Housing and gender policies in the Soviet Union

Abstract

The Soviet Union's chief economic advisor to Gorbachev has indicated that housing is the most significant social sphere in need of reform under 'perestroika'. This article reviews the Soviet Union's performance in housing and in the 'at home' domestic sector roles ofwomen. It shows dis continuties and reversals in policy roles, explaining them in terms of both pragmatic issues and socialist ideology. Focus is given to 'perestroika' reformist intentions, with some critical evaluation of the prospects. Over all, the article has a position theme revealing that housing has been eco nomically underallocated in the Soviet Union, largely because housing economics is misconceived in socialist political economy. We argue that housing should be viewed as 'production' rather than as 'consumption' and that this has significant implications for gender and for housing policy in socialism.