Propiska
Propiska are documents allowing for legal residence. They were the cornerstone of Soviet and Russian housing policy.
History
Propiska were used within the USSR to delineate the allowable use of housing, following the abolision of private property.
Propiska were issued to adults to indicate their allowed place of residence. Permanent propiska can be compared to ownership; temporary propiska was issued to e.g. students staying at a dorm while they attend a university. Large employers were required to build residences before hiring more employees. These residences would usually be assigned conditional to continued employment to the constructor.
Propiska were effectively a migration policy. In overpopulated urban centers, with no proposka, migrants would have few opportunities to work and many opportunities to be caught. A proposka in Moscow was a high social privilege. Women especially had few opportunities to obtain a propiska and advance socially beyond marriage.