Podolsk is perhaps one of the most interesting social experiments that the Soviet Union conducted. This Moscow Region city saw the construction of a quarter specifically for the blind, including a braille library, grocery stores run by the blind for the blind, and a blind-accessible factory that provided employment to the town's residents and made everything from medals to refrigerator parts. Under Soviet economy, the city flourished, and many of the people who were offered residence in it took it up. After the coming of the market economy, the factory struggles to stay open, as Russian refrigerators cannot compete in quality or price with Japanese models. It has now converted to producing plastic broom parts, and its poor financial standing is turning the city into somewhat of a ghetto. It has been portrayed by Russian television as an inhumane place for blind people to be. Indeed, the sight of people in dark glasses and with canes walking through a deteriorated street is frightening. However, most of the city's residents choose to stay there, prefering to stay in the company of other blind people. This is a phenomenon often referred to as a "golden ghetto"; although financially and physically deteriorated, the city still provides enough community and culture to convince its residents to stay.