The hazards of urban life in late Stalinist Russia
Subtitle: health, hygiene, and living standards, 1943-1953
By: Donald Filtzer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780521113731
Description: "This is the first detailed study of the standard of living of ordinary Russians following World War II. It examines urban living conditions under the Stalinist regime with a focus on the key issues of sanitation, access to safe water supplies, personal hygiene and anti-epidemic controls, diet and nutrition, and infant mortality. Comparing five key industrial regions, it shows that living conditions still lagged some fifty years behind Western European norms. Yet, despite this, the book reveals that the years preceding Stalin's death saw dramatic improvements in mortality rates thanks to the application of rigorous public health controls and Western medical innovations. While tracing these changes, the book also analyzes the impact that the absence of an adequate urban infrastructure had on peoples' daily lives and on the relationship between the Stalinist regime and the Russian people and, finally, how the Soviet experience compared to that of earlier industrializing societies"--Provided by publisher.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction; 1. The impossible task: keeping cities clean; 2. Water; 3. Personal hygiene and epidemic control; 4. Diet and nutrition: the 1947 food crisis and its aftermath; 5. Infant mortality; Conclusion.