Time moves inexorably forward, leaving days, weeks, months and years behind. How often the current young generation hears that life was better in the "USSR". But there were also difficult moments in the history of the Soviet Union. Many people have heard about queues in the USSR. In the article, we will figure out which areas of life were affected by such a sequence and in connection with what it arose.
Why did the queue become a Soviet phenomenon?
We still face queues in stores to this day and do not see anything unusual in this. When is it formed? When one visitor is not served to the end, and the goods are needed by several more people behind the first one. But there is a difference: if everyone has enough products that customers need, then everyone will wait for their turn. Why were there queues in the USSR? A line of two or three people can turn into something phenomenal only if there is a shortage of the right product. And this happened often and densely in the USSR. The queues (photos of multi-meter lines of people will be below in the review) are a unique companion of our Soviet history for several decades. This is the story you need to know.
Where does the shortage come from?
Deficit in different decades of the existence of the USSR was due to different factors and reasons. Let's take a closer look at what years it was most difficult to get what goods, for which the queue could consist of hundreds of people who even checked in every day (so that no one would take their place).
Period 1930-1939
Let's talk about the reasons first. The indicated years are the time of the pre-war five-year plans. An amazing combination of repressive methods of governing the country and an extraordinary rise in the industrial, cultural and construction fields. Stalin did not like the changed policy of Hitler, and he intuitively tried to prepare the country for possible danger. These were quite successful times for the USSR. A lot of effort was directed to the formation of patriotic thinking among the population and the strengthening of such cells of society as the family.
According to statistics, one working peasant produced 70% more grain in 1938 than in 1928. For 6 years (from 1934 to 1940) the USSR raised the smelting of pig iron from 4.3 to 12.5 million tons. America has achieved this result in 18 years. Only during the pre-war five-year plans, which began in the 1930s, 9,000 large industrial enterprises were built.
Was there a queue in the USSR during these years? Yes they were. For goods of different categories.
For example, it was the shortage of consumer goods that led to the introduction of the rationing system in 1928. Then the government decided that it was necessary to calculate consumption rates for each groupcitizens and issue them under the card system. These same goods could be bought through free-commercial trade, but at a higher cost. In 1935, the card system was abolished, the prices of food and consumer goods "soared", which reduced consumer demand. By the end of the 1930s, the situation leveled off a bit.
War years and the period of post-war economic recovery
Given the prosperity the country had achieved by the time the Great Patriotic War began, it is easy to assume that the destruction was on a considerable scale. After such a long exhausting war, no one consoled himself with hopes of rest. Everyone knew that there was a long hard work ahead to restore the country, which depends on everyone who returned from the front, and everyone who waited and worked in the rear.
Libraries, churches, cathedrals, enterprises, collective farms and state farms, along with crop areas, many buildings and settlements have turned into ruins. Soviet soldiers, feeling like heroes after such a victory, selflessly began to work on the "resurrection" of their beloved state. And a miracle happened: by 1948, the country's production reached and exceeded the pre-war level! Of course, agriculture recovered harder and longer. After all, it was not enough to equip it with the necessary equipment (tractors, combines, MTS), to restore the destroyed structures (garages, stables, etc.), it was necessary to return the number of livestock, poultry, etc. to the previous number, and this took time.
The year 1946 turned out to be difficult, when a terrible drought occurred in most of the European territory of the Soviet Union. It was decided to introduce a rationing system for the even distribution of food. This was very helpful and saved many from starvation (and possibly death). At the end of 1947, the card system was abolished, and the people felt the onset of peace and relative peace. A monetary reform was carried out.
People stood in line in the USSR in the post-war years for one simple reason: the prices for food and manufactured goods were set by the Soviet state. Yes, it was possible to purchase goods on the market. This was common even under the current rationing system. But market prices were many times higher than in stores. Based on the foregoing, we can answer the question of why there are no queues in our time. Because there is no choice. The population is forced to buy foodstuffs, medicines, industrial goods at inflated prices: the state does not restrict them in any way and, moreover, does not help to reduce them. The difference in prices for the same goods in our time is so insignificant that people will not even think about standing in line if somewhere you can buy 5 rubles more expensive, but faster.
Lines in the 1950s-1960s
This period can be conditionally divided into three years of Stalin's rule and the next 7 years. During these years, the percentage of GDP growth decreased. The queues in the USSR as a purely Soviet phenomenon have not gone away. During this period, there was a crisis in the meat supply: things were not very bad with animal husbandry, butlacked meat and animal fats. However, despite this, the main problems with meat products were not in Moscow or Leningrad, but in the Urals and beyond.
The scale of these queues, compared to what will happen in the country, was still insignificant. The period from the end of the war until 1960 was considered (according to those contemporaries) a time when the life of a Soviet person was constantly improving.
You can't say enough about the quality of food in this decade. For example, the Doctor's sausage complied with GOST, according to which it contained 95% meat, of which 70% was lean lean pork, and the rest were eggs, milk and nutmeg. The cost of such sausages exceeded retail prices, but this was the concern of the Soviet government. The goal - to make food of high quality and affordable for the Soviet people - was achieved at any cost.
There was enough food on the store shelves, but by 1960 both the assortment and the quality began to change. For example, before 1960 there was no frozen fish for sale. All fish was supplied either fresh or canned. Red fish (from chum salmon to pink salmon) was available both hot and cold smoked. White fish, caviar - all this could be bought.
And yet, the "wonderful time" fell on the last years of Stalin's rule, and then the inertial effect still persisted for several years. For example, the absence of a queue in the USSR (photo below) persisted until 1958-1959.
1960-1970
As mentioned above, with the transfer of power to Khrushchev, the food sector of the USSR began to undergo changes, and not for the better. Smoked sausages disappeared from the shelves, but frozen fish appeared.
As for meat products: young calves were not allowed to grow, at the beginning of 1960 the number decreased, meat production fell. This led to changes in GOST regarding sausages, and to a decrease in milk consumption by the population. Queues began to form in shops for meat and milk. The line for sausages has become customary: the USSR could not provide itself with this product for the above reasons. Only later, after the change in GOST (they allowed to add starch, soy protein, etc.), the situation improved a little. Notice! Until the 1960s, there were neither huge queues nor a massive shortage of goods on the shelves.
In the early 60s, there was a severe drought, which led to a low crop yield. The queue for bread in the USSR at that time became commonplace. Moreover, flour was also in short supply. They gave her no more than 2 kg per hand.
But even further the situation with grain improved poorly. In connection with the importation of corn by Khrushchev to the territory of the USSR, huge areas are given for sowing this crop. Everywhere they talk about corn, and even the publication "Corn" appears, completely dedicated to it. The "queen of the fields" was sown on the territories that were previously given over for sowing grain. She gave a poor harvest, the lands were depleted, and by 1963 the country received lessgrains. This moment can be considered the starting point for increasing grain imports.
1970 to 1980 period
All this time, Brezhnev has always remained in power. Let's see what problems the population faced during the years of his reign. The queues in the stores of the USSR remained, only the types of food products that were in short supply underwent slight changes. In addition, imports of goods from abroad began, which affected supply and demand.
The following trend began to be traced: when traveling to large cities (Moscow, Leningrad, etc.), people always tried to buy some of the products, because in provincial cities far from the capitals, many available at all, and for several years. For example, people bought raw smoked sausage, sweets, red and black caviar, and even frozen meat (and no one was afraid of the prospect of taking it on a train for several days!). Then people began to purposefully come for products that were scarce in the regions.
What else is typical for queues in the USSR in 1970-1980? It was during the reign of Brezhnev that some goods, then others, regularly disappear from store shelves. People were worried about this situation and tried to buy for the future. Food items were available, food prices were low. Therefore, as soon as delivery happened, queues appeared and products were instantly swept off the shelves. And they could not replenish as quickly.
Time from 1980 to the collapse of the Soviet Union
In the USSR, queues forproducts were preserved after. But there is an event that stands out against the backdrop of everything that happened in those years (regarding the food shortage).
In 1985, the authorities declared a practically dry law, which provoked incredible queues for vodka in the USSR. It was an anti-alcohol campaign, during which it was decided to reduce the working hours of alcohol stores (for example, the grocery store closed at 10 o’clock, and the wine and vodka department in it at eight, and opened at 11) and vacations in one hand were not more than two bottles. The queue for vodka in the USSR (photo below) was usually many hours long.
The consequences were as follows: winemaking was completely destroyed (and still has not fully recovered), mortality increased sharply (due to the use of surrogates), the flow of funds to the treasury from the sale of alcohol decreased. The queue for vodka in the USSR was often aggressive in nature, people fought, were rude to each other and became even angrier when, after standing in this many hours of crush, they saw that the assortment did not exceed 2-3 items (and sometimes there was nothing left). It turned out a kind of humiliation of the national dignity of citizens.
No one has also canceled the food shortage of the following goods: meat, boiled sausage, natural instant coffee, condensed milk, stew, chocolates, fruits (imported: bananas, oranges, tangerines, etc.), etc.
Separately, I would like to touch on such topics asthe queue for an apartment in the USSR and the queue for cars.
Queue for cars
It has not been so long since the car became available to almost everyone. Now a family sometimes has several cars. And note that you can buy them in any salon and without a queue. In the USSR, a car was a luxury. It could even be a measure of encouragement from the Secretary General, if a brave and courageous citizen distinguished himself in some way. The war veteran had an advantage: once in his life he could buy a car out of the queue. Everyone else stood in a long line and waited…
The waiting period averaged 7-8 years. To stand in line for a car, it was necessary to meet certain conditions: a citizen must work at one of the enterprises and save money. The average price for cars (for example, GAZ-21) in 1970 was 5500-6000 rubles. With a salary of 100-150 rubles a month, there was an opportunity to save up over the years of waiting. The procedure for obtaining a car, however, was problematic and, one might say, humiliating. The queue sequence was:
- Multi-year queue and cash accumulation.
- Queue in a car shop to get a reference-invoice.
- Queue at a specialized savings bank.
- Queue in a car shop for a check for a car.
- Waiting at the warehouse for the next car transporter with cars.
The choice of color and other things were out of the question. It was a joy to receive the car after so many years of waiting.
The queue for housing in the USSR
If not everyone, thenmany who did not live during the Soviet era have a clear mindset that "in the USSR, housing was distributed to everyone for free." In fact, there were 4 ways to get housing:
- Get an apartment from the state.
- Build your own house.
- Buy an apartment with the co-op.
- Get housing at the place of registration from parents.
This was the case with cooperatives. A housing cooperative was created. He had the right to receive a loan from the state or an enterprise (if he was created at an enterprise or organization). The house was built with this money. Further, everything is simple: you want a cooperative apartment, pay an entrance fee and make monthly payments. From the members of the cooperative, a queue was formed to receive an apartment. When the construction was completed and all the apartments were distributed among the waiting list, a loan payment was set for each member of the cooperative in order to pay off the debt to the lender.
There was also the option to build your own housing. This was especially true in the 50s. It was difficult with the housing stock in the post-war period, most of the buildings were destroyed. It was not possible to quickly return mass housing construction, and the state began to lease land for individual construction. It was a simple and quick procedure. Within the city, it was possible to get 4-6 acres, in villages and towns - up to 15 acres. Construction was carried out strictly according to the project. When the project was approved, an interest-free loan was issued (up to 70% of the required amount). It was to be repaid in the next 10-15 years.
It was possible to get housing from the state departmentally - from an enterprise or at the place of residence (in turn in the district executive committee). To register, it was necessary to follow a certain procedure: first, collect all the necessary certificates (family composition, currently available housing), take a reference from the place of work and submit all these documents to the housing commission of the executive committee or enterprise. If a person received approval, then in the case of departmental housing, he was assigned a number and a place in the queue; in the case of the city queue, the documents were sent to the executive committee. They could refuse if, according to estimates, the number of already available square meters per person exceeded the norm. Depending on the location of the apartment received, the terms varied greatly. On the periphery, it was possible to get an apartment in a period from several days to a couple of years, if it came to large cities, it could take decades.
It was not difficult for workers of new factories, only rebuilt enterprises to get housing, but it was problematic to change jobs. Thus, the USSR "attached" employees not only by registration, but also by housing.
