Changes in urban housing Flashcards
By the end of the 19th century, what percentage of Russians lived in urban areas?
15%
By the end of the 19th century, how many cities had more than 100,000 inhabitants?
19
After what year did urbanisation rapidly increase?
1897
By 1914, what had happened to the populations of the two main cities
Doubled
housing under the Tsars
erected cheaply and quickly
poor quality with inadequate drainage, water supplies and sanitation
Why was there a housing shortage under the Tsars?
Demand for reasonable accommodation at affordable rents always greater than supply
What did the shorting housing under the Tsars lead to?
Overcrowding and the spread of disease
Proportion of housing under the Tsars constructed from wood
1/2
How many towns had access to electricity, gas, piped water and sewage under the Tsars?
electricity - 74
gas - 35
piped water - 200
sewage system - 38
Where was cholera particularly rife?
St Petersburg
When was a sewerage system installed under Nicholas II?
1911
What did workers live in under the Tsars?
Hastily built wooden barracks
Conditions in barracks
overcrowded and unsanitary
What did Lenin pass to focus on property?
Decree on Peace Nov 1917
What did Decree on Peace say would happen to property?
dwellings in towns and cities were to be wrested from private owners and handed over to the proletariat
redistribution was placed in the hands of the soviets
What were some small improvements under Lenin’s Decree on Peace?
Improvements in urban housing eg communal housing, government and families were allotted an extremely small number of square meters each
What were a short-term answer to the housing crisis by Lenin?
Communal apartments as many considered them a step up from the alternatives of housing communes, hostels, and barracks
What happened to the condition of housing under Stalin?
It deteriorated
By the mid 1930s, what % of the population was living in one room shared between 2+ households?
25%
% of people living in a bathroom, corridor or hallway
5%
What did living space fall to under Stalin?
5.8m squared from 8.5m squared
What were the Seven Sisters?
A group of seven skyscrapers in Moscow designed in the Stalinist style. They were built from 1947 to 1953
In 1947, 1948, and 1949 respectively, how many square meters of housing did Moscow build?
100,000, 270,000, and 405,000
Why were most social projects put on hold under Stalin?
So that attention could be focused on achieving the aims of the five-year plans
How many Russians became homeless as a result of WW2?
25 million
What caused a massive housing crisis under Stalin?
WW2, problem never solved
What did Khrushchev launch?
a huge housing programme in the late 1950s
What was Khrushchev’s housing programme known as?
Khrushchyovkas
What was the planned shelf life of Khrushchyovkas?
25 years but they still exist today
When Khrushchev took power, what was Moscow’s population compared to housing stock?
population twice the housing stock
How many storeys were Khrushchyovkas?
5
How were Khrushchyovkas planned to alleviate the severe housing crisis exacerbated under Stalin?
Popped up in newly planned microdistricts, designed to house tens of thousands of people
Between 1955-64 what happened to housing stock?
Doubled
What was abandoned under Khrushchev?
Principles behind communal living
What were housing cooperatives under Khrushchev?
organisations formed by employees who belonged to the same work enterprise or professional union given first pickings over new state housing as long as they could meet government set prices
Who benefitted most from Khrushchev’s housing programme?
better-off professionals who could afford to pay deposits on new cooperative housing and make loan repayments at reasonable rates of interest
