Khrushchevka

Khrushchevkas (Russian: хрущёвка, romanized: khrushchyovka, IPA: [xrʊˈɕːɵfkə]) are a type of low-cost, concrete-paneled or brick three- to five-storied apartment buildings (and apartments in these buildings) which were designed and constructed in the Soviet Union from the early 1960s onwards, when their namesake, Nikita Khrushchev, was leader of the Soviet Union. With the beginning of the construction of "Khrushchyovkas", Soviet housing development became predominantly industrial. Compared to "Stalinkas", which were usually built from brick, Khrushchyovkas had smaller apartments, and their functionalist-style architecture was extremely simple. However, the first-generation buildings surpassed the typical two-story wooden apartment buildings of the Stalin era in many ways and significantly alleviated the acute housing shortage. These buildings were constructed from 1956 to the mid-1970s. An updated high-rise version, the brezhnevka, began to replace Khrushchyovkas, but both remain among the most widespread types of housing in the former Soviet Union and a symbol of the "Khrushchev Thaw" era. The Brezhnevkas were built in the 1970s and 1980s and included many upgrades including larger apartments (particularly, larger kitchens), elevators, and garbage disposals.