Kazan man's banner surprise for wife draws neighbor ire

Artur, the Kazan man whose neighbors in the Rodina housing complex complained about a huge banner with his wife«s photo, said they have been together for eight years and he has arranged unusual birthday surprises for his »sweetheart« before. He told a 116.RU correspondent that no one had complained about him previously.

«A couple of years ago we lived in Barcelona, we had a big swimming pool. I did a similar surprise. Actually, we lived on the seventh floor there, so it wasn»t as visible. The idea was: we print the photo on black-and-white paper and sprinkle it with snow. It was supposed to look as if it was drawn right on the snow. And it would have been harder to remove the surprise there because the snow had already piled up. We only removed it in the spring. But in Barcelona, no one said a word to me,« Artur shared.

Compared to the surprise in Kazan, delighting his wife abroad was less expensive, costing only 15,000–20,000 rubles (about $165–220 at current rates).

This year, the Kazan man spent 50,000 rubles (about $550) on the banner with his beloved«s photo, plus another 17,000 rubles (about $187) to place it on one of the buildings.

What exactly caused the Kazan neighbors« dissatisfaction is unclear. Artur is also unsure whether someone complained to the police or just threatened to do so. No punishment followed—the management company only took down the banner.

«We hung it at night to set up the surprise by morning. At seven in the morning she saw it, and by eight-forty they had already taken it down, I think. The director of the management company called me—I had left my number for him specially in advance. And so, they just took down the banner after residents» complaints. I have no complaints about the management company at all. On the contrary, they did well to accommodate me,« the 116.RU interviewee expressed his opinion on the conflict with the neighbors.

The incident began when residents of the Rodina complex in Kazan complained about the huge banner with Artur«s wife that appeared on a building. They demanded its immediate removal, despite it only blocking a fire balcony where people do not walk.

A video of Artur«s wife»s reaction and his daughter on social media gained about 200,000 views and many positive comments in two days.

«Next time, according to my plan for a surprise, the neighbors certainly won»t be able to do anything,« the Kazan man assured.