Brezhnevka

In Varketili district of Tbilisi, Georgia, the mainstay of the apartment buildings are brezhnevkas

A brezhnevka (Russian: брежневка) is a concrete apartment building that was built in the Soviet Union from 1964–1980 under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev, after whom the building type is named. The brezhnevka was preceded by the khrushchevka.

History

The brezhnevka originated from a desire for an update to the khrushchevka. As the needs of the population increased, so did the need to build higher-capacity housing. There are now about 40 versions of the brezhnevka.

Design

Exterior

Unlike the five-story khrushchevka that precedes it, the brezhnevka contains nine to seventeen stories. It is usually made of concrete panels, though some are made out of brick. The roof is flat and coated with bitumen. A drain is also installed on the roof.

Interior

The number of rooms in a brezhnevka apartment numbers from one to four. The height of the ceiling reaches 2.7 meters. Kitchens are 6.8 to 7.4 square meters. In the early version of the brezhnevka, the bathroom and toilet were combined. In later versions, the bathroom and toilet are separate rooms.

Other characteristics

Elevators are installed in the brezhnevka. Buildings with fourteen floors had freight elevators as well as passenger elevators. Trash chutes were also installed. The staircases are wider than those of earlier Soviet apartments.

Criticism

• The seams between the concrete panels are prone to separation.
• Poor insulation.
• Bathrooms are small.
• Low quality sound insulation.

Gallery

• 
  An example of a nine-storied brezhnevka, 1975.
• 
  Three tall brezhnevkas with a long brezhnevka in the distance, 1975.
• 
  Brezhnevkas in Nizhny Novgorod, 2008.