Why everyone in the USSR married quickly: reasons that will surprise today's youth

In the modern world, a stamp in a passport no longer matters as much as it used to, and a couple can live together without a formal marriage for as long as they want, even for life. In the terribly bureaucratized USSR, things were different: young people who started a relationship would rush to the registry office as soon as possible. Allegedly, in order to make their happiness, including becoming a real Soviet woman.

But was it just a tradition or did this trend have some other reasons? OBOZ.UA tried to understand the intricacies of the complicated Soviet life.

Public condemnation

The Soviet state itself interfered in the private lives of its citizens and encouraged both officials and ordinary people to do so. Therefore, a couple who lived in a de facto marriage and did not formalize their relationship could face a variety of problems. From banal neighborhood condemnation to difficulties at work.

Even the derogatory term "cohabitation" appeared in the legislation. It was applied to people living together without marriage. All this encouraged young people to create impressive marriage statistics for the state. At the same time, it was quite difficult to get a divorce in the USSR, and many families lived a rather unhappy life together after a hasty marriage, but could do nothing about it.

The housing issue

There was no private ownership of housing in the Soviet Union. Square meters were distributed among its citizens by the state, and the presence of a family was of great importance in making a decision. The more family members there were, the better the conditions. Single men and women rarely got anything better than a dorm room. But a married couple with children could even get a two-room or sometimes even a three-room apartment.

Therefore, young people, as soon as they realized that everything was more or less going well, were in a hurry to formalize their relationship. This allowed them to at least move out of their parents' house and live separately. After all, the parents' families often lived in great cramped conditions.

Stereotypes of society

In addition to banal condemnation, the USSR cultivated a suspicious attitude toward people over 30 who had not started a family or given birth to children. It was believed that this could indicate a person's tendency to immoral behavior, laziness, drunkenness, etc. And such characteristics, even if they were nothing more than social labels, could interfere with a person's employment and career.

The management's logic was as follows: if you haven't married, you're a bad man. And a bastard would not be a good employee - he would not be able to cope with his duties and would disrupt the company's plan. That's why unmarried people were hired only for some low-responsibility positions with low pay. To make a career, people had to start a family, albeit a fictitious one.

Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.