Dull pain, totalitarianism, communism and shackled artists: fiction books

Hello! I'm quite new to these forums, to say the least — this is my first post, and it is by this means that I give any shape to my request.

I'm interested in totalitarianism and communism, but not in that extreme (although totalitarianism by itself stands out as extreme), excessively violent way, I'm not thinking about the practices of Schutzstaffel or the Moscow Trials, but rather about a subdued, and still extremely efficient nonetheless, dictatorship, about a system in which there no longer is a need for physical violence, as the population was inoculated with fear long ago, and now the doctrine is living on this synthetic fear.

I'm not trying to do any socio-political analysis, as it really is not my specialty, and I merely possess a superficial knowledge of the phenomenon; I'm not searching for a view upon the society as a whole living under such a law, instead for a society that is reflected on the individual. I think I could say I'm looking for a subjective novel. What really captivates me is the experience of pain, of torment, of a dull pain, precisely, so I really want to read about someone's life through such a way of government.

I could say I'm looking at the late 70s and 80s of Eastern Berlin, and perhaps of the entire Eastern Bloc, except maybe USSR, because there the situation was a tad more traditional. I think I may apply to synesthesia, as it's through it that I can explain best what I'm after. Now, as I've already mentioned, what I write doesn't have to reflect the reality, so my view could be more or less distorted. When Eastern Bloc occurs me, I automatically think of Plattenbauten and neighbourhoods with a lot of grey tones and concrete, with appartement blocks that look identical and are often beautified with poplars, with tall and grey and empty, devoid of leaves poplars. Also, I imagine a long, cold, but bearable, hallway, dimly lit, with shriveled oil paint on the walls and some concrete mosaic on the floor. Also, I imagine some young people staying on this hallway and smoking some poor quality cigarettes, contemplating their dull life that consists solely of routine. The light I think is very important, I'm fascinated by that hazy, yellow light that, quite paradoxically, while illuminating a space, also creates some sort of penumbra. And the smell, yes, the smell, the smell has to be one associated with the mechanical industry, with machines, with oil, and gas, and coffee, cheap coffee, preferably spilled over old, yellowed pages. Oh, and some typewriters, carefully registered typewriters so that not anyone can have one and write whatever he wants.

I want to read about that pressure which is permanent and ubiquitous, but that never kills anyone, instead merely weakens, without having any climax, the sort of pressure that slowly undermines everything and restrain creativity. A pressure that everyone is conscious of, but of which no-one speaks out of fear.
Any idea in which book could I find some of these characteristics?

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Dull pain, totalitarianism, communism and shackled artists: fiction books