HSE Historian Examines the Soviet State’s Attempt to Manage Personal Happiness
In the 1970s–80s, the Soviet Union made an unexpected discovery: in a society built on collectivist ideals, loneliness had become a significant social problem. In his study, Mikhail Kulagin, a postgraduate researcher at the HSE Faculty of Humanities, shows that the state not only acknowledged this paradox but also attempted to solve it through special ‘social technologies’ —including dating clubs, newspaper personal advertisements, and even early computer matchmaking systems. The study was published in the social research journal Laboratorium.
9 February
2.5 years
is the average difference in age between men and women marrying for the first time in Russia.
12 March
2015