Issue 1 (90)
| NEW HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES: PRACTICES, ASSESSMENTS, JUDGMENTS OF SOVIET CITIZENS (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE 1950S DIARIES) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2026 | Number | 1 (90) |
| Pages | 44-54 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(47)“1950/1959“ | BBK | 63.3(2)63 |
| Authors | Klinova Marina A. |
Topic | SOVIET INDUSTRY: TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY |
| Summary | The article analyzes the 1950–1959 diary entries of Soviet citizens and aims at identifying the value judgments and reflections of citizens about new household appliances (refrigerators, televisions, vacuum cleaners, washing machines), as well as the practices of their use. The chronological dynamics of the severity of the topic in the diaries is outlined, and its causes are detected. The research was based on the diaries of 65 citizens of various professions (25 women and 40 men). Qualitative and qualitative-quantitative (content analysis) methods were applied to the diary entries, the results are visualized in two tables and three graphs. In total, 347 entries containing 374 mentions of household appliances were found in the diaries. Plots on the topic under study were more often found in the records of young people under the age of 30. In the chronological range, the theme was more pronounced in the entries of the second half of the 1950s, which was due to an increase in the production of household goods and an increase in the purchasing power of citizens. The spread of new household appliances in the USSR, a part of the urban standard of consumption of the 1950s, formed new practices of everyday life and leisure for citizens, reflected in the language and folklore of the period. The television enjoyed the greatest attention of the population, combining the practices of cultural recreation (both individual and collective) and the desire for technological progress. At the same time, this standard of material consumption was not available to the majority of the country’s population, especially in the first half of the 1950s. | ||
| Keywords | household appliances, diaries, USSR, 1950s, content analysis, standards of living | ||
| References |
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