Wiretaps
Wiretapping the homes and phones of creative intelligentsia and dissidents was an integral part of the totalitarian KGB’s control in the Soviet Union. This allowed the authorities to collect large amounts of compromising information on “ideologically unstable” writers, artists, human rights activists, and public figures, which was then used during interrogations, trials, and criminal cases. Wiretaps could be installed in apartment walls, ventilation shafts, household items, etc. Since writers in the Ukrainian SSR often lived in compact residences, such as the Slovo or Rolit writers houses in Kharkiv, this made the task easier for intelligence services.
The constant fear of being overheard made it dangerous to speak out and led to self-censorship even within the walls of their own homes. This forced many artists to meet for conversations in public places — in parks or on the street — where risks were lower, although surveillance was still possible.