Russian words related to realty
If you visit Russia for a long term or want to invest in Russian realty you need to know what words we use here when discussing or negotiating on realty.
Residential property in Russia
The most people in Russia, Ukraine and many parts of ex-USSR live in an accommodation that can be called a “condominium apartment” or a “flat”. Soviet and Russian standards are different from the Western standards (Russian standards are worse, unfortunately). Therefore I think there are no exact English word for this kind of buildings and accommodation. I will use the word “condominium” for all houses with multiple flats.
Many houses are built of bricks and more houses are of panels. The former are better. They are called “кирпичный дом” and “панельный дом” accordingly.
In late USSR, some houses were made of monolithic concrete (“монолитный дом”, sometimes shortened to “монолит”).
Many modern business class houses are made of combination of monolithic concrete and bricks (“монолитно-кирпичный дом”, sometimes shortened to “монолит-кирпич”).
Some kinds of houses have informal names (“сталинский дом”, “хрущёвка”). I mentioned they in the article “Some Russian words related to housing”. To recap: “сталинский дом” is a comfortable condominium built while Stalin was in power; “хрущёвка” is a low-quality condominium built while Khrushchoyv (Хрущёв) was in power.
There is a formal term for several types of later Soviet condominiums: “дом улучшенной планировки”, that literally means “house of improved planning”. Don’t cherish vain hopes about an “improved” planning. It is improved in comparison with “хрущёвка”. It is not as comfortable as an old Stalinist house. However, they often may be in better technical condition than Stalinist houses, since they are more modern.
Some terms related to home facilities
“раздельный санузел” — toilet (lavatory, water closet) separate from the bathroom
“совмещённый санузел” — bathroom unit including the toilet
All new condominiums have toilets separate from the bathroom. Almost all flats have only one bathroom unit. Modern business class and elite flats may have 2 bathroom units.
Stalinist houses in Moscow generally have hot water supply. Stalinist houses in other regions of Russia do not have hot water supply. It is not 100% but this is likely to be so in most cases. All (or almost all) houses that are known as “хрущёвка” do not have hot water supply. Such houses have geysers (gas water heaters) instead. You may encounter the term “колонка” or “газовая колонка”.
For example, when talking about a flat, some part of the dialog may be like this:
- Горячая вода есть? (informal, “Does it have hot water supply?”)
- Здесь колонка. (“There is a geyser here.”)
Some terms related to home features
“окна во двор” – windows looking to the yard
“окна на улицу” – windows looking to the street
“стальная дверь” – steel door (for safety)
“пластиковые окна” – plastic windows (to reduce noise from the street)
Russian loanwords about realty that might confuse you
“апартаменты”
It is very like the word “apartment” but it conveys the meaning of a high-quality and comfortable apartment. Something that might be used in context of a VIP accommodation.
“коттедж”
It is very like the word “cottage”. This word became popular in 1990s. Russian “коттедж” typicallly has 2 floors and may have 3. So, a Russian “cottage” is technically not a cottage.
There is a common phrase: “коттеджный посёлок” (literally “cottage township”). This is an area built-up with private houses called “коттедж”.
