Housing and Ethnicity in Soviet Tartu

Research on residential and housing inequality in the cities under central planninghas a long tradition. However, previous studies have mostly focused on age and socialsegregation, while ethnic di.fferences have been poorly investigated. This researchclarifies the ethnic di.fferences in housing ownership and living conditions in Tartu,Estonia, in the Sovi et period. We use individual-level data from the 1989 census andmultivariate analysis. Our analysis shows that, first, non-Estonians had better accessta state housing than Estonians. The ethnic di.fferences decrease, but remain significantwhen controlling for compositional di.fferences. Second, it appears that Estonianshad more living space, while non-Estonians lived in more comfortable conditions.Di.fferences in housing ownership and population composition explain most afthe ethnic di.fferences in housing size, but the di.fferences in housingfacilities remain.We argue that both the state policy and the di.fferent traditions and values were responsiblefor the housing di.fferences between Estonians and non-Estonians in Tartuduring the Soviet period. The role af the pre-WWII legacy should be considered as well