Noise, hubbub, poverty: how the housing issue influenced the psyche of Soviet people

The subverter of Soviet myths Maxim Mirovich addressed in his publication to the topic of "free" housing in the USSR, which began to be massively built in the form of tiny apartments in the 60s of the last century and continues to be built to this day. The author writes about how living in these small khrushchevkas (Khrushchev's era apartments) and brezhnevkas (Brezhnev's era apartments) influenced the lives of their owners.

If under Stalin the monstrous principle of "one family - one room" was in effect, and only the Soviet nomenclature got individual apartments, then under Khrushchev there was a relaxation: "each family has a separate apartment." True, in conditions of general poverty, this housing was truly microscopic: a couple of small rooms, a kitchenette (but its own, not shared!), And a bathroom (also its own!). Under Brezhnev, another 5-7 meters was added to these meager square meters, but the number of storeys increased, since it is cheaper.

All such apartments were distinguished by the fact that they did not have a division of space. A "two-room" apartment (all over the world this type of apartment is called one-room - with one bedroom and one or two people live there) was inhabited by a family of 4-6 people. No "living rooms" or "bedrooms" - everywhere beds and a couple of wardrobes and a few shelves. Even the chest of drawers was already a luxury. People lived in a cave, the concepts of pre-revolutionary Russia - "living room", "dining room", "front" and "children's" - disappeared as if it had happened.

And of course, no privacy. Their own - only beds, well, the students still had "their" desk. Adults, on the other hand, if they took work home, had to do it at night in the kitchen. Your whole life is in plain sight, even in your closet - one, maximum two shelves. Moreover, the walls in such houses are so thin that you can hear everything that happens at the neighbors - from above, and below, and from the sides.

Even from newspaper articles of that time, it is clear what conditions people lived in: information in them is presented shortly and easily, so it is easier to assimilate in the constant noise. This circumstance practically excluded the possibility for self-development - try to read serious articles and books under these conditions!

In addition, such conditions developed a habit of minimizing needs: the younger ones wore the clothes of the elders, and the hostess cooked food for several days at once - there was nowhere to keep fresh food, and there was really no food.

However, since poverty was customary in Soviet society, people simply stopped noticing it: everyone is the same around, so it is the norm to live in cramped conditions, put on other people's rags, and borrow money "to paycheck." There was no one to be equal to, there was nothing to compare with, and therefore the daily life of Soviet society resembled a swamp without the slightest stir...