Lines in the Soviet Union were the result of often-discussed problem of the shortage of consumer goods in the Soviet Union. Lines simply arose because if you wanted to get your hands on goods, you had to line up so you would be able to get it while it lasted, so to speak. The degree of and reason for shortage depended on the time period in the Soviet Union, but had a lot to do with the organization of the centrally planned economy that was much better at large industrial projects, for the most part, than organizing the production and distribution of consumer goods in a timely fashion.

As for luxury goods, like cars, waiting lists existed and there was often very little chance at all for the average person to get them. There were lots of considerations that went into who had the opportunity to get them, not the least of which was status within the party hierarchy. There is some overlap with the problem of general shortage here, including the fact that status played an important role in how easy it was to get things, but the question availability of luxury goods and every-day consumer goods are also not exactly the same thing. For example, location also played an important role. Living in Moscow generally afforded people much greater access to goods than living in a more provincial setting.