A level Soviet society and culture

The Stakhanovites

These were workers who exceeded their production targets

Stakhanovite movement

Stakhanov cut over 100 tonnes of coal in just 5 hours

-1935

-Hailed as a hero

-Used as propaganda to create a proletarian culture based on teamwork and sacrifice

-Movement seen as a way to compell managers to adopt new production methods to increase production

Ways in which Stakhanovites benefited from the 5 year plans

-Received superior accommodation and material benefits

-Stakhanov himself received a house at a holiday resort, bonuses and passes to the cinema

-Workers wanted to be Stakhanovites

-Stakhanovites felt valued (and value) in the work they did

'Recordmania'

-Two volumes of books of broken records by 1935

-Stakhanovism

-Similar to targetmania

Ways in which Stakhanovites suffered under the 5-year-plans

-Records of Stakhanovites being victimised/attacked by jealous colleagues

-Extremely difficult work

Role of managers under the five-year-plans

-Industrial plans placed under the sole control of managers/directors

-'One man management'

-Had the task of ensuring targets were met

Ways in which managers benefitted from the 5-year-plans

-Could receive a bonus of up to 40% of their income if they did better than expected

Ways in which managers suffered under the 5-year-plans

-Managers could be tried, imprisoned or executed if they did not meet targets

>Led to falsified figures

-If books were not balanced, they could be charged with 'wrecking'

-Had to pay for their own fuel, raw materials and labour

-Pressure from below and above

>Stakhanovites wanted better tools/keep status

>Workers might charge managers with wrecking out of frustration

-Too much effort from Stakhanovites could raise targets

>Success led to increased targets

-Competition between factories as less immigration to the city by late 1930s

Ways in which workers benefitted underthe 5-year-plans

-Initial enthusiasm due to propaganda pushes

-Training programmes (improved further in 2nd pans)

-Rewards for the best workers

-1935, rationing was phased out

-Real wages increased in the second 5-year-plan

-Potential to become Stakhanovites

When was rationing phased out (pre-WWII)

1935

When did real wages increase for workers?

Second Five-Year Plans

How did the workers suffer under the five year plans?

-7 day working week with long hours

-Cramped communal apartments with poor sanitation/water supply

-Strikes/trade unions controlled by the state

-Real wages in 1937 were still lower than they had been in 1928 despite the improvement under 2nd plans

-Social benefits cut due to war 1941

-Culture of fear

>Absenteeism made a crime

>Harsh measures brought in 1930-33 e.g. eviction

-Prison camp inmates were made to work in poor conditions e.g. Belomor canal

Belomor canal

-1931-33

-Built by gulag inmates in poor conditions

-700/day death rate

Ways in which women benefitted from the 5-year-plans

-10m women entered the workforce

-Women dominated some professions e.g. Medicine

>50-60% doctors were women

-40% workforce by 1935

-Technical training programmes for women introduced 1936

-Had a choice; they were not compelled

By 1935 what percentage of the workforce was women?

40%

What percentage of doctors were women under the 5-year-plans?

50-60%

How did women suffer under the 5 year plans?

-Suffered the same poor working conditions/lives as men

-Generally paid less than men (on average 40%)

-Harder to advance

-Sexism amongst managers

-Resistance to employ women

-In reality had to work to survive (no real choice)

-Only 20 factory directors in the entire country were women

What was Socialist Realism?

-Begun early 1930s

-Originated with Lenin's view that the arts should educate workers with the spirit of communism

-Declared by the Union of Writers in 1934 the 'definitive Soviet artistic method'

-Stalin liked realism because it could be easily understood by the masses and told a story; making it an effective method propaganda

-Seeing life as what it was becoming and ought to be rather than what it was

The impact of Socialist Realism in Art

-From early 1930s, Soviet paintings filled with tractors etc. and happy peasants with plenty of food

-'Industrial Worker and Collective Farm Girl' sculpted for the World's Fair 1937 to showcase the success of the system

-Artists given strict guidelines of subjects to paint

>Almost no paintings of domestic/family scenes

>If viewing from the art of the time, it would seem Soviet life was entirely made up of collectives, party meetings or industrial work

-Museum directors received bonuses if they exceeded targets for visitors

>Ensured more people exposed to message of Socialist Realism

>Targetmania

Example of targetmania in the Arts

-Museum directors received bonuses if they exceeded their targets for visitors

-This would ensure more people were exposed to the message of Socialist Realism

Impact of Socialist Realism on Music

-Symphonies had to be joyous, positive and in a major key

-Folk songs and dances that highlighted the 'happy life' were acceptable

-Stalin attended Shostakovich's Opera 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' and banned it

Which Opera by Shostakovich was banned by Stalin after he attended it?

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Impact of Socialist Realism on literature

-1932, Stalin decided the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers should be abolished and replaced by the more controlled Union of Soviet Workers

-Writers were sent by the state into kolkhozes and factories to write simple and direct books to reach the masses e.g. 'Cement'

-Serious writers such as Anna Akhmatova stopped writing altogether

>The 'Genre of Silence'

-Other serious writers e.g. Pasternak were persecuted

Which serious Soviet writer stopped writing altogether in the 1930s as a result of Socialist Realism's impact on literature?

Anna Akhmatova

Which serious writer (and book) was persecuted due to the impact of Socialist Realism on literature?

-Pasternak

-'Dr Zhivago' banned due to implicit criticism of the regime

'Cement'

-An example of Socialist Realism in literature

-Hero was an industrial worker

-Was revised in 1930 to fit with the new orthodoxy

Impact of socialist realism on cinema

-Stalin wanted more documentaries under First plans

-Scripts were censored even before publishing

-Despite being criticised by other artists for being too 'photographic', the realism of Brodsky was admired by Stalin

>He was promoted and made the Director of the All-Russian Academy of Arts

-Meyerhold produced a play based on a well-known Soviet book

>It was seen as not positive enough and criticised by Pravda

>This led to his arrest and execution

Example of Socialist Realism in cinema

-Brodsky's work was criticised by other artists for being too 'photographic', but was admired by Stalin for its realism

-He was promoted and made director of the All-Russian Academy of Arts

Which director was eventually executed due to the impact of Socialist Realism?

-Meyerhold

-Produced a play based on a well-known Soviet book

-It was perceived as not positive enough, and was criticised in Pravda

-His theatre was shut down by order of the Politburo

-He was arrested and executed during the purges

Origins of the Cult of Stalinw

-Stalin carrying on the legacy of Lenin/Marx

-Roughly 1933 begins in media/arts

-Original image as 'Grey Blur'

>Shy/quiet

>Linked with terrorism

-Socially disruptive nature of plans meant image of Stalin as calm, stoic leader was important

>Unifying role

-Initially about his humanity; later about being detached/superior- 'Demigod' like

-Strongest post-WWII

The Short Course

-1938

-A history of the Communist Party

-Gave Stalin a far more important role in the Revolution

-Portrayed Stalin as Lenin's closest friend and disciple

-Portrayed Trotsky as a bourgeois opportunist with little credit

>Other old Bolsheviks (especially Bukharin) were designated 'enemies of the people' and were dwarfed by Lenin and Stalin either way

-Photographs and paintings were doctored to support the new history

-Main history text for educational instutions across the USSR

-According to the Short Biography, Stalin himself authored it

By 1948, how many copies of the 1938 Short Course had been sold in the USSR?

34m

Russian reaction to the Cult of Stalin

-Stalin received adulation on a scale/intensity few leaders have ever known

Stalin was seen as:

-A Benefactor

>Particularly Stakhanovites and young intelligentsia had reason to be grateful to Stalin as they had acquired power and status

-Traditional defender of the people

>Like the Tsars

>Received letters from people asking for help against local party officials

>The officials were criticised but Stalin was praised

>This fit with his message that the Party was riddled with corruption but that he was on the side of the people

-Charismatic leader

>A demigod who possessed superhuman abilities and wisdom

>Icons and symbols of the vozhd in houses and processions- like saints and the Tsars

Vozhd

Leader, refers to Stalin

Successes of the Cult of Stalin

-Manufactured a mood of adoration/worship of Stalin

-Icons of Stalin in people's homes suggests it filled the void left by the Church

-Stalin could not be responsible for any problems

>Belief he cared about the people

>Because of his separational image, society blamed bureaucracy for problems instead of him

-Overall conformity

Failures/less successful elements of the Cult of Stalin

-Impact of fear due to Terror makes it hard to know what people actually felt

>Difficult to know if there were any genuine criticisms

-Older academics were wary

-The purges challenged the image of the 'all-loving' leader

Initial support of plans by workers

-Urban workers and youth were enthusiastic

-Thousands of young people volunteered to go and work on distant projects e.g. Magnitogorsk

-Workers believed they would be better off as NEP did not considerably benefit them

Profile of the workers in the first Five Year Plans

-Almost half the workers at the start of 1932 were under 24 and typically ex peasant, unskilled and illiterate

-By 1933 1/5 were exiled peasants

-Estimated between 1928-32, 3/4 were volunteers

>This showed how workers were enthusiastic under the first plans, different to the peasants

-Several hundred foreign engineers/specialists came to advise and direct work

-10m women

By 1933, what fraction of workers were exiled peasants?

1/5

What suggested that the workers were enthusiastic under the first 5 year plans?

-Between 1928-32, estimated 3/4 of workers in projects were volunteers

The 'quicksand society'

-First Five Year Plan

-Workers/peasants looking for work were able to move from factory to factory seeking the best terms of employment

-Wage differentials used to reward people who stayed put in one job

-Factory managers competed for skilled workers who were rare to find

In 1932, what percentage of workers were skilled?

Only 7%

-Most were untrained and poorly educated

-Under 1st plans, the large training programmes were rushed and had poor instruction

-Improved under 2nd plans

When were internal passports introduced?

1932

Social pros of Magnitogorsk

-Workers didn't mind hardship

>Sense of optimism

-Workers enhusiastic

-Largest blast furnace in the world

-Communal activities e.g. singing and games

-Those who hit targets were rewarded

Where was the largest blast furnace in the world?

Magnitogorsk

Construction of Magnitogorsk

1929-35

When did production begin at Magnitogorsk?

1935

Social cons of Magnitogorsk

-2 mile walk to blast furnace

-Scarce food and freezing cold

-Daily accidents

-Harsh punishments

-Machines were pushed beyond safe limits

-High pressure of targets

-Fear of the system

>Those who made mistakes were often accused of being 'Saboteurs'

>Fear of random arrests

>Foreigners eventually removed from the town

-Prisoners (often Kulaks) forced to live there separately

>Lived in tents

>Thousands died

The 'Great Retreat'

-Cultural/societal repression under Stalinism

-Reversion to traditional culture

-Debate

The Church in society under Lenin (and before Stalin)

-Marx described religion as the opioid of the masses

-Lenin allowed freedom of religion

-However, he destroyed much of the power of the ROC

>Church land was seized

-Lifestyle was secularised

>Birth, marriage, school

-League of Militant Godless formed 1925

When was the League of the Militant Godless formed?

1925

The Church in society under Stalin

-More direct attacks

-Uncompromising destruction of religious institutions

-Religious schools closed down

-Worship restricted to 'registered congregations'

-40,000 churches and 25,000 mosques closed down by 1941, leaving only 500 by the end of that year

-Sunday abolished as a holy day

-Stalin hoped that in the absence of religion, peasants would be more likely to join collectives

-Priests were victims of the purges

-Pilgrimages to Mecca forbidden 1935

How many churches and mosques had Stalin shut don by 1941?

40,000 churches, 25,000 mosques

Only 500 were left by the end of 1941

When were pilgrimages to Mecca forbidden?

1935

Was Stalin's destruction of the Church successful?

No:

-Religion still existed locally

-No real replacement for historical entrenchment of ROC

Extent of change of the role of the Church in society under Stalin v Lenin

Essentially, Stalin continued the early actions of Lenin, just to a much greater extent

-Could be argued Lenin was just being pragmatic whilst consolidating control

The 'winners' of social Stalinism

-Children (particularly elites/administrative class)

-Skilled workers e.g. Stakhanovites

-Long term collective farmers

>Economic independence and greater control over their lives after the purges

The 'losers' of social Stalinism

-Religious leaders

-Lower ability workers and poor children

>Limited in opportunity for mobility

-Middle-men

-Managers

Evidence suggesting there was a 'Great Retreat'

-Society becomes a tool for state needs

-Reduction of egalitarianism

>Return to heirarchy e.g. Stakhanovites, Party bureaucrats and cronyism

>Return to inequality/privilege

-Russification

>Russian became the sole language in schools

>Nationalism and racial heirarchy

-Renewed respect for intelligentsia over the proletariat

>Arguably instead of respect for socialism

>Workers still in propaganda though

>Original intelligentsia dead now just careerist

-Conservative social views

-Increased repression

>Fundamentally totalitarian- every aspect of life

-Decline in social mobility

Key phrase in an essay about a 'Great Retreat'

'A world of Contradictions'

Evidence against a 'Great Retreat'

-Russification more prominent during WWII, perhaps just for survival

-Hierarchy not new

>Stakhanovism

-Nationalism not new

>Stalin always supported socialism in one country

-Death of the ROC

>Marxist

>Death of theocracy

-Still communist economy

-Promotion of 'Socialist man/woman'

>Working class still promoted as the most important

Pros of Stalinism's impact on society

-Society structured to support economic development

>Increase in services, employment and education

-Traditional values gave clarity to the role of different groups in society

-Strong leadership reflects a return to Tsarist values- Russians are used to

Cons of Stalinism's impact on society

-Return to hierarchy/elitism

-Society becomes tool of state needs

-Conservative values over socialist values

-Day to day life was restricted

>Totalitarianism

-Decreasing social mobility

Before the revolution, what percentage of Russia was literate?

Only ~65%

By 1941, what percentage of townspeople and peasants were literate?

94% townspeople

86% peasants

Why were higher literacy rates useful to Stalin?

More literacy meant the public would more readily consume propaganda

The impact of Stalinism on education

-Under Lenin, free education was offered for all students

>Education was seen as crucial in raising a generation without any memory of capitalism

-Stalin argued that industrialisation needed better equipped and skilled workers and that the free school system was not working

-Under Stalin, fees were introduced to put a check on social mobility- this favoured the administrative class

-The old quota system had previously meant high proportion of working-class children were given places at secondary school was abandoned in 1935

>Previously were prioritised

-More emphasis on higher training and specialists

-Selection reappeared for non-proletarians too

>The able still received strong academic education

-Return to traditional methods of teaching e.g. re-introduced examinations, which Lenin had banned

Example of a 'Great Retreat' in education

-Stalin reverted back to using exams, which Lenin had banned

-Return to traditional training/education and discipline

-Free education abandoned

-Teaching technical/practical subjects

The centralisation of education under Stalinism

-Central Committee placed universities under the authority of Vesenkha

-Teachers were more likely to be party members from the 1930s, and had greater status

-This allowed duty and loyalty to the Party to be fostered at all levels of education

Targetmania example in schools under Stalinism

-Under the Stakhanovite system, teachers could be arrested if their students failed to meet the targets set

Komsomol

-Created for those aged 10-28 in 1926

-Their influence grew under Stalinism

-Became directly affliated with the Party in 1939

-Encouraged social work, sports and politics and discouraged drinking and religion

-Members took an oath to live, study and fight for the USSR

-Organised summer and winter camps

When was Komsomol created

1926

When was Komsomol directly affiliated with the Party?

1939

What did Members of Komsomol do?

-Took an oath to live, study and fight for the USSR

-Helped with Party campaigns and assisted the Red Army and police in return for educational & social advancement

-Members were favoured within the Soviet system

-Enthusiastic about industrialisation; several members helped build Magnitogorsk

What was the name of the youth newspaper established by members of Komsomol?

Komsolskaia Pravda

How many students were there in secondary school in 1927 vs 1939?

1927: 1.8m

1939: 6m

What did workers think of the Repression of managers under Stalinism?

They saw it as a way to advance themselves

Differences between the impact of Stalinism on the working class in Urban and Rural areas

-In the 1930s, life was far better in Urban areas

>Collectivisation/Requisitioning

>Stakhanovism

-However this changed 1941 when rationing was introduced

>Rural peasants were allowed to grow their own food

-Collective farms actually provided better social services e.g. health clinics and schools vs fees reintroduced for urban secondary schools 1934

-Urban workers continued to benefit from a higher social status than the peasantry

-Fear remained constant in the everyday lives of both rural and urban people

>Accusations of 'Kulak' or 'Wrecker' could come from anyone

When was wartime rationing introduced?

1941

Impact of Stalinism on the working class: The 'New Soviet Man'

-Soviet ideologues sought to create 'socialist' men and women who were 'collectivist in spirit and dedicated to state goals'

-In propaganda, usually urban men juxtaposed against 'backwards' peasants- who were often women

-Promoted through Komsomol and other state-run clubs

-New 'soviet identity' promoted Russification in the republics

>Russian became a compulsory subject

>Other languages were not banned but were frowned upon e.g. Uzbek language was no longer allowed to be written in Arabic script; it had to be Cyrillic

'Collectivist in spirit and dedicated to state goals'

-Soviet ideologues sought to create 'socialist' men and women who embodied this

-Stalinism impact on working class

Impact of Stalinism on the working class: The roles of the 'New Soviet Woman'

-Changed in line with the 'Great Retreat'

-In the early days of the Stakhanovite movement, female Stakhanovites were celebrated together with males

>Construction of 'Industrial Worker and Kolkhoz Woman' 1937

-Stalin's introduction of 'pronatalist' policies however changed the focus for the 'Soviet Woman' to be on their roles as wives and mothers

Pros of Stalinism's impact on the Working Class

-Working men generally benefitted from the reassertion of family-centred gender roles

-Skilled workers emerged from growing technical education

>Benefitted from skills shortage in late 1930s provided they conformed with harsh labour laws

-Full employment

'Dual Burden'

-Women had to work and run the home

-Present under Lenin but heightened under Stalinism's pressure

1936 Family Code

Reversed many of the more radical ideas of the Lenin and sought to return to traditional family values.

-Success as birth rate rose from 25 births to 31 per 1000 people and divorce rate fell

-Abortion became illegal

-Contraception banned

-Divorce made more difficult with large fees

-Criminalisation of adultery

-Child support payments and tax breaks for mothers with 6 of more children

-Limited women's personal freedoms

When were wage differentials for skilled and unskilled workers introduced?

1931

Cons of Stalinism's impact on the Working Class

-Women limited by the 'dual burden' of the 1936 Family Code

-Full employment was accompanied by a growing division between technical experts and ordinary labourers

-Most unskilled workers (many ex-peasant) had to work in poor conditions and had to move between jobs to avoid gaining a bad working record

-Trade unions controlled by party so workers had no say within the workplace

Following the Family Code 1936, abortion rates 1935 vs 1937

1935: nearly 2m

1937: only 570,000

The USSR became the first European country to legalise abortion in what year?

1920

What was the extent of the change of Women under Leninism v Stalinism?

-Dual burden present under both but heightened by pressure of Stalinism

-Divorce rate remained high

>Almost 40% in Moscow 1934

-Women no longer portrayed as tough, muscular workers in propaganda

>Now more traditionally feminine, with children

-Greater social control by the state under Stalin

What was the divorce rate in Moscow 1934?

Almost 40%

Pros of Stalinism's impact on Women

-Women who had over 6 children benefitted from child support and tax breaks

-Birth rates increased

-Marriage rates increased

In 1937, what percentage of men and women in their 30s were married?

90% men

82% Women

Cons of Stalinism's impact on Women

-Heightened 'Dual Burden'

>Had to balance work with family

-Little access to legal aid

-Greater social control by the state

>Lack of economic, social or bodily autonomy

What was the effect of collectivisation and rapid industrialisation alongside the purges on children?

-Social disruption led to huge rise in orphaned children

-Regime linked these children to 'hooliganism'

>As well as necessitating for the show trials, part of why children over 12 could be tried as adults was due to this

Central Planning/Planned economy

-Centralised decisions over what was produced, when and where

Gosplan

-State planning Commission

-Logistics

-Set targets

Role of the Party in the 5-year--plans

The Party controlled the economy at all levels

-Senior officials appointed/dismissed planners and senior managers for political rather than economic reasons

Who was the Commissariat for Heavy Industry under the 1st and 2nd plans who had direct lines to different factories?

1930-7

Sergei Ordzhonikidze

What happened to private industry under the Five Year Plans?

-Starved of supplies during the first plans so most collapsed

-Consumer goods became impossible to get

-Peasants had traditionally made clothes and tools for domestic market but they were swept away during collectivisation