Kommunalka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Kommunalka or communal apartment (Russian: коммуналка, коммунальная квартира) is a shared apartment in CIS countries. Two or more families share a bathroom and kitchen. The term has only historical relation to the notion of "commune".

The kommunalka was parodied in the 1939 American film Ninotchka.

For a detailed scholarly treatment of the subject visit http://kommunalka.colgate.edu Communal Living in Russia: A Virtual Museum of Soviet Everyday Life.