July 31, 1957
The resolution "On the Development of Housing Construction" was adopted, which marked the beginning of the "Khrushchev-era" buildings—the first separate urban housing in the country's history.
No need to fetch water, no need to light the stove, gas stove, flush toilet – “an apartment with all the amenities” (Leonid Parfenov, "The Other Day")
Conversations about the housing shortage began a week after Stalin's funeral: at that time, more than half of Soviet families lived in communal apartments, dormitories, and barracks.
There was a need for inexpensive, standard houses without “architectural excesses.”
The designer of the first is a civil engineer Vitaly Lagutenko, The grandfather of the lead singer of the band "Mumiy Troll." When calculating the kitchen's size, the movements of a housewife preparing a typical meal were analyzed. Stairwells were designed to accommodate coffins.
The refrigerator under the windowsill and the window between the kitchen and the bathroom are also inventions of the authors of the "Khrushchev" buildings.
Only the compartments in spaceships were designed with the same care.
To make borscht in an old apartment, you need to walk 500 steps, but in a new small kitchen of 5,6 square meters, everything is close by, you can literally reach everything with your hand. (from a Soviet program from the late 50s)
The first "Khrushchevka"—a four-story panel apartment—was built in Moscow, in Novye Cheryomushki. The building took an average of 12 days to construct. In Leningrad, one panel apartment was completed in just five days.
The cost of building Khrushchev-era buildings, compared to Stalin-era buildings, was reduced by a third.
Under Khrushchev, more housing was built than in the previous 40 years, and the USSR became the world's fastest-growing construction country. One in four families received an apartment.
Here is our front, here is our coat rack, Our room, Sasha, Our room, Masha. The whole apartment is ours, ours. The kitchen is also ours, ours. Our windows, our doors, I can't believe my eyes (from the operetta "Moscow. Cheryomushki")
Later, complaints began about cramped kitchens and bathrooms, poor soundproofing, and walk-through rooms. According to one theory, these were installed to prevent the authorities from re-housing strangers.
The standard service life of Khrushchev-era buildings, according to various sources, ranges from 30 to over 100 years. Currently, they are worn out by an average of 40%.
