Housing rent dynamics and rent regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917)
研究了1880至1917年圣彼得堡的住房租金变化，利用5000多则租赁广告构建了首个战前市场租金指数，并分析了1915年租金管制政策对合规性、租期和工人负担能力的影响。
This article studies housing rents in St. Petersburg from 1880 to 1917, covering an eventful period of Russian and world history. Digitizing over 5000 rental advertisements, we construct a state-of-the-art index – the first pre-war and pre-Soviet market data index for any Russian city. In 1915, a rent control and tenant protection policy was introduced in response to soaring prices following the outbreak of WWI. We document official compliance, rising tenure duration, and strongly increased affordability for workers. While the immediate prelude to the October Revolution was indeed characterized by economic turmoil, rent affordability did not dominate.