Are the toilet paper shortages a myth?

Hello comrades and Genossen,

I have recently heard of the so-called "toilet paper shortages of the USSR". It sounds quite weird, really. Someone said these shortages never happened and it was a myth because of a popular American movie in the Cold War (Moscow on the Hudson).

However, the time period is never mentioned when these shortages occurred (if they ever did). It could make a lot of sense if it was in the 1985-1991 period because most Americans think of this period when they think of the USSR.

So, were the "toilet paper shortages" a real thing, and if so, when did it occur?

Many thanks,

USSR

Soviet Union didn't even start producing toilet paper till the late 60s and it took some more years for it to enter widespread usage. People used newspapers instead. It was often among deficit goods ie. in shortage, so you could see scenes like this ( it's Poland here ). Probably got worse in the Perestroika time.

Thanks, I see.

Were the deficits of goods very bad in the late 1960s and early 1970s? This was according to my research the best period to live in the USSR, so I would like to know how life was then.

Were bread, milk, eggs and those kind of things generally always available in stores (and also in the late 1960s and early 1970s)?

USSR

Here's an article with some images and commentary that might help answer some of your questions.

A paper factory once burned down in the CSSR and created a toilet paper shortage in various parts of the CSSR.