© 1997 by Design History Society
‘Ever More Cosy and Comfortable’: Stalinism and the Soviet Domestic Interior, 1928–1938
University of Dayton
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Abstract |
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This essay examines debates published in newspapers, magazines, and specialized journals between 1928 and 1938 about Soviet interior decoration and consumer culture. During this ten-year period, proffered models of the Soviet domestic space ranged from the vigilant asceticism of a bare, functional interior furnished with rationalized, mass-produced objects to the sanctioned indulgence of an interior crowded with luxurious, handmade goods selected by the discerning Soviet consumer. Despite radical shifts in the terms of the debate, several issues remained paramount: the sources of good taste and strategies for cultivating it; the power of the department store to educate taste; the ideological power that consumer objects could exert over possessors; and the responsibility of both men and women for shaping the interior, living in a ‘cultured’ manner, and encouraging others to do the same. In the end, the Soviet government's neglect of the economy's consumer sector meant that the goods with which Soviet interiors could be transformed were unavailable and all initiatives, no matter how much journalistic attention they attracted, could not succeed.