Residents Call Kemerovo Gray and Dreary
Air pollution is cited as a primary issue by people living in Kemerovo.
Readers of NGS42.RU reacted to a correspondent«s column about the advantages of living in the capital of Kuzbass. On Monday, January 26, we look at why Kemerovo residents don»t like the place they live in.
Many commenters noted that the author of the article likes living in Kemerovo because there«s simply nothing to compare it to. One of the most pressing problems, residents believe, is the environment.
«The evening before last it was impossible to open the window for airing: acrid, stinky smog, so thick you could cut it with a knife!» wrote a reader.
Some believe that Kemerovo loses out even to other Kuzbass cities, for example, Novokuznetsk.
«After 20 years of living in Novokuznetsk, I moved to Kemerovo and have lived here for about 20 years. The city»s architecture does not fill me with delight. Everything around seems gray and dreary. The sight of the buildings brings on melancholy and depression and intensifies the pollution from the factories. I plan to leave Kuzbass and recommend that most young families do the same so that your children don«t absorb the culture,» reports an anonymous commentator.
Another subscriber disagrees with him, believing that the main problem is financial.
«The city»s architecture is simple and without frills because Kemerovo is an industrial and very young city. The biggest drawback, as with the vast majority of Russian cities, is the lack of money for development. They only take money from us, but don«t invest at all,» he says.
According to Kemerovo residents, all this together ensures an outflow of population from the region.
«Highly qualified specialists are leaving. Soon Kuzbass will be left without doctors and teachers. Wages are low. They don»t give away apartments for free. Why stay here?« asks a reader.
Many are not afraid to leave the city even in old age.
«At 57, I still plan to move to Kaliningrad. There»s a different climate, environment, and most importantly — a different culture, a European spirit and atmosphere. I wouldn«t stay in Kemerovo for anything. It»s disrespect to oneself to live in such conditions and with such surroundings,« commented a female reader.
