Housing co‐operatives in the Soviet Union

The chequered history of co‐operative housing in the USSR is traced from its early beginnings to the present day. The paper provides, as background, a description of the way in which co‐operatives are established and of their organisational structure. The reasons for their attraction to the central government and the population are examined, as are the institutional impediments to their expansion. Of particular interest is the financial gain to the central budget which co‐operatives bring in comparison with other types of accommodation. This last issue refers us to consider the broader framework within which co‐operatives have been set up. The essay suggests that they are best interpreted in the context not only of the other principal housing tenures, but also of the changing political economy in the Soviet Union. Housing co‐operatives, like co‐operatives in general, seem to be favoured in periods of liberalisation, which also coincide with periods of crisis in the political economic cycle. Their growth (or demise) tends to presage advances for either statist or market social forces.