A Socio-Political Aspect of Housing and Communal Sanitation in the USSR, 1950s–1960s (Based on Materials of Leningrad and Vyborg)

Abstract

Introduction. The article examines the interactions between the sanitary service, other departments, and city residents in the 1950s and 1960s to improve sanitary conditions, using the examples of Leningrad and Vyborg. It shows how the level of housing safety increased as the state allocated material resources to service organizations and improved sanitary standards. Methods and materials. The article is based on materials from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Central City Archive of St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad Oblast Archive, and a number of newspaper publications. Minutes of meetings, reports and explanatory notes, and citizens’ appeals to various authorities show that littered exits, uncollected cesspools, irregular cleaning of adjoining territories, and mountains of garbage often became a source of epidemics. Analysis. These problems were addressed as communication between government agencies and the public evolved. The legislative framework governing sanitary safety in cities was formed as early as the 1930s. The situation was aggravated by the lack of education of the population, which did not want to comply with sanitary rules. Solving the problem required concerted work by authorities, academics, and community activists. In order to reduce the risks of disease for city residents, city authorities organized trash pickups, lectures for citizens with representatives of sanitation services, etc. Thus, practices were formed to maintain compliance with the necessary norms. Results. The identified features of the implementation of housing and communal sanitation norms give the idea that established communication between government and public organizations was a channel for reducing the risks of epidemics and the comfort of the dwelling. Increased use of specialized machinery that allowed for garbage collection and a number of other problems was able to accelerate sanitation problems. This article illustrates how the risks – the high likelihood of epidemics – forced the state and citizens to seek effective ways to develop and maintain sanitary standards. The successful development of practices was thus related to the development of the necessary infrastructure and the awareness of city residents of the benefits of complying with practices.