In 1934, no permanent housing was constructed in the new Orsk area. All the builders of the industrial giants lived in barracks, whilst the young lived in hostels. In 1936, the average housing supply in Orsk was 3.12 m2 per person. The barracks were regarded as provisional accommodation for the builders, originally planned to be used for several years. However, many of the barracks from the 1930’s stood in Orsk for several decades.
This picture was taken by photographer Vasiliy Pelagein, presumably to report on the construction of the industrial facilities in Orsk and the life of their builders. Therefore, the picture most likely shows an exemplary barracks room occupied by the worker’s family. The city’s new residents, the majority of whom were former peasants, maintained their traditions in both their way of life (with a commitment to preserve subsistence farming and to keeping animals), and in their culture. Elements of their traditional way of life are visible in the furnishings. The room’s furnishing is far from frugal; along one wall there is an iron bed, behind which an artisanal lint-free rug hanging on the wall. The headboard is covered with a special embroidered curtain. The bed is covered with a quilt. Near the other wall there is a trestle bed (a bed made of planks on trestles), covered by a thin blanket. There are four pillows at the head of the trestle bed, suggesting a certain prosperity. The residents are eating out of enamel and earthenware dishes, also suggesting a certain level of success.
A technical poster decorates the wall, with the title ‘Mechanical Bending of Steel Framework’. The poster hasn’t been hung for studying, but as a decoration, in order to cover an otherwise blank wall. The residents have pinned up three unframed photographs under the poster. Only one of them (the one on the right) is of the family. The other two show the leaders of the Party and State. On the right is a photograph of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, who was named the all-soviet chairman from the second half of the 1930’s. The higher picture is from 1932, and depicts the following participants of the 16th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Kliment Voroshilov (People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the USSR - called the Minister of Defense today), Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, head of the party), Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR from the RSFSR, in other words, the head of the government).
This picture was taken by photographer Vasiliy Pelagein, presumably to report on the construction of the industrial facilities in Orsk and the life of their builders. Therefore, the picture most likely shows an exemplary barracks room occupied by the worker’s family. The city’s new residents, the majority of whom were former peasants, maintained their traditions in both their way of life (with a commitment to preserve subsistence farming and to keeping animals), and in their culture. Elements of their traditional way of life are visible in the furnishings. The room’s furnishing is far from frugal; along one wall there is an iron bed, behind which an artisanal lint-free rug hanging on the wall. The headboard is covered with a special embroidered curtain. The bed is covered with a quilt. Near the other wall there is a trestle bed (a bed made of planks on trestles), covered by a thin blanket. There are four pillows at the head of the trestle bed, suggesting a certain prosperity. The residents are eating out of enamel and earthenware dishes, also suggesting a certain level of success.
A technical poster decorates the wall, with the title ‘Mechanical Bending of Steel Framework’. The poster hasn’t been hung for studying, but as a decoration, in order to cover an otherwise blank wall. The residents have pinned up three unframed photographs under the poster. Only one of them (the one on the right) is of the family. The other two show the leaders of the Party and State. On the right is a photograph of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, who was named the all-soviet chairman from the second half of the 1930’s. The higher picture is from 1932, and depicts the following participants of the 16th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Kliment Voroshilov (People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the USSR - called the Minister of Defense today), Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, head of the party), Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR from the RSFSR, in other words, the head of the government).
