Evening star., 1963-01-09
Beautiful Moscow Has Its Share
Of Urban Overcrowding Difficulties


Moscow, sometimes called "the
beautiful lady" by its natives,
is suffering from a bad case Of
urban overcrowding.
The problems include chronic
shortages of housing, office
space, stores and public serv-
ices, as we'll as a shortage Of
municipal transportation.
AS in the photographs Of the
Kremlin and other picturesque
Moscow sights which Soviet
authorities usually show to for
eigners, most of these prob
lens rarely come into an out
Sider'S view.
The Soviet regime is making
an effort to solve the major
problem the housing shortage.
Housing Gets Half
The city fathers have allo-
Gated ASS million rubles for
housing construction in their
1868 budget. This is about half
the total budget. (Soviet au-
thorities set the value Of the
ruble at Sill but there is no
free exchange on it,.
Soviet propaganda chiefs
deny vigorously that the i'm
pressive housing construction
rate in Moscow is a special ef-
fort to put up a showplace
front. However, Moscow, with
probably 612 million residents.
represents less than 3 per cent
of Soviet population. The capi-
tai is getting about 8 per cent
of total national appropriations
for housing construction.
. Moscow officials say 100000
Muscovites got new living quar-
ters last year. But Moscow has
grown at a rate of 100000 a
year for the last three years.
1t would. appear officials are
managing just to keep roofs
over the heads of the pop
ulation without substantially
improving the lot of the vast
majority who still live in sub
standard housing.
Size of Bathrooms
The officially prescribed san
itary living space form here is
9 square meters (96 square
feet per person. This is about
the size of many American
bathrooms.
Most Russians don't have
that. 1t is estimated that the
Moscow average is 6-7 square
meters.
In 1861 there was an average
of 2.72 persons to each room
in the Soviet Union. The 1860
average in America was 0.60.
In practice this means that
three, four, sometimes a half
dozen people are crowded into
one room. Young people fire.
quently cannot marry for lack
of a place to live.
Families Crowded
Most Soviet families have a
crowd of in-laws living with
them. A family rarely has a
private bath and Kitchen.
Sometimes a single large room
is divided among tenants who
live in cubicles separated by
curtains.
These conditions often are
cited to explain the throngs on
Moscow streets and at public
places, seeking respite from
their crowded lodgings.
City authorities have quad
rupled their planned expendi-
lures in 1868 for cooperative
housing. They are pinning g
hopes TO an effort to get citi-
zens to help finance new apart
mentS.
However, WeSterners here
find little difference between
some of the worst slums in the
West and the rundown log cab
in districts common to Moscow.
Office Space Limited
Office space in this admin
istrative nerve center Of the
Soviet Union has been peren-
NAL problem. A few institu-
tions, such as the Foreign Min
istry and Council of Ministers,
have skyscraper quarters. The
bulk of government offices are
crowded into ramshackle pre-
revolutionary buildings - usual
ly the confiscated mansions
and town houses of the Tsarist
aristocracy and middle class.
Public transportation is
groaning under the load Of
Moscow's constantly moving
population. Almost a billion
persons rode the efficient and
comfortable subways last year.
This represents only 40 per cent
of the total transient load-the
other go per cent rode anti
quated buses. trolley buses and