Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
Thanks for the explanation. I knew some of what you said - it's just hard to keep the terminology perfect Private property was too broad a term.

One thing occurred to me; what about inheritance in Soviet times? For example, if somebody lived in a nice flat or had a dacha or owned a nice car: could their children or other relatives inherit?

And what about in the 1990s when they started giving back land to the original owners in some parts of Eastern Europe? Did that happen at all in Russia?
First. Yes, there was inheritance in the USSR. In the early years of the Soviet power there was a limit on the cost of property that could be inherited. This limit was canceled in 1926. The rules of inheritance changed few times during the Soviet period, mainly towards widening of the rights of testators and their heirs, simplification of the procedure of inheritance. The last edition for the inheritance law was made in the 60s and this law was in act till 2002. You can read about the history of inheritance in the Soviet Union here 6.
Second. No, there was no such thing as giving back the properties of the pre-Soviet owners. There was a lot of talk about it but the state didn't do anything as far as I know.