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The pictures I posted were all from Ukraine, except for the roadside outhouse that in all fairness is not very typical of Kazakhstan, either. I'm sure someone could come up with a US gas station restroom that is just as scary.

I haven't been to Russia in a couple of years, but most people I knew there were spending a lot of money at the local versions of Home Depot to do "Yevroremonty" (European-style) renovations. In the two to four-room apartments, they would knock out the wall between the toilet and bathtub, lay tile, and put in modern bathtubs and stools. Even bidets.

I had an apartment in Kyiv which put my 2500-DM Frankfurt apartment to shame, and at 1/10th the price.

I haven't been to Russia in a couple of years, but most people I knew there were spending a lot of money at the local versions of Home Depot to do "Yevroremonty" (European-style) renovations. In the two to four-room apartments, they would knock out the wall between the toilet and bathtub, lay tile, and put in modern bathtubs and stools. Even bidets.

It's ironic you should mention the renovations, but that is exactly what we did when we purchased our apartment in Volzhsky 3 years ago. There was a problem, which came up after the fact. It some cases the structure of the building has been affected, and the owner has to correct the problem. We had to submit plans, which was a hassle, and pay a small fine. I was not able to find the pictures I have of the changes we made, without digging through hundreds of pictures in a drawer, but I did find one which will show the quality of the tile work.