ABSTRACT
The homeless in St. Petersburg are quite fortunate. In contrast to Moscow, St. Petersburg functions without the propiska system. Homelessness is a truly global problem, however: it touches on all aspects of life and affects a remarkably broad cross section of society. Potentially, a homeless person can move up in the world: get a decent job, even have a house with a garden, and deal with all the problems of "normal" life like car payments, parking fees, and mortgages. But at the end of the day, he is viewed as a former homeless person, which affects how society treats him. Our homeless live on the edge and have learned to survive in a hostile environment. Many social problems are so localized that society as a whole is unaware of their scope and impact, for example the spread of AIDS, diabetes, cancer, and homelessness.
