Communal Living in the Soviet Union: Historical Analysis and Impact

This essay explores the history and significance of communal living in the Soviet Union, particularly in cities like St. Petersburg. It details the origins of communal apartments, which were government-owned and shared by multiple families, often with limited space and resources. The essay examines the impact of industrialization and the housing shortage, which led to the widespread adoption of this living model, initially intended to provide affordable housing for workers. It discusses the social dynamics within these communal spaces, the challenges of shared living, and the evolving landscape as residents gain the opportunity to purchase their living spaces. The essay references the historical context, including the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union's rapid industrialization, and highlights the communal living system as a microcosm of Soviet society, reflecting diverse backgrounds and economic disparities.

Running head: COMMUNAL LIVING 1
Communal Living in the Soviet Union
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

COMMUNAL LIVING 2
Communal Living in the Soviet Union
Even with the fall of communism in Russia communal apartments have maintained
their relevance. Communal living constitutes the sharing of living space by several unrelated
families. Communal apartments are particularly prevalent in the northern city of St.
Petersburg. Families were given independent rooms when the communal living model was
first established. These rooms were nonetheless, owned by the government. In recent years,
the Soviet Union has made provisions for tenants to purchase their own living space, offering
them the advantage of ownership. In however much this move is highly advocated for by
Russian citizens it has also generated various challenges. For instance, if a tenant intends to
sell his or her living space, he or she is required to gain consent from all the other tenants.
Conventionally, an average living room in the St-Petersburg area costs between $6000 and
$13000. A sizeable individual apartment on the other hand costs between $15 and 22000
dollars. The essence of staying in a communal apartment is so that the tenants may save
enough money to enable them to purchase their own living space. Currently in St. Petersburg
there is a considerable degree of innovation in progress as the city attempts to restore its once
grand palaces, monuments, and buildings. Several of the communal apartments located at the
center of this city have been purchased and renovated by developers and investors.
Several decades after the Russian Revolution of 1917, most Russian citizens resided
in communal apartments. It was possible to observe at least seven or more families sharing
one bathroom and one kitchen. They were highly crowded with limited food and stove space.
Clotheslines could be seen strewn across the kitchen space. The living conditions were
unfavorable. This was particularly the case before the dawn of the 21st century. In the period
between the 1920s and the 1950s the Soviet Union achieved rapid industrialization
(Heathcote, 2015). Millions of workers from the countryside came to Moscow in search of
employment. In response to the rising demand for housing the Soviet government established

COMMUNAL LIVING 3
the communal living system. This system was meant to alleviate the housing shortage in the
city while at the same time providing the workers with affordable living. In essence, the
government allowed people to occupy the apartments that were originally owned by
aristocrats and the rich who had been sent back to their native countries by the new regime.
The communal living system is suggested as a microcosm of the Soviet Union. This is
the case considering that these apartments are occupied by people from diverse cultural
origins and in some cases, absolute class enemies. Privation and poverty are suggested as the
primary push factors that compelled the population residing in rural Russia to relocate to the
city. This was accentuated by the aggressive industrialization campaigns by Soviet officials.
In the mid-19th century there was an appreciable number of Russian citizens living in
“dormitories” or barracks (Heathcote, 2015). For such families, obtaining a living space in
communal apartments was perceived as an improvement in their living conditions. This was
the case particularly if they managed to obtain a room in the most preferable cities of
Leningrad or Moscow. The need to obtain a room in the communal living system was severe
to the point that several of the poor rural citizens were willing to abandon their farmlands and
seek low-paying jobs in the city with the hope that in the near future they would have saved
enough to enable them to secure a room.
The distribution of housing in the cities was done by government departments or by
municipal authorities. This process was implemented based on the number of square meters
per individual. This rule made it impossible for tenants to partake in the decision-making
process pertaining to the housing they were allocated. Payment for communal services such
as electricity and water as well as rent did not constitute a considerable portion of the
families’ budget. The bulk of these costs were subsidized by the municipal government
(Reid, 2016). Access to housing in the Soviet Union is compared to the access to consumer
products in the sense that entities relied on their places of work and their position in society.

COMMUNAL LIVING 4
Those in stable employments were given housing by their respective workplaces. Residency
permit was employed as the primary strategy for the movement of citizens and control over
housing. Until the 1970s, majority of the families resided in a single room where
overcrowding was common. Most of them lacked hope of improving their living conditions.

COMMUNAL LIVING 5
References
Heathcote, E. (2015). How moscow and london pioneered communal living in the
1930s. FT.Com.
Reid, S. E. (2016). Cold war binaries and the culture of consumption in the late soviet
home. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 8(1), 17-43.
How Russia's Shared Kitchens Helped Shape Soviet Politics. Retrieved from
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/05/20/314054405/how-russias-shared-
kitchens-helped-shape-soviet-politics.
The World of the Soviet Citizen (2020) “Communal Living in Russia.” Retrieved from
http://kommunalka.colgate.edu/cfm/essays.cfm?ClipID=376&TourID=900.
Communal Living in Russia, A Relic of the Soviet Union - 2002-05-31. Retrieved from
https://www.voanews.com/archive/communal-living-russia-relic-soviet-union-2002-
05-31.