A distressing view of an apartment building in Kazan, Russia

Well-known across Russia, Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan, situated on the left bank of the Volga River. Officially recognized as the third most important city after Moscow and St. Petersburg, Kazan is often viewed as a national showpiece. But a closer look paints a different picture.

Anton Heraszczenko, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, shared a short video on platform X, formerly known as Twitter, from a visit to this apartment building in Kazan. The conditions are ghastly, to say the least.

Typically, new or renovated buildings are showcased, but today I'd like to show you this apartment building in Kazan. These are not abandoned apartments. The living conditions inside will certainly shock you, emphasized the lady conducting the tour.

The living conditions of the building are calamitous. Public toilets on each floor resemble a scene from a horror film. Broken windows are commonplace and all inhabitants share a communal kitchen. Water leaking from the ceiling is another unsettling feature visible in the video.

Even a complete overhaul might not be of much help here. Anyone here with money would choose to relocate, we hear in the video.

In roughly 2.5 months, it will be two years since Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine began. Western-imposed economic sanctions on Russia aim to strip the Kremlin of the resources necessary to keep its war machinery running. As expected, President Vladimir Putin is making every effort to ensure funds do not dry up.

Taxing the extraordinary profits of large corporations is one method to replenish Russia's dwindling budget. Of note, however, Russia's wealthiest oil and gas companies are exempt from these taxes.