Apartments were built in the 1970's and 1980's from concrete slabs, they were very basic. Anything more than that and you were considered a capitalist fit for deportation to Siberia.
It was common for an entire family to share the same
room. In 2 and 3 bedroom apartments the government
allocated each room to a couple, so people were made to live with complete strangers.
Wallpaper was used for the walls and Masonite boards nailed down as flooring. The hot water was heated in a boiler in the basement. It is then pumped throughout the
block in radiators as heating and for washing water.
Furnishings were often limited to a single choice.Everywhere we have been we have seen the
same lamp. A small bedside lamp made from plastic and metal with a small brass man on the side and 'Tallinn' written underneath.
These Soviet era products were mainly produced in Russia and are built to last that why so many are still around!
Don't forget that until mid 1980s you could have been sent to prison for reading the wrong books, like The Gulag Archipelago or the One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ;)
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