MODU, those tower blocks look so bad they could even be American ones. 
You haven't seen the post-Soviet cities. These are actually some of the prettier ones (and it is a smallish block, in comparison). Also, from the distance you can't see the paint peeling.
Ok, those tower blocks you describe could even be as bad as the ones in the Bronx. 
A big difference is color: there they prefer white/ish, w/ occasional color splotches on the newer buildings - you don't get the dark brick, except in some of the smaller 1950s buildings, but even there the brick is less dark. Otherwise, Soviet appartment blocks dwarf anything on this side of the Atlantic. I'd estimate that in Moscow alone some 8 mln. people live like this.
