I’d like to learn more about the Soviet housing system. From my very limited knowledge it seems to be one of the few sectors of the economy that actually functioned reasonably well. But maybe I’m missing something.
this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2024
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"functioned" is the key word there. No elevators, terrible insulation, no air conditioning, tiny radiators for heating, small living space for entire families, and infested with bugs. Of course some American apartment buildings check all those boxes too, but it's naïve to assume that soviet apartments were great places to live
It is worth considering the circumstances in which they were built, though - much of the worst of the classic eastern European "commie blocks" were basically just a desperate attempt to build something that would house people after WW2 flattened half of the continent. Throw in decades of under-maintenance for good measure.
So the upkeep part of this meme is bullshit?
I think, based on context, they mean the upkeep charges to residents, which are not necessarily the same as the cost to maintain the whole building
yeah they may have been the same or worse under a different housing model. or much better, but it seems plausible that this wasnt the worst outcome. a modern implementation in a wealthy society not post war would do a lot better, and probably in this specific sector be better than the market alternative.
I mean shitty housing is better than no housing. Their setup comes out looking pretty good compared to a lot of places nowadays. But far from perfect as you point out.
I know little about Russia, but a quote from earlier this year from a Russian:
Boris Vishnevsky, a member of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, responded to Beglov's remarks, saying in a Telegram post that "a quarter of Russians do not have centralized sewerage," citing data from Rosstat, Russia's state statistics service.
"And basically, it is hard to imagine something more gender-neutral than a backyard 'latrine'-style toilet," he added.
For context: In response to criticizing gender neutral toilets in Ukraine (I don't know if they mean individual/private unisex bathrooms, or actual group restrooms they think are trans bathrooms, it's not the point of this discussion anyways).
- Low rent means no money for maintenance
- the elevators where frequently out of order or vandalized
- instead of a private washing machine you would have a number of them in the basement (maybe 1 for every 5 flats?), and a week plan with timeslots when you can use them. This is nice as long as all machines are working, but the same problem as with elevators applies here.
- it's not a quiet place, you could always hear people going up and down the stairs. The light switch Relais in the cabinet on each level always made a very loud "clunk" when someone turned on the lights...
for everyone going "oooh but this wasn't true in communist countries!!"
this is basically how it works in sweden, you get an effectively free apartment if you can't afford one on your own (you get welfare to afford the rent), you basically cannot be evicted unless you run a siren 24/7 and shit off the balcony onto people's heads, commie block-style areas tend to have at least some green space with at least a fruit tree or two, and rent in this kind of older housing is generally so cheap that when americans learn about it they just weep.