Three types of apartments reign on the secondary housing market in most Russian cities: Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev. Those interested in the sale or purchase of these premises, it is important to clearly see the differences between them, as well as to know the key advantages and disadvantages of such apartments.
The main types of apartments
Before you find out how the "Brezhnevka" differs from the "Khrushchev" and "Stalin", we will analyze all the main types of apartments in Russia:
- Stalin's apartments. Dwellings in houses built during the reign of I.V. Stalin - in 1930-1940.
- "Khrushchev". Apartments in brick or panel houses, massively built in 1950-1960.
- Brezhnevka. Typical apartments in high-rise buildings erected in 1960-1980.
- Improved. Apartments of improved layout in the houses of the 1980s. They were distinguished by an increased area, a separate bathroom, a spacious kitchen and balconies (loggias); the house had a garbage chute, an elevator.
- Modern monolithic houses. Spacious apartments of free planning, with different heights of ceilings, with strong and durable walls.
- Apartments in modern panel and block houses.
To understand the difference between "Khrushchev" and "Brezhnevka" or "Stalin", we briefly describe each group of apartments.
"Stalin": space and high ceilings
Stalin's houses are in some ways also wonderful creations in the spirit of neoclassicism with a height of 2-5 floors. The main material for them was a brick (white, red), which at the stage of finishing was covered with plaster. An interesting point: in the pre-war "stalinkas" only the floor and first floor ceilings were concrete, and the interior floors were wooden. In the post-war houses, all the floors were made of reinforced concrete.
"Stalin" is mainly multi-room apartments (3-4 rooms), very rarely among them are one-, two-bedroom apartments. The rooms are distinguished by a good footage, spacious kitchens and hallways, rooms isolated from each other, in some cases balconies. But most of all, "Stalin" is valued for the height of the ceilings - 2.8-3.2 m.
"Khrushchev": small, but its own
Continuing to talk about how "Khrushchev" differs from "Brezhnevka", we will analyze the characteristics of the premises built on the board of Stalin's successor. The motto of the construction of residential buildings, which started in 1955 by the decree "On the development of housing construction in the Soviet Union", was the slogan: "Each family has a small, but their own housing!"
"Khrushchev" is a typical brick or panel houses of 3-5 floors, with low ceilings (2.5 m), without access amenities (elevator and toilet). Such buildings did not represent architectural value - they were built only to eliminate housing shortages. One and two bedroom apartments were distinguished by poor sound insulation, the presence of adjacent uninsulated rooms, a small combined bathroom.
Brezhnevka: improved skyscrapers
The difference between "Khrushchev" and "Brezhnevka", the photo eloquently shows: the houses of the era of Leonid Ilyich are already high-rises in 5-14 floors. All of them were built, changed, modernized according to one document - the Unified catalog of building parts. "Brezhnevka" and became largely the prototypes of modern comfortable new buildings. The layout of such apartments has improved significantly, garbage chutes and elevators have appeared in the entrances, and stairwells and platforms have become more spacious.
Inside the apartment of the Brezhnev era, you can already see a separate bathroom and toilet, waterproofing in the bathrooms, a large area of the rooms. However, all the same cramped kitchen, corridor and sanitary facilities remained. That, in fact, is all. Now you know the difference between "Khrushchev" and "Brezhnevka" in the layout.
Clear benefits
Like everything else, the apartments listed above have their pros and cons. In order to have a complete picture of the differences between the Khrushchev apartment and the Brezhnevka and Stalinka apartments, we will consider all their advantages:
- "Stalin": a good location (in most cities such apartments are located in the center), a spacious layout, high ceilings, excellent heat and sound insulation, large windows, isolated rooms, warm and dry brick houses, even walls and ceilings.
- Khrushchevki: affordability, location, if not in the center, then in an area with already quite developed infrastructure.
- "Brezhnevki": isolated rooms, a good location in the city, the presence of an elevator and a garbage chute, convenient layout, the relative "youth" of the building, in panel houses - perfectly flat walls and ceiling.
Important disadvantages
To fully understand the difference between "Khrushchev" from "Brezhnevka" and "Stalin", we will get acquainted with the repulsive characteristics of such apartments:
- "Stalin": the first floors are guaranteed to be free of loggias and balconies (not counting the initiative of the previous owners), unreliable floors, the high cost of the apartment itself and repairs in it, the tangible wear of both the building and its communications, the lack of modern infrastructure - an elevator, a garbage chute, underground parking, etc.
- "Khrushchev": a high degree of wear, the possibility of cracks and fungus on the walls, low ceilings (2.5 m), noticeably poor sound insulation, poor thermal insulation (hot in summer and cold in winter), adjacent or passage rooms, uncomfortable narrow corridors and staircases cages, small kitchens and rooms, a combined bathroom, the recommended life of the building is 25 years.
- "Brezhnevka": small kitchens, walls that require frequent repairs (leaks in the outer walls, open joints in the internal), there is no elevator in the 5-storey buildings, due to the batteries mounted in the wall it is cold in winter, due to the subsidence of concrete, the floor becomes noticeably uneven .
Thus, the "Stalin" - the most expensive, but also less popular. "Khrushchev" and "brezhnevka" quickly find a buyer, attracting their availability. Moreover, all varieties of secondary housing have a large list of both advantages and disadvantages.