Elite or Ordinary? Life in a Central Novokuznetsk Neighborhood

Usually at the beginning of the week we cover a district or residential complex in Kemerovo. But there«s plenty of interest in Novokuznetsk too. So today we»ll move to the southern capital of Kuzbass, where in the center, the Novy Gorod (New City) neighborhood has been under construction for more than 15 years and still hasn«t taken its final form. Despite this, it has firmly acquired the status of an elite area. Our correspondent Igor Epifantsev took a walk through the courtyards and spoke with residents.

Active development of the territory between Zaporozhskaya Street and Yermakova Avenue in Novokuznetsk, known today as Novy Gorod, began roughly in the mid-to-late 2000s. Many residents of the southern capital of Kuzbass considered the neighborhood promising and decided to move here. Among them was Marina, whom we met near one of the building entrances.

«We used to live in the center too, but our house was right up against a road, and a ring road at that, plus there were tram tracks. Every day from early morning, traffic would start rattling our brains, and at some point it became unbearable. That«s when the option with Novy Gorod came up, and my husband and I took out a mortgage for a three-room apartment in one of the first buildings, and left the old apartment to our daughter. Here the noise problem disappeared — the building is 50–60 meters from the road, plus the sound insulation is decent, and we»re on the 13th floor, so street sounds hardly reach us,» the Novokuznetsk resident said.

The neighborhood consists of several high-rises from 14 to 18 stories tall. There is quite a lot of space between them, so the courtyards feel spacious. It«s also good for kids — almost every building has its own playground. There are many parking spots, but intuitively, they still aren»t enough.

Novokuznetsk resident Mikhail also bought an apartment in Novy Gorod with a mortgage in the early 2010s. He says it cost three million rubles at the time (approx. $33,300 at current rates), while today you«d have to pay three to four times more. Now he»s satisfied with the housing, but that wasn«t the case right away.

«When we first moved in, one of the corner rooms was constantly drafty. It turned out to be due to a construction oversight. We complained and argued for a long time, but we made them fix it properly. Then we decided to make a small storage compartment in one of the walls. We made a hole and almost drowned in dust — it turned out they had dumped construction debris there, and probably thought it would never be opened. We called them too, made them clean it out. Now everything is more or less satisfactory. The main advantage, of course, is the location — right in the center, everything you could want is around,» the townsman says.

It«s hard to argue with Mikhail: nearby are several shopping and business centers, Yermakov Square, and a couple of stops away are the Kuznetsk Metallurgists Arena and the city hall. And on the ground floors are many grocery stores, pharmacies, cafes and bars, stalls with vegetables and fruit. There»s even a petting zoo, a private medical center, a dental clinic, beauty salons, and an office of the Russian Social Fund. It«s almost like a city within a city, which the Kemerovo authorities talk about when describing the future of the KRT zone.

«It«s annoying that for about 15 years now there»s always been some construction here, and they just can«t finish everything. It»s some kind of eternal long-term construction,» laments another local resident, Stepan. «Because some buildings are still not commissioned, the area around them isn«t developed, so some roads and driveways aren»t properly paved. Often, getting out of the neighborhood turns out to be problematic. You can get stuck for a long time during rush hour.»

For a long time after the creation of Novy Gorod, there were no educational facilities for children. Only in 2014 was the first kindergarten for 260 children built here. A school for 1,225 children began construction only in 2022 and still hasn«t been handed over. Plans include another kindergarten for 240 places and a children»s clinic, but when — is an open question.

«All of this was needed as soon as we moved here,» sighs Kristina, a Novokuznetsk resident living in an 18-story building. «While they dragged their feet, my son grew up, finished school, managed to get married and move to another city. So schools and kindergartens won«t make a difference for us anymore, but for young couples with kids it will be great when they open.»

The residents of Novy Gorod we spoke with did not agree with the opinion that their neighborhood is elite. They don«t deny that you can meet well-off people here, but note that young families are also moving in. Locals say they have »just a good neighborhood,« and the word »elite« is more suited to the cottage settlements of the wealthy.