Beryozka Stores: Paradoxes of Consumption in the Late USSR. 3rd ed.

Foreign currency transactions were considered a criminal offense in the USSR, the cult of Western goods among Soviet citizens was a constant target of criticism in the newspapers, and the existence of privileged supplies was officially denied. Nevertheless, state-run "Beryozka" stores, where certain groups of Soviet citizens could buy scarce imported goods for foreign currency and its substitutes (certificates and checks), successfully operated throughout the Soviet Union. Moreover, they became an important part of everyday life in the late Soviet Union. American jeans, Japanese tape recorders, and Italian boots were bought in "Beryozkas" not only by diplomats or artists going on tour, but also by Soviet workers providing "technical assistance" in Third World countries, dissidents receiving foreign currency transfers from abroad, and ordinary Soviet citizens who dared to buy foreign currency substitutes on the black market for rubles. The Beryozka stores were perceived in Soviet society as both a model of consumption and an example of social injustice. In Anna Ivanova's book, retail currency trade in the late USSR becomes the subject of historical research for the first time. The author examines the reasons for the emergence of Beryozka stores, describes the categories of Soviet citizens who had access to the "closed" currency stores, and the image of currency trade in the official discourse and among consumers. The book is based on documents from central and republican archives, materials from the Soviet press, memoirs, and personal interviews with both employees and users of the currency trading system.