The city was repeatedly devastated by flood during the 19th century. Russia is too vast, its contradictions too extreme, for most of us to bear. It is easier to put on blinkers, to allow oneself to see only part of the truth, and end up either romanticising or demonising Russia. This is part of the reason why western, or at least English, interest in Russia rises and falls so unpredictably. Today the tendency is to demonise Russia.
Most workers go unpaid for months on end.
I have heard of workers in one provincial town being paid in tombstones. There is no reason, sadly, to believe that any of these stories are exaggerated. Perhaps because of the scale of the destructive forces, it is difficult to believe that constructive forces still exist. And yet most people who have visited Russia, even during the last few months, sense some disjuncture between their personal perceptions and what they read in the media. Neither Novgorod, nor Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia, nor Moscow nor Petersburg feel like dysfunctional cities.