The style “Stalin’s Empire” was not destined to develop. At the end of 1955, the USSR signed the Resolution “On Eliminating Excesses in Design and Construction.”
Thanks to this, Soviet furniture in the style of minimalism appeared on the stage. The next period in which the new direction of Soviet furniture design was forming was at the end of the 1950s and lasted until the late 1970s. It was also called the period of the “Khrushchev thaw”.
In 1957, the furniture industry of the USSR experienced its second birth by signing a decree on accelerating the pace of housing construction. His task was to provide apartments in the shortest possible time with as many people as possible.
Therefore, these apartments, known as “Khrushchev”, made very small, in contrast to the same spacious “steel”.
Accordingly, in such conditions, massive furniture 30-50-ies could not be in great demand.
This was another reason why at that time the designers of the USSR were completely struck in minimalism. And in the 60’s an integral part of what was called a good design was cheap …
A state, rigidly centralized structure was established, regulating the relationship of the person with the objects surrounding him.
In 1962, by the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 349 “On improving the quality of products of machine-building and consumer goods through the introduction of artistic design methods,” the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for Technical Aesthetics (VNIITE) was established with branches in the capitals of the Union republics and in large industrial areas.
In this institution, such sections of the science of design as rhythmics, modern color science, ergodysign, the economy of beauty, design programming, futurodisine and many others were developed.
The All-Union Design and Technological Institute of Furniture (VBKTIM), created in 1962, where the masters of furniture design of the 1960s and the early 1970s Yu.V. Sluchevsky, KK Blomerius, E. S. Bocharova worked on furniture design , E. Welbri and others.
However, the typical Soviet furniture that filled standard housing was simple, without superfluous decor, economically and constructively rational.
Excessive decoration and stylization slowed down mass production. And when people began to move from communal apartments to “Khrushchev”, in order to meet communism in 1980 in a separate apartment, the need arose for a private life.
Unified elements and parts, varnished fiberboard, particle board and plastic instead of wood – this is the price of progress in the furniture industry.
In the midst of its absolutely tasteless fruit, generations of Soviet people lived without even suspecting that in the world there are things created with love according to the laws of beauty, functionality and comfort.
Housing of the average constructor of communism was filled at that time by wardrobes, tables, tables, couches that had gotten from the “former regime”, or self-made (the furniture industry in the pre-war period was represented by several factories founded by “tsarism”).
NAME image of the apartment – “Khrushchev” was created in our museum. This was the furniture of the industrial standard.
But people began to buy furniture. Statistics show that in the 1950s demand for furniture increased. Compared with 1940, furniture sales increased 12 times in 1965!
Working furniture factories can not meet the demand for furniture.
Why did the demand for furniture grow?
First, the old furniture, corresponding to large pre-revolutionary scale, did not fit into new apartments. The antique cupboards, tables, cupboards in the literal sense did not enter the narrow doors of the “Khrushchev” apartments, they did not fit in small kitchens.
Secondly, other ancient objects of everyday life, which in size could be placed in new buildings, stylistically did not correspond to the new Soviet way of life. They were now considered as an element of “alien philistine way of life”. It was necessary to buy furniture produced by the USSR.
Home interiors, of course, left much to be desired: whitewashing on the walls, a poor color palette. But there were also positive moments: for example, many could afford the floors made of natural wood – now it is considered almost a luxury. Furniture, too, was wooden – at least until the advent of the era of chipboard and fiberboard.
In a word, the designers worked, but such furniture was sold exclusively in large cities.
In our regional city Lida integrated industrial complex (now a furniture factory) was opened in 1949!
In the funds of our museum the waybill (in a certain measure the document) from May 16, 1967, from which we learned about the assortment of the industrial complex, was miraculously preserved. Pay attention to the last two lines in the list of waybills)))))
Local residents in the new “Khrushchev” carried their belongings, calling it – the situation …
I doubt that the new settlers were thinking then that the interior of the apartment is a cast of the history of the family. Today, the objects stored in it are monuments of family history …
For illustration, materials from the funds of our museum, as well as those found on the Internet, were used. Request to INEQUAL to this topic residents of our city Lida: share photos from personal archives, which are made against the background of interiors of the 60’s. Scan and return with gratitude!
