November 30, 2025

A Pretty Penny to Park


A Pretty Penny to Park
A surprisingly good investment. The Russian Life files.

A new report by Russian state media outlet Izvestia reveals that prices on parking spaces are outpacing the prices on apartments.

Over the last year, apartment prices have risen 7-9%, while parking spaces have shot up 20%. New buyers of Russian apartments can expect their parking spaces to cost as much as one-sixth of their rent: on average, a million rubles, or $12,903, per year. Some large spots for nicer apartments in luxurious areas can go for as much as R25 million, or more than $322,000, a year.

Izvestia journalists write that several economic factors are at play that have caused a parking shortage. While there are laws and regulations that require a certain number of parking spots to be included when buildings are built, oftentimes not all spots are sold. Many residents choose not to purchase an expensive lot on top of an expensive apartment, so open spots are a pure loss to developers. To recoup, they raise prices on spots that are likely to be purchased, creating a vicious cycle.

Some context is helpful. In car-friendly America, the number of parking spaces per household can vary widely. Des Moines, Iowa, has a whopping 20 parking spaces per household. In urban public transit haven New York, there are a mere 0.6 parking spaces her household. On average, there about 1.1 parking spaces are added with each new residential construction in the U.S.

In Russia, even smaller cities sit at 0.39 spaces per household, while larger cities have only 0.33. New apartment blocks often have only between 0.2 or 0.3 spaces per apartment. Hence why some Russian banks even offer loans to help customers pay for parking spots.

All of this against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and a grinding war economy.

You Might Also Like

An Ode to the Hovercraft
  • February 14, 2021

An Ode to the Hovercraft

Russia is a land of many mysteries. The greatest of all, of course, is this: What's the deal with Russians and their hovercraft?
Good Parking Spots Are Worth It
  • February 21, 2022

Good Parking Spots Are Worth It

Russian bank VTB is set to begin offering customers loans to cover parking spaces and closets, which seem like sound financial decisions.
A Real Hot Rod
  • August 11, 2021

A Real Hot Rod

Who needs headlights when you have flamethrowers instead? This Russian mechanic decided to find out. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955