Mounting opposition to the Communist regime throughout 1991 was countered by the Azerbaijanification of the Party, and by Mutalibov's calculated distancing of himself and his Party from Moscow.

In Los Angeles, residents are provided with bus fare, while in Denver's North Lincoln the resident community resource specialist sometime drives residents to their appointments.

Likewise, when I go into my local sweetshop to buy a chocolate bar, the shopkeeper doesn't look me up and down, notice I'm a bit overweight, and suggest I pop round to the greengrocers next door and buy an apple instead.

Penturban land is still available at bargain prices, so middle-income families can often afford to live on two- to five-acre sites. To the caring conserver, the old buildings in penturban towns are neither unattractive nor useless, but rich in nostalgia and generally less expensive than new construction.