Housing сooperatives in Petrograd in the early 1920's: organization, structure and the “class line” of the city authorities

The article based on archival documents examines zhiltovarishchestvo (housing cooperative) as a form of self-government of the municipal dwellings in the early 1920s, with reference to Petrograd (Leningrad). Special attention is given to the organization of housing cooperatives and the order of formation of their boards. The author also considers the measures taken by Bolshevik and Soviet municipal authorities to ensure that the leading role on the boards should be played by the workers. It concludes that the administration of the municipal services of Petrograd (Leningrad) had to put up with the prevalence of “non-proletarian elements” on the boards of housing cooperatives because they, unlike the workers, had both experience in management and business activities and a will to manage house economy.