines which occupy space in the lumber-room. In the Soviet times, collecting waste paper and bringing it to special shops opened possibility to acquire certain goods that were in shortage, or to buy “deficite” (that is, difficult to get) books.

Obshchestvennyi - belonging to the community, not private // obshchestvennyi venik (besom), - sovok (dustpan), etc.

Obshchestvennye den’gui - community funds, intended to urgent needs, such as bulbs for public places’ illumination, etc.

Obshchee pol’zovanie - expenditure of electric power, related to public spaces’ illumination.

Obshchii shchet - the indications of electric power counter which registrates the total consumption in CA (private rooms + public places).

Ochered’ - 1. queue; 2. (obsolete) waiting list, the state system of distribution of separate apartments to people living in bag conditions and insufficient living space; // “stoiat’ na ocheredi” = to be included in the waiting list (it was possible wait for years and even decades).

Ocherednik - person included in the waiting list.

Otvetstvennyi kvartiros’iomshchik - the responsible tenant; the representative of a family before housing administration, a legal person.

Paradnaia - main entrance door and the landing of the ground floor.

Peregorodka - inside room partition, usually made of plywood.

P’ianitsa - drunkard, a CA community marginal; person whose continuous drinking is disturbing the community; syn. “alkash”.

Podmenit’ - (= to substitute) a type of theft wide-spread in CAs, when the thief substitutes the stolen object for a similar one, in order to dissimulate the theft. A common motive of gossips and suspicions, especially in elderly CA people.

Poslednij - the last person in a queue; syn.: “krainii” //”Kto podslednij?” (= who’s the last), cf. “Kto za vami?“ (“Who is after you?)

Propiska - official police registration of dwelling place, stated in the passport; in the Soviet period, it meant that one can legally live and work only in the place indicated in his passport, and had no right to move elsewhere except for strictly definite circumstances. The stay in CA of a person who had no correspondent propiska in his passport could be a motive for police to enforce that person to leave the apartment, or even to an administrative punishment.

Pustaia komnata - = “empty room” 1. A room that remained empty or unoccupied after the previous tenants have moved or died; 2. The lumber-room. Note that it is by no means empty, but, on the contrary, is rather full.

Rasselenie (new) - privatisation of a CA, supposing that all its dwellers are settled apart; high-profit business of real estate agencies.

Schitat’ - to be responsible for calculation and reception of payments for electricity and telephone (syn. “sobirat’ ”)// “kto seichas schtaiet?” = “Whose is the turn to make the bill?“

Servant - modern construction of sideboard, instead of bufet; one of symbolically most important points of a private room space in traditional CA interiors.

Skandal - scandal, a public quarrel in a public place; characteristic way of conflict resolution in CA, used to restore the order (e.g., to enforce a community member to accomplish his duties) and to confirm the existing hierarchy of authority.

Sklochnik, m (sklochnitsa, f) - a person inclined to skloka.

Skloka - (= quarrel) a prolonged dispute involving repeated scandals and secret intrigues.

Shirma (obsolete) - folding screen, used to divide the space inside the private rooms in absence of partitions.

“Svoi” - (= one’s own people) people from the apartment, not strangers; a current answer to “Who’s that?” from behind a closed door, intended to the recognition of the invisible speaker from his voice.

Tehnik - an employee of ZHEK responsible for technical inspection of buildings and current repair works.

Tovarishcheskii sud (obsolete) - comrades’ court; a local organ of a building tenants’ justice for influencing transgressors through a public blaming procedure.

Tumbochka - 1. a relatively small chest of drawers with a plain surface fit for placing other things; 2. bedside table with drawers.

Uborka (= kommunal’naia uborka) - communal tudying up, a set of communal hygiene procedures, performed by turn; “ubirat’ “ = to perform uborka.

Uchastkovyi (= uchastkovyi militsioner) - police officer responsible for a zone consisting of several buildings; his obligation is to know personally the deviant CA personalities.

Ugostit’ (v. tr., perf. asp.)/ ugoshchat’, (v.tr., imperf. asp.) - to share meals or foods with other people. In CAs, a symbolic action expressing various meanings; originally implies sharing of goods in order to reduce envy and to prevent its consequences.

Zan’ato - “occupied”, about the bathroom or toilet.

Zanaveska - in CA, apart from curtains on the windows, this can be curtain dividing the interior space of a private room, instead of shirma or peregorodka.

Zasor - sewer obstruction in the bathroom, toilet or kitchen sinks.

Za svet za gaz (obsolete) - payment according to the bill which includes payment for electric power, gas and telephone; currently, this handwritten bill, posted in a public place, does not contain gas payments.

ZHEK (= zhilkontora; = ZHAKT (obsolete)) - the local housing administration, responsible for the maintenance of a due technical state of the building.

Zhilploshchad’ - living space of the rooms; the quantity of per capita sq. meters checked against sanitary norm of living space characterised the tenant’s perspectives to receive another room, to be put in the waiting list, etc.