Now that housing affordability is somewhat tighter in Australia than it was in the past it may be opportune to visit one family who not only shares some of our own favourite possessions and desires but lives in a house, all cramped together, in a way most of us here might find unacceptable but may have to get used to if the housing situation here doesn't soon improve. 

Kolya and his wife Nelya live in Baltym in the rugged and freezing Ural Mountains of Russia. Their house is shared by their two grown-up daughters, Larissa and Olya and their respective husbands, they have one child each. Three generations (8 people) sitting at a lunch table maybe big enough for 3. Are we looking at the future of Australian housing?

Seeing three generations all living in one spot is not the norm in Australia as we have a higher standard of living (and affordability) than some former communist or socialist countries.  Teenagers here, as soon as they get a job, generally want to move out of the nest as soon as possible. Teenagers in many countries cannot even imagine being able to afford such a luxury.

Interestingly, not one person in this episode mentions they'd like a bigger house or that they want to move out on their own. Indeed after watching it one comes away feeling rather warm and fuzzy after listening to the three families and seeing how they live together in relative harmony. So what can we deduce from that, that there's more to happiness than having a big house? You can be the judge of that.

And then comes the climax that makes you realise the big difference between us and them. One historic moment in particular.

Larissa visits a church complex. She explains that the family of the last Tsar, Nicholas was rounded up and brought to the nearby town of Yekaterinburg and then transported to a forest where they were all assassinated in the basement of a house. She points to the house behind her. She then indicates to a large cross standing embedded in the middle of what looks like a covered-up mineshaft and explains that the Tsar's family after being assassinated had their bodies thrown down this mineshaft. She describes the scene further and how a walkway was built around the pit so one can look down into it and never forget that tumultuous moment in Russia's history.

The church complex Larissa is visiting is dedicated to the last Tsar of Russia and his family whose assassination ultimately ushered communism into the country. It was an event that changed the nature of international relations forever and the way of life for millions of Russians. Its ramifications are still noticeable in the lives of Kolya, Nelya and their extended family.