The space of the cities of the Caucasian Mineral Waters as an environment of everyday life of citizens in the 1920-1930s

Abstract

In the article, the authors examine the features of everyday life of urban residents of the Caucasian Mineral Waters in the 1920s - 1930s. Based on the materials of the State Archives of the Stavropol Territory and the State Archive of Modern History of the Stavropol Territory, the authors study the everyday services of cities, the formation of infrastructure, leisure environment, the supply process, public services, and the specifics of the social environment. Pyatigorsk was closest to the urban appearance, while Yessentuki, Zheleznovodsk and Kislovodsk had a semi-stanitsa appearance. In the 1920s, the improvement of cities was hampered by the lack of finances and overcoming the post-war devastation. At the same time, resort construction and the creation of a “health factory” for Soviet citizens were hastily underway, which affected urban everyday life. Sanatoriums were built and the resort environment was improved. The work for the first time covers the everyday life of children in the cities of the Caucasian Mineral Waters. Archival sources made it possible to turn to the working everyday life of adolescents, the topic of homelessness and issues of social security for children. The article studies the reformatting of the cultural space of resort towns. Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk developed especially actively in this regard in the 1920s and 1930s, where new cinemas, theaters, clubs were opened and where artists actively came on tour. Collectivization had a great influence on urban everyday life. The blurring of the border between the city and the village became a factor in the emergence of collective farms in the resort region. The article traces the development of urban trade, which began to have a relatively modern look only in the mid-1930s, which did not cancel the existence of collective farm markets.