Authors

Discussion

This paper will examine the relationship between the Soviet state and its citizens in the post-Stalin era. It wishes to explore the changes that occurred in the way the state exercised control over the population at a time when the new collective leadership promoted the principles of legality and participation, in place of terror. Using court records from former Soviet archives, the presentation will demonstrate how ordinary citizens reacted to the newly defined relations with the state and how this influenced their ability to defend their interests and rights. Specifically, this study dwells on housing disputes that reached the USSR Supreme Court, thus turning the judiciary not only into an institute of conflict resolution, but also to an arena where a dialogue took place between the state and the people over social benefits, distribution of wealth and moral norms under communism.