Why in Soviet apartments they began to separate the toilet and the bathroom – you will be surprised!

Brezhnevka is not a separate house, but several series of houses that were built in the USSR to solve the housing problem for about two decades, from the mid-60s to the 80s of the last century. As a rule, these are brick houses, in which housing is still quite convenient and profitable. A separate bathroom became its advantage – however, it was designed as such. What were the designers guided by when they “relocated” Soviet citizens to bathrooms separated by a partition?

At that time, there was no housing ownership – large companies and structures built houses in order to relocate their employees, often temporarily, for the duration of their work. And a common option was “community apartments 2.0” – when an apartment that was not in a hostel or a large apartment in the old fund was given to several owners. In some houses there are still such apartments, where each owner has his own room or a share of the common living space. Of course, a shared bathroom with this approach would be a constant source of conflict for the tenants (they already had enough to argue about).

The combined bathrooms of the Khrushchevs were not particularly spacious, and the use of the toilet for its intended purpose often worsened the condition of the bath and sink. So that hygiene procedures are not overshadowed by the administration of physiological needs and their consequences, we have decided to separate the sanitary facilities.

As a rule, families with children received apartments. Children are known to tend to be heterosexual. A separate bathroom helped maintain Soviet traditions of chastity – children and teenagers could (albeit embarrassed!) exercise their right to privacy and not arouse unnecessary interest from their siblings.

Photo: film frame