What’s Inside a Typical Soviet Apartment?
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- Опубликовано: 6 июн 2024
- You are probably aware that the Soviet Union spent a great deal of effort to accommodate its citizens in individual apartments. Stalinkis, Khrushchyovkis, Brezhevkis - the Soviet Union was building millions of square meters of housing every single year. But what were those square meters filled with? What objects surrounded Soviet citizens in their daily lives, and which of them have survived to this day? Today we are going to talk about the iconic pieces of Soviet furniture.
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00:00 - Introduction
00:55 - Me begging for money
01:33 - History of Soviet Furniture
07:47 - Individual Items
10:30 - "Stenka"
14:36 - Carpets everywhere
Hey there. Somehow you found my video and decided to watch it. So let me introduce myself. I'm Sergei and I'm from Russia. My channel is about my native country. I want to tell English-speaking viewers about the real Russia, about its past and present. Unfortunately, you can find a lot of propaganda about Russia on the Internet, both from the Russian media and from the Western ones. I want to tell you about Russia, as it really is, the country in which I was born, grew up, and lived all my life.
Free Stock Footage provided by Videvo.net and Videezy.com. 
Развлечения
Having lived in an old farmhouse in the north of Scotland, I can understand why people would have carpets on the walls, anything to try and keep some heat in.
Exactly! Attractive insulation. Practical and lovely...👍🏽
And keep noises from going through walls.
Yes. I am ex-Soviet. My parents used it for sound isolation and it was warm to sleep in bed with a carpet on the wall. I draw with a finger patterns there before sleeping. 😂
Sound pollution from neighbours is the main problem of most commie blocks.
It is so bad, it can reduce you life expectancy by years.
Добавлю, что сначала это была дворянская, "рыцарская" традиция (дворяне вешали на ковер оружие, чтобы даже спросонья могли моментально вооружиться). Поэтому ковры всегда вешались не просто на стену, а практически обязательно при постели (кровати или дивана). Кстати, иногда и сейчас на ковер вешают (обычно декоративное или старинное) оружие.
My grandfather’s brother was a furniture maker in Poland during the war and after. After the war he was accused of collaborating because he was forced to take a contract for the Wehrmacht. When the UB asked him what he made for the Germans he replied “coffins”.
Epic
I highly doubt he was forced. What is he going to tell the Soviet’s? That he had a business venture with their enemies?
And if you’re insinuating that the coffins were for victims; I’ll give you a minute to think about why that’s absurd.
@@sabrinatscha2554 another ignorant American commenting on things they know nothing about
@@sabrinatscha2554It's called banter: He's using a joke to aliviate tension.
@@sabrinatscha2554So, while i agree that he can't say anything diffrent to the soviet who was interogating him, it wasn't like he could say no to the wermacht soldier who wanted something from him.
My grandfather used to work for the Goverment during the Communist Era of Mongolia. He worked as an building engineer and worked on many towns that still stands till this day and was the privileged few who lived in "spacious" Breznevkas and had many of the furnitures that are mentioned in the video. A Stenka, the folding table, that god awful dresser and mirror, all of it. This video reminds me of my childhood, when my parents and I used to live at our grandparents. I was essentially raised in the lingering post communist environment and has this nostalgic feeling about it when ever I see old "Soviet" furniture. Thank you Setarko, very АТАС
What is atac
@@mrguiltyfool Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council
My grand uncle killed. Arussian so he could escape the prison camp
Россия > КНР.
@@Edwardian I love in America and my door has the window on top as well, not to mention the gigantic window that is basically a whole wall, it’s kinda cool and I’ve only felt a bit compromised when I was tall enough to be level to it lol.
Hello from Finland. Those babushka interiors actually look very similar to 60s apartment styling and furniture in Finland. My grandmas apartment had very soviet looks. Also in the kitchens those transform tables were really popular. My childhood home had one.
My grandma's apartment is also soviet-like
I think you will find that most furniture around the world in the 60s and 70s looked Soviet. Ikea seems to be somewhat better style but reduced quality, today.
Funny, cuz Finland was never a part of Soviet union, never an eastern bloc country and never under communism.
Not really Soviet but more like a universal style. I had seen similar here in the US.
It was a trend in the 60ies called "modern interior" that in theory focused on function over form but in reality was about a specific look that people at the time associated with modernity, very often at the expense of comfort or functionality. Only obvious difference to me is that our houses tended to be a bit larger, but the ugly lamps and mirrors and uncomfortable sofas and chair were everywhere. Also awful brown and orange color schemes or giant polka-dot plastic wallpapers...
In Iran, people hang rugs on the wall, as well. But not the thick-type rugs shown in this video, but rather the lighter ones (like 'gelim' style rugs). Interesting that people in former USSR view it as being in bad taste nowadays. I think they look rather nice.
You guys are known for your rugs though lol, it would be weird to suddenly stop
The reason is - if the apartment looks like that it's likely to be not renovated since 1980 or so.
@@annasolovyeva1013 I see. That makes sense, but that means nobody today is copying the same design choice and putting a rug?
@@shahed-1367 yes. Rugs are a part of the late soviet style (also accociated with brown mid-century furniture, Chrystal glass chandeliers, elephant figurines, certain wallpaper designs etc). All together went out of fashion when the "euroremont" style of 90s and 2000s got in fashion. It included complex ceiling constructions, archways, spot lights and photorealistic wallpaper. And "euroremont" was replaced with "Scandinavian style" in the 2010s (everything white and basically from IKEA - works well with standard post-soviet housing)
now it's back in style!
Even though I'm American I look at stuff like this and I'm reminded of home. My mom always had tacky floral furniture and spent way too much money on nice rugs for a room in the house nobody ever went into. The house always smelled like some variation of cabbage soup too. We have some distant Polish/Ukrainian ancestry but my grandparents are nothing like this. I literally have no idea where it comes from.
I think it's hereditary. Bagpipes make the hair on my spine stand on end.
Slowly turning my place into a soviet era apartment. It's a lot of fun.
I'm from South Africa (born in the 60s). We had furniture like this. In the seventies and eighties, huge TV cabinets like those you had covering one wall and made of the same pressed wood and dark veneer. It also had a cocktail cabinet like yours. My mom also hung a Persian style (only the look was Persian, not the carpet) carpet on the wall. I remember it was a pinkish one, but the carpet was about half the size as the Soviet ones. We hung it for no other reason than for closing white space on the wall. We also had a lot of copper ornaments that had to be cleaned and polished ever so often. Maybe we were Soviet in another dimension! 😂🇿🇦
Americans pay 3,500 dollars a month to live in apartments the same size with the same style (ikea) furniture.
Then go there if u hate the usa
Most of the pay is for land, e.g. location, not the building.
American here. My parents always called any closet or wardrobe cabinet a chifferobe. Both American. I find it fascinating how similar the names are.
Like you said, if you just had most of this furniture in white or grey, it’s pretty much identical to IKEA furniture we all have today lol
I bet it lasts longer than Ikea furniture which rarely survives its second move.
Furniture factories in the GDR also produced for IKEA.
@@jessicah3450definitely lasts much longer. Most people couldn’t afford replacing big items, so the expectation was that your furniture could outlast you and be passed down to your kids.
I'm surprised how similar those interior styles were across the globe, even back in the days. Very similar here in western Europe. Except for the carpets. We used to put them on tables instead of walls... some old folks still do that. By hanging them on walls I guess they act as sound insulation? As those paneled apartment buildings were quite noisy.
Yes, soundproof and insulation
Lol, I put them on tables.
Noisy, cold & drafty due to the low quality of construction, - therefore the need in additional insulation.
Hi, l come from Moldova but carpets on the wall was typical much before comunism, dating back to the days when they were hand woven AMD not yet mass produced like in the soviet days. It was because the walls give off coldness in Winter but with a caroet on the wall it was cosy to sleep even if your back was touching the wall or to read on the bed leaning with your back to the wall 😊
@@luciamitu9962 Up here in the cold Finland thick decorative wall cloths ("ryijy" in Finnish) are also an essential part of older Finnish interior decor.
I am a big fan of the carpet. They're super cozy and remind me of my grandparents in northern Finland.
There are no carpets in the wall of Finnish homes. Finland was never a part of Soviet union.
And castles with tapestries hung on the walls!
Thank you for this video. The Soviet humour, I really liked. It reminded me of Polish man I used to work with years ago. He was raised in Soviet Poland, and he had a very unique sarcastic humour.
I grew up in 1960’s Slovakia. We lived in very much the same type of apartment block. I small bedroom ( for us 3 children), a tiny , but efficient kitchen, the toilet and bath were in two separate rooms, and a communal living space with a couple of easy chairs, and a sofa that converted to my parents bed at night. There was a low cabinet unit that held our radio/ record player, which also held bedding for the sofa bed. We also had the same television set that you showed in many of your images. There was also a foldable, leaf table and matching dining room chairs … and of course, the wall unit for crystal, China, books, decorations and everything else. Clothes , shoes, linens, towels , were kept in a wall unit in the bedroom. The furniture pieces were matching sets, and in the the compact, lightweight Mid century modern Danish style.
We didn’t have wall rugs, but the floor was covered with rugs … and yes … we rolled them up and brought them outside, hung them on a metal pipe frame like you showed in your images , and whacked the heck out of them with rug beaters like you showed. The beaters we had were made of twisted wicker . It was me and my siblings chore to beat the rugs.
I live in North America, and recently found a couple of ornately twisted wicker rug beaters at a flee market. I use them as wall ornaments … guests comment on them because they are actually very attractive and interesting looking. I ask if anyone can guess what they are …almost no one can. I like the connection they give me to a long ago very different life I had.
I remember the older women in my neighborhood beating their rugs on the clothesline in the 60s, & in between thrashings they would shake them out the back door! There wasn't any carpeting, few had vacuums. Carpet sweepers were used a lot. I still see rug beaters often at auction, some with decorative wirework. Simpler lifestyles with less use of electricity, & with not much more effort. And homes were just as clean. Nothing smells better than clothes dried on a line. When I bike through neighborhoods in the evening, the air is often scented, not with flowers as in the past, but with the smell of dryer sheets coming out of the vents. It's enough to knock the birds out of the trees. What a world.
I tell people that the curious wicker thing hanging on my wall is the Husband Beater...
My grandpa in Turkey used to put carpets too on wall even though we are from Turkey. I think it gives you extra isolation
Yes right. It provides more insulation in winter, and it is soundproof, so you don't hear noisy neighbours hah.
Yes. Soviets used it for that. And ot is comfortable to sleep in bed with warm carpets in winter than cold walls
I am from Spain and I think the babushka is very similar to the ones we had in our living rooms when I was a child, like in the 60-70, if you could watch a series named "cuentame como paso" you would see very similar furniture in the same time period in Spain. the furniture that you think was for women's makeup, my nana had it in the hall, the low mirror was for looking at yourself before going, checking how you were dressed etc, and the cabinet was filled with things that you could need before or after going to the street, like cleaning shoes, brushes, all tidy stuff. etc.
As someone who grew up in a UK council house in the 1980s, this all looks very similar, especially the kitchen our cupboards were cheap and white with silver metal edging that was also the handles just like the one shown, we also had folding tables, and everything that was wooden was very dark, mostly hand me downs from my grandmother who also lived in a home surrounded by dark wood most old people did, and everyone I knew had a large dresser in the living room, again normally dark wood full of porcelain, crystal and so on. what I remember most was my grandmothers wardrobe which was later my sisters very big dark wood, 3 doors and it had a secret compartment at the side when you opened the entire side there was a full lengh mirror on the back of the sidedoor and many small draws for valuables
My grandmother used the 3-way folding mirror thing as a shoebox (explains the low profile) and mirrors would be used to check how you would appear in the public before leaving the apartment.
I'm in my 50s...
My parents had a similar wall unit in our living room. Two drawers, fold down desk, space for books and a small TV nook. Not too much different in the 50s and 60s in America. That kind of furniture went out of style when people moved into into spacious 170 sq. meter five room houses. That was an American working class until the late 70s, then we became very poor.
Most households had the same kind of crystal in the China cabinets. Easy to find in the thrift stores over here or buy new in some kind of color. I own red goblets.
I have vintage Anchor-Hocking. They had very nice red and green glass.
I have a small collection of pressed glass from thrift stores. My favorite is the uranium/vaseline glass that will glow under UV. I know they made it in Czechoslovakia, but was it available in the Soviet Union?
The idea of selling modern particle board veneered non decorated cabinets with lots of clever fold out functions has not gone away. With small apartments it is still very much alive.
These pieces of furniture were IKEA of the time, way before IKEA even became popular.
Looking at a 80s soviet apartment makes my brain play smooth jazz and smell tobacco
I still have the dining setting from Soviet Russia (made in Rumania 4 year waiting list) , we brought to Australia 45 years ago . LOUIS 14th style , everything great except the old locks on the buffet. Can not really compare to todays furniture, ours is all wood, no particle board and the polishing has lasted 50 years although the dining table was recoated 20 years ago because of every day use.
Romanian here. I remember that in the 80s a lot of expensive massive wood , hand carved furniture was exported to the USSR. A market we lost after the fall of communism.
Those very shiney finished surfaces on the wall units and other furniture can be kept clean of prints and dust.
Very important to hygeine when you think of living in close quarters. Grandma was always cleaning and checking hands.
Of course no shoes inside. I myself Love carpets. I have several Kazak and Azerbijan carpets. They're simply magic to contemplate.
Hopefully grandma is still doing that. There were Arab traders in Russia around 1,000 years ago who were amazed at how clean everything was. It's a survival trait in that climate.
Here in the Philippines my friend at work and I were so fascinated with Soviet literature. When I followed suit, it also led me to buying carpets myself, and hung it on walls too 😂
Don't they get moldy in tropical climate?
Not until the rainy months
@@foolofatook9867 not really. Where I am from in PH is pretty chill even for a summer. Not to mention we keep the Air Condition on a lot. And honestly I like how it turned out. Cleaning the carpet is a bitch though but it's so worth it.
@@classictroublemaker5587 true. It can get a bit warm when sun shines after rain. But when the wind blows. The wind blows cold.
Е, не бъдете толкова очаровани. В България сме били 40 години под съветско влияние и повярвайте не беше добре за нашия народ. Другото е руска пропаганда днес, която няма нищо общо с реалността.
Я из Украины, и это правда, что стиль был таким, я говорю по-русски, если ты не понимаешь по-украински, не важно, если ты русский, мне нравятся твои видео, увидимся в другом видео. 👍
Желаю тебе от всего сердца удачи, надеюсь ближайшем будущем у тебя будет все хорошо ✌️
@@94namnamСпасибі Благодарность❤️👍
Tbh what's more amazing is this man managed to not get mobilized even today! Can you talk about soviat city blocks where its rumored that you can get anything you need (hospital/clinic, market, school) within walking distance? How bad/good the quality of such services, and how common?
I can tell you right now - it depends. Cities were grown by their factories and plants. The entire structure was like - 1.A plant has lots of workers 2.they elect a deputy from their collective 3.deputies govern civic developments + there were separate city burocrats with their own self-organization + federal burocrats with centralized planning machine.
So if your factory unit is important for any reason - it has huge founding and builds city district for it's own development - investing resources including HR.
If your factory doesn't do well - it requires help from the city and if the city doesn't do well it seeks help from republican\federal organizations.
So the better and the more important industry unit was - the better was quality of it's city district and services.
Unfortunately this approach leads to a situation, when the best minds are attracted to the most comfy enterprises and keep improve those even further, while the less lucky slowly degrade to the point nobody works there. The party tried to solve it - limiting the life quality so there will not be such an urgent need to move from town to town BUT that was only one side of this approach, cause in the same time, government subsidized peripheral civic development under the philosophy "rather then move - make it better when you already are" and SURPRIZE - it worked and made soviet towns much-much better. So here ere pluses: people invest in local and make towns and province better place to live. Minuses: It takes a lot of resources and planning and you need to limit the quality of life.
My grandma has a "Stenka". I am lucky I was too young to carry it when she moved it to her new apartment.
The carpet idea is brilliant. Id definitely do that one day.
Antique tapestries were used to insulste as well so the transition to hanging up actual carpets seems natural
Me and my russian boyfriend are moving together, and he usually talks about how he is nostalgic and would love a big turkish carpet on the wall of our new apartment. Sadly they are 1k+ euros here in spain. Yesterday we were walking on the street and found a great one in a dumpster. We will have it cleaned professionally and restore it. A dream come true also for me, because they're really cool and beautiful
Oh my god it was the same in Romania. I bet the toys were the same. The good news in all of this was that no one could steal your furniture or you big TV. Romanian big TVs like ''OPERA'' and ''DIAMANT'' needed 3 or 4 people to be moved. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
You forgot the Tv remote that was never removed from the plastic packaging. But all in all this video was pure nostalgia for me, since I moved out of Russia when I was 5.
TV remotes came to Russia just after Soviet union falling only. The only TV-remote in USSR was floor mop 😉😂
Soviet electronics deserve a video of its own
Same in Ireland too, my friends father had a long bamboo cane he used for changing to one of the three tv channels 😂
I could have lived in these. You need to have had nothing to appreciate something. It all served purpose and by worlds standard at the time, while not consumerist, it was more than majority of the world population had.
Great video as always! Keep up !🇷🇸🇷🇺
Fascinating topic! Thank you, Setarko
Again, a wonderfully produced and informative video. I have fascination of Soviet wall carpet!
Take care of yourself Setarko 🙏
Howard Lovecraft used to say that if you stare at the dark abyss for too long, the abyss will stare at you. Our carpet does not even hide itself and immediately offers to look into its otherworldly dimension.
Another great video, Setarko. Thank you.
Another furniture that was often seen in the USSR in the 80s due to its compactness is the manka kitchen corner. It was a table on two sides of which (the corner) was a bench with a reclining seat under which there was a storage place like a locker on a ship.
Yes! I bought one in the US. Great use of minimal space.
Well written, illustrated & narrated, on the topic advertised in the description! Quality content; I'm a new subscriber, thanks.
I’m from Bulgaria. We do have furniture, still in use since the mid 80s also from mid 60s. In my bedroom I have a sofa and arm chair from the 60s and this “wall” you said for clothes , tv, glass and stuff from the 80s
That whole Soviet world of State made furniture is very fascinating. Especially to someone like me who came from the US yes but in a part of it that is heavily impoverished where buying furniture is more of a luxury in general. I compared the Soviet 60s to my mom's upbringing on a Indian Reservation where there just wasn't furniture in general. Luckily for them I had an uncle who was a carpenter and he made them some very heavy duty tables and stuff. That or they took in stuff that was donated or thrown out by government agencies or churches.
Very interesting!
Here in the States people throw away some really nice things! I'm poor, and my apartment is nicely furnished, because the things I've picked up at the curb, or in second hand shops are antique, or really nice. I'm talking good woods and expensive upholstery. We have so much *stuff* and people are such big consumers that material things seem to have lost value...
Many decades ago I read Hedrick Smith's book about Russia during the Cold War era. I'm sure I remember a story in that book that explained how the furniture target was in weight; oddly enough much 'soft' furnishing had concrete elements. Not easy to get up a lot of stairs but must have helped with the target!
amazing video setapko
I'm American and like the rugs on the wall! Made the place look much warmer and homey. Added color. I can understand why people had them on their walls. Americans in the 70's had loads of rugs, too, but mostly on the floor.
Sound isolation and it was warm to sleep in bed with a carpet on the wall. Walls are so cold at nights.
In my childhood I used to draw patterns with a finger before sleeping.
My mom could knit carpets. We still have two. Hand work.
I am ex-Soviet Asian.
@@helloworld-ti5zs Yes!
Great retro of 60's-70's Soviet chic, good sir. Larger cities (US) are adopting some minimalist sizes. Old is new again. You've got a good sense of humor, too! Keep it up!👍
Wall rugs are always beautiful tbh.
You know those multiuse cabinets look really cool
It's funny how the Soviet furniture looks better than current one.
*Hmm....*
ковер это восточный предмет наследие культурная ценность )
на востоке всегда вешали ковры на стену и будут вешать
такой ковер создает уют
снижает шум в самом помещении
и дает тепло если обперестья на стену спиной сидя или лежа на кровати деване
Looks really good too.
Excellent documentary on the subject.
Man this is your best video yet.
12:49 As a Romanian, I thought most people had a sifonier but it seems to be only an Eastern European 1960-1990's thing. Though the name "chifonier" is French. My grandma had a sifonier all my life.
Well romanian ones were really popular in USSR too!
In the South US they have chiffarobes - half chiffonier, half wardrobe
Excellent video on this topic, I find how the soviets lived fascinating. I would love to see more videos on apartments, daily life, etc.
Personally I hate the heavy looking and dark Soviet furniture, that I had to live with for roughly a quarter of my life here in Warsaw, Poland. It was in my parents apartment built in 1990-s , in my grandparents apartment housing block from 50-s built in style of a "stalinka”. This Soviet era furniture looks great in spacious family house, especially in open space arrangement, but it’s totally cramped in tiny rooms of stalinka. I’ve always felt overwhelmed by these furniture and quite claustrophobic. It’s grim, dark and heavy. Makes life in such an apartment depressing.
Loved the Hava Nagila tune. Great content as always!
I'm shocked that such a brilliant channel with so much effort pit in has do few subscribers and views. Keep on the grind people will notice you
This is super interesting, thanks for covering some of the “everyday” stuff that I’d never known anything about! Keep up the good work, God bless you man :)
I think my Russian neighbors had a whole room that was only opened once every 10 years. Maybe they used it when they were entertaining but even their kids had never seen anybody use the plastic-wrapped furniture.
I like the carpet on the wall -- definitely gives the room warmth visually as well as physically.
Great video! Thank you for making this. As someone living in the United States, we don't get many opportunities to learn about Soviet-era apartments and furniture.
I have one of those book tables. Most of the time it's folded up as a little side table in my kitchen, but opened up it can comfortably seat 6 and up to 8 people. Perfect for when people come over.
I have an old formica transforming table, I still use everyday. Those where perfect for the times. I like the light fixtures from that time also.
We are all more alike than we are different, yes? As a child in the 60s in the US, I had Ukrainian/Russian neighbors. My mother's family is Mazuren so babushka is a familiar word. And the oriental rug in the LR. Ours was on the wood floor, but some regions placed them on the wall. Many older women placed lighter weight rugs on tables. I still have this rug. So much of the furnishings were the same in the states. Many of these vintage pieces are sought by younger people. Everything old is new again!
I always thought Carpet on the walls was a great idea, like you said it insulated and it was better than a plain wall. American Hippies did similar with Carpets, Larg Fabric, Large banners Etc... there was even a short trend using an old Serplus military Parishut if you were really cool and could get one.
Yeah im actually thinking about putting one or two in my new apartment. I wonder how much they help with the noise. Its not too bad in the house but sometimes I hear other apartments and I guess it's vice versa. I think they look cozy too. I also have no idea what else to do with the blank walls lol. I guess im too old for movie Posters but I also have no idea what kind of pictures to put there. Im really bad at this.
I read your comment and I remember being a kid (decades ago) and my step-dad wanting that parachute, I had forgotten about that,
So, basically what was in the soviet union then, we have it now- minimalistic, multifunctional IKEA style furniture.
I love how the cabinet full of rarely used crystal is universal.
so interesting, my step-grandparents came from hungary to the USA shortly in the 70s and brought a lot of this style of furniture with them- their home was much larger than a soviet apartment and yet this furniture is so familiar to me. When we moved into their home after my stepgrandmothers passing, it was like stepping back in time to the soviet union
Thank you for making videos about those niche topics that are somehow interesting to me while if I would tell anyone that I watch videos about furniture in Soviet apartments they would definitely (and righteously) question my sanity. ;)
So, one question arose during this video: How were you intended to store children in these apartments? Were there designated rooms for children or were they supposed to share a bedroom with the parents?
For family with childrens, there were larger flats planned, called 3+1. 1 for kitchen and 3 rooms - living room, bedroom and childrens room. Ofc not every family lived in those flats.
From the point of view of a lad that grew up in a similarly styled soviet-era block in post-socialist Bulgaria:
We used to live in a so called 2-room apartment - one bedroom, one living room, and a separate kitchen. When I was little, I did share a bedroom with my parents. But I guess I should note that neither the living room nor the bedroom were particularly small. Decently comfortable for sure, given what else may have been available at the time.
When I got to about 10, I moved to the living room, where I used to sleep on a sofa that folded out into a bed.
I remember my parents moving sections of the wall of furniture mentioned in this video around a few times to adjust the living space in the living room to the then-current needs, which was always a daunting task as they are massive and a good 2.5 meters high.
When we did renovations to the apartment, we would always worked around the immovable 3-wing wardrobe with drawers on top, that goes almost all the way up to the 3-meter ceiling. I don’t think the wall behind it has been painted since it first made its way into my parents’ bedroom.
Well, there was an option to store kids in the living room, where they slept on a folding sofa (usually there was only one, maximum two children in the typical late Soviet family). That's how I grown up. I've actually slept on a folding sofa until I got married 😂, when finally switched to a queen-sized bed.
Some place in the USSR eg Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan produced what many consider today the finest carpets in the world.
Those were always handmaded, so expensive.
@@xsc1000 I wonder if the problem is not that they went out of fashion but more once russia markets opened up, they became too expensive for the russian market.
@@WagesOfDestruction Most of that carpets you see in soviet rooms were factory maded, so cheap. Those hand maded from central Asia were more expensive also in soviet times.
@@xsc1000 that is interesting, I am sure that the today in Russia they are even more expensive as Russians are competing with the world for these handmade ones
The best carpets were Persian Carpets(from Iran).
Our “stenka” was made in Belarus.
Bathrooms had storage compartments hanging above the door and under the bathtub.
Children’s room usually had “secreter” (секретер) where the front opens up and serves as a desk for children to study.
Great video, hi from Belfast Northern Ireland 😎
a whole family and a few inlaws , a babushaka , a commisar , a local slushbar officer and the occasional friendly neighborhood CIA agent and room for a cat
I am an US Based interior designer. thank you for this fascinating look at old fashioned interiors of the soviet union !
In Spain such dark wood bedroom armoires and extensive living room cabinet wall furnishings are standard especially in the past. It is clear that the Soviets were copying the fashions of Europe, and not the other way around.
Right now I'm surrounded by a set of dark brown oak furniture which was made in my grandparents' workshop in the Hungarian countryside in 1949. The workshop went out of business in 1967 due to the competition of mass-produced Socialist-style furniture. The exact thing I have above me, on the second floor.
Been studying Russian history, culture and language for a couple of years. Always found the Soviet apartments weird. Can't help wondering why they couldn't have increased the interior dimensions of the apartments by as little as 15% to help eliminate the claustrophobic feel. No real living room and a suggestion of a kitchen seems like an insult. And yes, the window between the kitchen and bathroom seems more like a peeping Tom pervert's fantasy than a way to more efficiently heat both rooms. And who wants to smell shit in the kitchen? The washing machine in the bathroom is also odd and still a feature in many modern apartments. And wallpaper everywhere. Almost like it's a federal law that demands wallpaper. Like a plain painted wall is a crime of some sort.
From an interior decoration standpoint, Russia fails miserably. And I hate saying this because my love for the Russian people is enormous. I would love to open an interior decorating consulting company in Moscow. It is sorely needed.
The answer for your questions are in russian history. The country that only focuses on brutal destroying of everything intelligent inside its own borders and outside can only come up with ideas that restrict it citizens living space and mind. Those two are closely interconnected. Take away private space form an individual and you have controlled worker very soon.
In soviet times everything was regulated and planned (super poorly). The idea was that communist party knows better what people need (not want).
In a strictly controlled planned economy there is no competition. The result is no motivation that leads to no innovation. Also by the 70s the most of manufacturing equipment stolen form occupied countries and Germany were worn out. USSR/russia was hardly capable producing anything quality and original itself (that fact was mentioned in this video as well). Despite what rose tinted soviet lovers say, the living was quite shit. I am reall surprised I discovered a review of soviet things that is actually honest.
Saying "in russia, everything is shit, except piss" was quite true. For example, you asked why people didn't prefer painted walls. The reason was simple, because there were only 3-4 colors available. Brownish yellow that looked like a chickenshit. Ugly brown that literally looked like shit. Brown toned green. And typical intensive light blue with what enire rural russia is still painted (because fly's don't like it or simething like that). And those paints never stopped smelling, ever (this is not an exaggeration, I couple of years opened and removed an under floor that still had the same 30 year old paint and those panes smelled entire week until garbage truck took those away - the smell was toxic. The smell of childhood apartment)! Only wihte was for ceilings.
The second reason why people didn't want to paint walls was because there were no quality filling putty available. Those walls never got smooth enough to look good under painting.
Washing machine in bathroom was luxury for bigger bathrooms. Into typical old soviet apartment built in 60s it just didn't fit at all.
The window between bathroom and kitchen is oddity from 50s. Rembember, it was just after war and electricity was scarce. So it was the source for natural light. And electricity was relative scarce until the collapse of soviet union. Electricity cut-outs were normal part of living. You had to have a set of candles and matches around.
Unfortunately the last part about love for russians gives me cringe. Yes, this is something very wierd to say today. As individuals among russians there are tons of great and pure hearted intelligent people. But as a society they are totally failed. No normal society would allow it's country to conduct genocide in their neghbouring country. I mean Ukraine here.
The furniture was made to last though, my grandparents still have an old Soviet секция.
Always something awesome much love from Miami. Ty
I have an old persian Senneh rug on one wall, beautyful😊
I'd buy out half of the "babushka-style" mid century modern pieces that are left in the former USSR, are you kidding me? And the wood veneers were the best part.
Gives me hope that places like this can be funded 100% by the government, the fact that capitalism uses housing as a commodity is disgusting
to be fair, if you were to visit lots of modern flats you would still keep seeing the same furniture mostly because the cloesest store had them for sale in that place for many years :P
Это Гигахрущ, бесконечный жилой блок застрявший между бункерной веселухой Фоллаута, осенью Сталкера и мраком Backrooms, да мы крепко застряли на меридиане страданий и отпускать нас отсюда не спешат. Наш блок, честно не курорт. У нас тут бросание болтов, анекдоты у костра и сказочные виды на коврах.
3/4 of those furniture ideas are now at IKEA
Tapestries were hung on walls in many cold countries, not just castles. The puropse was insulation that was beautiful.
im in the UK looks somewhat like my parents flat with the multi cabinet wall dresser in a toffee colour hard wood where best crystal glasses and best crockery.are displayed and family photos. leather sofa same colour. and a rug but on the floor not the wall lol.
The carpets are really beautiful
One of the reasons why soviet citizens were unhappy at the time was due to lack light industry. Think of it getting into space an photographing a far away galaxy is not as satisfying as seeing a toasted bread pop out of a toaster. Except if you are a nerd like me.
“Why carpets on walls?” lol, same reason for tapestry’s on castle walls. They are basically the same thing. I always wondered on the specific designs.
I remember seeing those carpets on the wall in Russia and Ukraine. It had always struck me because I had never seen that style before going there.
love this guy's humor!!
They look like beautiful, functional, and comfortable living spaces to me. All the basic necessary amenities. As long as you had decent neighbours, and minimal crime, I would move out of my rented house and garden, into one of these in exchange for lower rent, and not worrying about leases not being renewed.
Soviets had cheap central heating. We didn't have gas and water meters. Only electric one. Utility bills were absolutely cheap. The country had enough nature resources to make them cheap
I lived in Germany in the 1970s and many of the apartments we rented were furnished with pretty similar furnishings.
In German, it's a Schrank. The wall unit the current designers keep trying to get rid of but the people don't want to let it go.
We don't call it Stenka in Bulgaria. We call it Sektsiya (секция).😃
Strangely enough, these apartments look a lot like the working class apartments here in the States at that time. It took the coming of the Hippies to break the cast iron mold of ugly but practical and they did it by going to the thrift stores and junk shops and head shops and poster and record stores. Orange crate furniture was big for the first apartment too.
Remember the black light poster rooms in the head shops? I live in a college town- we had half a dozen head shops! And yeah, counter culture shook up every rigid, boxed in, pigeonhole aspect of society. There was so much change straight across the board- a revolution. I wouldn't trade growing up in that era. Too bad society has devolved back into their locked in boxes.
I am 55, so I am a bit younger than many of the people featured in the mid century footage shown in this video. I was in high school in the mid 1980s. We were taught propaganda about the Soviet Union. We were told that Russians had little choice in consumer goods, that their lives were colorless, bleak and without many options. I remember reading that Soviet citizens would spend hours and hours waiting in line to get something like an appliance. I was told some goods took months on back order. We Americans were so lucky because we could just walk into a store and we had endless options at our fingertips. The thing about that was people who lived in cities had endless options. If you lived in a small town, not so much. The propaganda when I was in school was that the Iron Curtain fell because Russians wanted American Standard toilets and Levi jeans. I didn't quite believe that an entire empire could crumble because people wanted to flush an American toilet, but I was a teenager so what did I know