The role of transportation in the daily life of residents of the suburbs of Petrograd/Leningrad in the 1920s and 1930s

At present, the topic of suburbanization is an integral part of discussions about the development potential of large cities. St. Petersburg, surrounded by a significant number of suburbs, each with its unique historical fate, is no exception in this regard. A comprehensive assessment of the issue requires attention to their past, particularly through an analysis of the daily lives of residents. Specifically, this includes aspects such as transportation infrastructure, the influence of which on the configuration of practices among the population of the suburbs of Petrograd / Leningrad in the 1920s and 1930s is the focus of this study. The originality of the findings is largely ensured by the use of a wide range of sources, including unpublished materials on the work of city councils and party organizations in the suburbs, periodicals, ego-documents, city council reports, and voters' mandates. The research extensively employed historical-anthropological methods, which allowed for the reconstruction of the worldview of suburban residents through an examination of their routine activities and daily lives. The methodological framework is also related to the socio-philosophical theory of practices, which posits that they constitute and reproduce identities or "reveal" fundamental ways of social existence. As a result, it was established that the modernization of suburban transport significantly increased the radius of mobility, and transportation accessibility had a crucial impact on the quality of life and the willingness to settle outside the city. For the suburban population, transportation was vital—for commuting to work, shopping for groceries and other goods, and addressing matters in urban bureaucratic institutions, among other reasons. However, numerous problems persisted throughout the period: a limited number of trains and poor travel conditions, inconvenient schedules, crime on public transport and in station areas, high ticket prices, and more. The development of pendulum migration heightened the significance and urgency of these transportation difficulties. Notably, the efforts to resolve these issues were primarily associated with the active development of suburbs as recreational areas for Leningrad workers and city guests to satisfy their demands, rather than those of the local population.