Nadezhda N. Makarova

PhD in Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of World History

Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University

(Magnitogorsk, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-68-79

Abstract. The city of Magnitogorsk, in the Soviet era, was the location for the execution of an experiment known as the "New City" project. Consequently, in Magnitogorsk, innovative architectural solutions were implemented, a new socialist way of life was established, and a new type of individual was cultivated, whose everyday life was devoid of traditional values, religion, and, of course, inequality. The history of urban development in the Soviet Union has been extensively documented in historical studies; however, scholars have predominantly focused on the "big" issues of urban development, often overlooking certain interesting aspects. This is especially evident in the context of so-called elite housing. The latter in itself appeared to be an impossibility within the Soviet Union. This article, drawing upon a range of sources including office documentation, personal sources and periodicals, seeks to examine the process of establishing the elite village of “Beryozki” within the confines of Magnitogorsk. This village served as a residence for the city's leadership, the party, the metallurgical plant, as well as Soviet and foreign specialists. The study revealed that in Magnitogorsk, which arose practically “from scratch” and was presented by Soviet propaganda as a new city where Soviet people lived and worked, where there was no place for the vices of the past, there was elite housing, the receipt of which depended on the place in the hierarchy of power at the local level. The village constituted a selfcontained entity, characterised by its distinct social and everyday infrastructure, unique architectural solutions, and the distinctive everyday life of its inhabitants. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the subject of the everyday life of individual social groups, and also fills the gaps in the field of historical architectural research.
Keywords: History of everyday life, History of urban development, industrialization, Urals, Magnitogorsk, housing issue, urban development, elite housing.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Makarova, NN 2025, ‘Everyday Life in the Settlement of «Berezki» During the Period of Accelerated Industrialization’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 68–79, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-68-79 (in Russ.)

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