Leningrad Household Manager During the Blockade: Area of Responsibslity and Image

Abstract

Introduction. The key figures in the communal services of Leningrad during the period of the city blockade were the household managers – upravkhozy. Their functions were determined by a special regulation adopted and approved by the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. Household managers were supposed to monitor the state of the household, including the housing stock, regulate the passport regime, carry out the correct and timely collection (and in some cases, accrual) of apartment and utility bills. With the help of the employees subordinate to them, they were obliged to carry out routine repairs of the housing stock. Methods and Materials. Using a set of documents deposited in the archives, as well as diaries and official decisions of the Leningrad leaders during the war, the authors highlight the emotional background of the blockaded city. Along with the solution of the food problem, an important task in the conditions of massive shelling and bombing was the preservation of the housing stock in a satisfactory condition. Analysis. Being subordinate to the district council executive committee, the household managers accumulated in their hands the funds and property of the household, they hired and fired a significant part of the workers, and had the right to impose disciplinary sanctions on them. In the emergency conditions of the blockade, they became the most important link between the party and Soviet leadership of their district and the tenants. Since there was often no effective control over the work of the household managers, they were able to decide at their own discretion, without the sanction of the housing department, on the distribution of vacated rooms and apartments that belonged to deceased and evacuated residents of Leningrad. Results. On the basis of a set of documents, including archival materials, the article examines the impact of Leningrad administrative farms on the daily life of Leningraders during the years of the blockade. It is concluded that the abuses of household managers were explained by their low wages, insufficient professional training to solve complex issues of public utilities and a low educational level. Authors’ contribution. O.A. Gavrilova identified historical sources, analyzed the official decrees issued by the leadership of Leningrad. M.V. Khodjakov analyzed archival materials and memoirs of blockade survivors, designed the text of the article. Key words: blockade of Leningrad, Great Patriotic War, housing policy, urban economy, household manager.