“Квартирне питання” київських археологів у 1940–1950 роках

Abstract

The article analyses the living and working conditions of Kyiv archaeologists in the 1940s and 1950s when Kyiv gradually recovered from the terrible war destruction. Like all Kyiv citizens, archaeologists suffered from a lack of housing and the necessary equipment and furniture but continued their research. All this was compounded by the intensification of post-war repression. After the restoration of its activity, the Institute of Archeology was located on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard with several other institutes of the Academy of Sciences until 1960. In the same building, there was a dormitory for employees. All this did not improve the work of the institution, but also led to interpersonal conflicts. The sluggish bureaucratic system created in the USSR forced the use of the Institute's administrative resources to solve ordinary household issues. To improve the living conditions of staff, as well as to ensure relatively normal working conditions, Directorate of Institute of Archeology had to repeatedly escalate by writing numerous letters, both to the leadership of the Academy of Sciences, and to the Soviet institutions of various levels for the purpose of “knocking out” at least some living quarters for archaeologists. This situation continued for many years after the war. In addition to the everyday problems of the Kyiv archaeologists, the directorate of Institute of Archaeology tried to assist Lviv archaeologists in such situations, who formally were a part of Institute of Archaeology. However, in most cases, this assistance did not produce any results. In addition, the “housing issue” also concerned the Institute of Archeology, because for many years the institution had major problems with the lack of space not only for staff but also for the collection of finds. These problems were also exacerbated by the plundering of the Institute itself and its collections during the war. Key words: history of archaeology, everyday life of Kyiv citizens, everyday life of archaeologists, Taras Shevchenko boulevard, 14.