Seller's experiences in the Soviet era

In this work, getting acquainted with the work of salespeople during the period of Soviet occupation, we seek to look at the life of the individual in a regime based on collectivism and to capture hitherto poorly discussed aspects of the deficit economy – control over the work of sellers and the desire to eliminate such informal practices as blatas or speculation. We interviewed five women who worked as cashiers, retailers, store supervisors etc. in various Lithuanian cities in 1950s-1980s; they provided us with original and valuable insights on the specific objective aspects of work (for example, how the term blatas appeared in the cashier’s work or what goods were considered a deficit). Moreover, our interviewees shared authentic subjective memories that raises more abstract and philosophical questions about the general attitude of the soviet system towards a person, interrelationships, work and thriving consumption.

See the result of the project here