She's In Russia

On this episode Lily tells Smith about the housing crisis in the Soviet Union and how Nikita Khrushchev sought to solve it, namely by building lots of prefabricated concrete apartment buildings all over the USSR, known collectively as Khrushchevki. The proposed demolition of many of these very buildings is the subject of an ongoing debate in Moscow today, with multiple generations of residents coming out to protest the destruction of their homes, and their impending relocation. We talk about what these rather humble constructions have come to represent over half a century, the concept (and reality) of privacy in a socialist society, standardized interior decorating, and how to get a coffin down a narrow stairwell. Balalaika by Alexei Arkhipovskiy Theme music is "Shit Happens" by Tierra Whack