Housing

Why was housing a continual problem for the soviet people? (2)

• Loads of housing was destroyed in the Civil War and WW2

• People were moving from the countryside to the cities at the start of the 1930s in search of work putting pressure on already crowed cities

How did the soviet government respond to housing issues in the 1920s?

Housing was redistributed from the rich property owners to share amongst the poor people.

What decree did Lenin issue in 1918?

A decree that empowered local soviets to take property away from its owners and redistribute it to the poor and homeless

What stopped under the NEP

The redistribution of housing

How much housing was denationalised under the NEP?

Between 60 and 80% of urban housing

When was rent reintroduced?

1921

Under the NEP how much house building was undertaken by private companies?

89%

In the Soviet Union’s main cities there were small attempts to build buildings that reflected values of the revolution.

Give 3 examples. When were they built?

• The Zuev Club

• The Rusakov Club

• The Burevestnik Factory Club

All built between 1917 and 1929

What style were buildings built in the 1920s?

Constructivist architecture

What did it mean for housing to be ‘socialised’? When did this happen?

1923-1924

Property owners were forced to live in a single room while working class families were moved into the other rooms.

Why did housing in cities become a larger problem under Stalin?

There was an increase in demand as peasants from collectives moved to the cities in search of work

What was one way Stalin’s government tried to handle the housing crisis?

By dividing buildings into small Kommunalka (communal apartments)

How large was the average kommunalka in 1930 compared to 1940?

• 5.5 square metres in 1930

• 4 square metres in 1940 after housing pressure meant they had to redivide them

Who did Stalin build new housing for?

The workers e.g. in factory cities and towns like Magnitogorsk

What was the housing like under Stalin in the 1930s?

New housing under Stalin was cheap and lacked facilities such as water and electricity.

How much urban housing was destroyed during WW2?

Approximately 1/3 between 1941 and 1945

What did Stalin prioritise over housing in the 1940s?

Building more factories

How many collective farming villages did Khrushchev build housing for?

4500

Between 1950 and 1965 how much did did Urban housing increase under Khrushchev?

The amount of urban housing more than doubled

What was Krushchyovka?

Prefab apartment buildings built cheaply in mass to solve the housing crisis. They continued being built under Brezhnev through the 1970s and 1980s.

What did Brezhnev do under his ‘social contract’ to improve quality of life for soviet people?

Social benefits included subsidised rent, and utilities such as electricity and water were provided practically free of charge.