i lived in a "communal apartment" shared by 3 families. it was a gigantic apartment with 12 foot tall ceilings in a really old and fancy building overlooking a giant square with a fancy statue in the center. it was within walking distance of "Maidan" where all the government buildings were. this apartment was shared by 3 families because of how large it was. other apartments in the building were basically the same.

the government eventually realized the building was perfect for their own residences - they just needed to kick out the people living there and remodel it. of course they wouldn't use these apartments communally but as giant private residences.

they condemned the building as being "unsafe" ( they said it was going to collapse ) and kicked everybody out, then they remodeled it and moved in themselves. they never did any structural modifications - only cosmetic remodel. and they still live there.

the apartment was worth several million dollars just before the war ( though as i said it was shared by 3 families and also none of us ever actually "owned" it - we just lived there - there was no private property under Communism ).

this was about 5 years after USSR collapsed and Ukraine became independent. it was also a time of "privatization" which is to say when everything of value in the nation was stolen, including our residence.