Social developments

Lenin’s principles designed to transform work

1918 The declaration of the rights of toiling and exploited people

• abolished private ownership of land

• universal labour duty

These policies made employment more aligned with Marxist thinking, ensuring capitalists couldn’t earn money buy owning things and living of the labour of others

Judgment of employment 1917-53

Both tried to make economic systems which rewarded work and gave social benefits however this was held back by economic problems and party members received more substantial benefits than the rest of the population

Employment 1917-18

under state capitalism, extremely high unemployment due to economic chaos caused by the civil war

• following treaty of bresk litovsk war production stopped leading to higher unemployment

Compulsory employment under Lenin

Due to the high unemployment from September 1918 able bodied men between 16-50 lost the right to refuse employment workers were issued a work card which entitled them to food rations (unequal) and access to benefits such as public transport

• this reflected the Marxist principle of allocating resources according to the value of work

Inequality under Lenin’s compulsory employment

Party members were allowed to acquire scared goods and food in special shops set up by the government

Failures of compulsory work under Lenin

• Unsustainable in the conditions of the Civil war - by July 1920 factories were closing due to food shortages

• food scarcity- war communism never provided more than 50% of the food that people needed to live on, people turned to the black market

Unemployment under NEP

Unemployment reached 18% in 1924

• at the beginning of the NEP the government tried to rationalise Industry to make it profitable leading to job losses

• Funding for crèches was ended which meant women were more likely to be unemployed than men

Workers benefits during NEP

Most comprehensive social insurance in the world - 1922 labour law gave unions the right to negotiate binding agreements about pay and working conditions with employers

• however peasants were excluded from these due to the focus on the proletariat

Employment under Stalin

Rapid industrialisation led to full employment and city jobs allowed peasants to escape the poverty associated with collectivisation. However this did not equal high standard of living

Working conditions under Stalin

Harsh labour discipline including loosing the right to negotiate with factory managers and lateness was criminalised

• internal passports imposed in 1940 which stopped workers moving town to town without permission

Improved workers benefits across 5 year plans

• healthcare provision including mass vaccination campaigns dealing with diseases such as smallpox

• workers were entitled to food rations

peasants were not entitled to rations and food was much more scarce on farms than it was in city’s this was because resources were scarce as workers were a priority due to industrialisation

The link between work and social welfare under Stalin

Under the NEP benefits were available through trade unions or local Soviets but during the 1930s they were increasingly available through factories or collective farms re-emphasising the link between work and social welfare

Inequality under the 5 year plans in terms of employment

• peasants benefited much less, not entitled to rations and food was much scarcer on farms due to the government seizing farm production

• Soviet health care - ‘party first’ a city in Ukraine all party officials were vaccinated against Typhus yet there were 10,000 cases of malaria amount the working population in 1932

Health care following WW2

Health care improved significantly post 1940s

• infant mortality rate declined by 50%

however this did not lead to an improvement in the health of Soviet people

• planned economy struggled to produce consumer goods like soap, warm clothing leading to health problems

Redistribution of property under Lenin

1918 - working people in cities forcefully took property away from middle class and aristocrats, former owners were either killed forced out of their homes or allowed to retain a single room for themselves of families

Attempts to build housing under NEP

small attempts to build housing which reflected communist values such as the Zuev club built between 1927 and 29 however only 2 blocks were built making little impact on the lives of Soviet citizens

• meant to have communal kitchen, crèche and laundry reflecting the commitment to the liberation of women through sharing domestic duties

Houses under Stalin

Housing in cites was very scarce under Stalin and housing budget was kept to a minimum in order to fund industrialisation one way they addressed the housing problem was through Kommunalka

• entire families sharing a single room an average family was 5.5 square metres in 1930

• ‘Corner dwellers’ people who lived in corridors or communal kitchens within kommunalka buildings

Factory towns under Stalin

New buildings were constructed to support new factory towns like Magnitogorsk but factories were prioritised, they were even worse than the Kommunalka

• several families would occupy a barracks style dormitory and did not have running water or bathrooms

Housing during 1941-53

Worsened the housing situation, aprox 1/3 was damaged or destroyed and Stalin continued to prioritise industrial buildings over housing

• Crammed more people into smaller spaces by 1947 the average worker in a Kommunalka had four square metres of space

• scheme to encourage workers to build their own homes but materials were scarce and the process was too expensive proving to be unsuccessful

Health and welfare under Khrushchev

Soviet health care budget doubled in Khrushchevs first years, to 44B roubles and death rates and infant mortality rate fell

health and welfare under Khrushcev

Death rate fell from 9.7 to 7.3 in 1965 because Khrushchev believed a socialist society should provide welfare for all, this meant that he increased healthcare spending

Social benefit reforms in 1961

• free lunches in schools offices and factories

• Public transport

• Full pensions and healthcare rights for farmers

Led to a significant improvement in standard of living

Housing under Khrushchev

His housing policies reflected his commitment to improve standards of living

• Khrushchyovkas - despite being small, they were over 10x bigger than Stalins Kommunalka and allowed families to have multiple rooms - kitchens 2 bedrooms and bathroom

• K-7 apartment block could be constructed easily due to having concrete panels rather than brick by brick and low cost

What was the problem with Khrushchyovokas

Authority’s couldn’t check on the population through informatives in dorms which worried the authorities

The social contract

Social policy under Brezhnev continued in the same direction as Khrushchev however the justification changed, Khrushchev believed a high standard of living was required for a socialist society but Brezhnev promised a high standard of living and greater social benefits in return for obedience and conformity

Main parts of the social contract

• job security through full employment

• Low prices for essential goods

• 2nd economy free of government interference

• social benefits such as free healthcare

• some social mobility

Consequences of the social contract

During the late 1960s and 1970s Soviet’s experienced an unprecedented standard of living

• From 1970s subsidies expended to holidays

• opposition to the government was extremely rare

Problems with the social contract

led to stagnation - re emergence of old problems due to his unwillingness to take economic and social problems

• Full employment - hidden employment of 20%

• Female unemployment rising - women refused jobs in Central Asia and the Caucasus where employment was still centred on mining and heavy industry, this was because of gender stereotypes

• Alcoholism

Lenin’s view of education

Lenin believed education was an essential part to building socialism, this was because it requires education which means workers need to have a complex understanding of industry

Education under the civil war

Unified labour schools October 1918

• Free polytechnic education 8-17

• banning of religious instruction

Failure - free compulsory education up to the age of 16 wasn’t achieved until the 1950s

(Insufficient resources during the civil war)

Education under early years of the NEP

Initially education declined tremendously, schools were closed, fees for primary and secondary (except the poorest chrildren)

Education under late years of the NEP

as the economy stabilised, education expenditure expanded

• 1927 gees for primary schools were abolished

• By 1928 60% of society children were in primary school which was 10% more than prior to the revolution

However - very unequal and teachers did not support

• 25% of MC finished compared to 3% of WC 97% of children paid fees to attend

• locally funded so teachers tended to teach history of Russia particularly achievements of Tsar as opposed to class struggle (this was because they were trained before the revolution)

Literacy under the civil war

Lenin thought ending literacy was essential to building socialism

• 1919 decree of illiteracy required all 8-50 to learn how to read and write

• government printed 6.5M textbooks with simple rhymes and the alphabet (people could identify letters but not read) + insufficient resources by 1920 students had 1 pencil for every 60 students

• red army was 100% literate by 1925 this was because Trotsky shared Lenin’s view

Literacy under NEP

Government made plans to Liquidate illiteracy in 1925 by 1927

• Libraries and reading groups in factories to educate the workers - metal workers 96% literate in 1926

• educating peasants was much harder

Stalins war against illiteracy

16th party congress 1930

• cultural soldiers organised in cultural battalions attempted to educate workers and peasants

Initially - failure

• During collectivisation teachers were attacked as they were considered enemies

Later on - success

• by 1939 over 94% of Soviet citizens were literate

State control of the curriculum

Tight control over curriculum, reflected values and methods of Stalinist society

• 1931 decree over curriculum - core subjects to have a foundation level education needed to work in factories or farms

• emphasised discipline, hard work and traditional skills

Education expansion under Stalin

By 1932 95% of chrildren between 8-12 were enrolled in primary schools

• government was unwilling to spend money beyond necessary so secondary fees were still there

• communist party and trade unions offered scholarships and grants however the system favoured the children of part officials

Khrushchevs reorganisation of education

Reintroduced polytechnic education in 1956, reflects the need for workers with sophisticated skills for light industry (Stalin needed disciplined and literate)

• abolished fees for primary and secondary schools in 1956

• Grants for WC

Khrushchevs reforms attacking academic education

In 1958 Khrushchev introduced reforms pushing polytechnic education further, he argued academic education made students believed they were too good to work in factories or farms

1959 education law

• restructured for students 16-19 combination of education in schools and vocational training in factories or farms emphasised discipline

• New course ‘Fundamental political knowledge’ for all 15 year olds to ensure they knew the benefits of the Soviet system and the essentials of Marxism

Impact of Khrushchevs reforms

Very unpopular and a failure, most parents wanted children to get a academic education not a vocational one

• never fully implemented curriculum reforms were not implemented in half of schools

• Other leading communists labelled them ‘crackpot’ educational schemes

Brezhnev reforms to education

• ended vocational training for students 16-19

• the school statue of September 1970 required textbooks to update the latest scientific knowledge

university education 1953-88

Between 1953 and 1980 student numbers in higher education grew from 1.5M to 5M

• 1958 new courses to reflect the diverse needs of light industry eg: electronics and agricultural chemistry

• Brezhnev founded 18 universities in non Russian republics eg : Kazakhstan

How did women play a supporting role in Soviet propaganda under Stalin

‘Worker and the Kolkhoz woman’ depicts the man as a industrial worker whilst the female peasant represents the whole nation

• Industrial worker carries the revolution whilst peasants play a supporting role which shows that the government believes men play the primary role in society

Mocking of femininity in Soviet propaganda

Einsteins film October in 1928 mocked female soldiers who fought against the Bolsheviks in the October revolution, depicting political opponents as feminine whilst Bolsheviks are masculine and decisive

Women at war propaganda under Stalin

The motherland is calling during WW2 and the Cold War

• women as a symbol of the Russian nation

However it still presented woman as vulnerable and in need of male protection

• 1943 Pravada published explicit pictures of Tanya a women enslaved and tortured by German soldiers

Women in space Soviet propaganda

1963 Valentina Tereshkova became the first female cosmonaut and the first woman in space

• according the the head of the Soviet space programme she was nothing less than Yugi Gagarin in a skirt

Soviet women propaganda under Brezhnev

Falling birth rates caused a pronatal campaign which emphasised natural differences between men and women, stressing women’s natural ability to nurture and need for a strong man

• very traditional perspective of the status of women

Judgement of status of women in Soviet propaganda

Didn’t present a consistent view of women, rather it reflected shifting official policies regarding women’s roles and emancipation + reflects male dominated leadership of the Soviet Union

Women at work summary

Large part of the workforce under Stalin - led to the belief that sexual equality had been achieved. This doesn’t account for the are promotions, pay gaps, differences between women working in towns and countryside and finally the minor role in the government

Women working in towns under NEP

opportunities were limited this meant female prostitution increased sharply due to the legality

• estimated 39% of men used prostitutes indicating that it was a large market

Women working in towns under the five year plans

41% of workers in heavy industry were women due to the authorities recognising importance of women in industry and high demands for labour

• significant pay gaps - 60% of men’s wages

• working with women was bad luck

Women working in towns WW2

Large amount of women working in industry but were restricted to low skilled heavy labour and low skilled light industry such as textile production

Women working in towns under Brezhnev

BAM recruitment

Rail line across the Soviet Union, female workers from mid 20s were recruited to keep men company and gain ‘true liberation’ through work and establishing new homes

• emphasised traditional aspects of womanhood such as preserving their femininity by portraying their ‘delicate feminine features’

• Served the interests of men

Woman in the countryside summary

High proportion worked in agricultures 1920-40s performing a double burden

• collective farms high status eg: tractor drivers high wage

• however most women did unskilled jobs and had little wealth or social status

Women in the virgin lands

Recruited to perform traditional roles such as milkmaids, gardeners or to start families

• ‘join us, girls, in the virgin lands’ young girls around 25 to entice men to move to the virgin lands

Women’s treatment and pay on the virgin lands

• lowest and most demanding jobs - milkmaids and gardeners 15% of male tractor drivers

• sexual abuse and rape - managers tended to blame women and occasionally force rapists to marry their victims

Women on farms in the 1970s and 80s summary

Continued to work in low status and pay jobs, as industry expanded men worked in factories leaving women unrepresented in the lowest paid jobs

Women in army in WW2

Played a big part in the Soviet armed forces, by 1945 800,000 women had served in combat roles

• ‘night witches’ female flying regiments - very skilled

• Men continued to have roles in the military whereas women were demobilised (short lived)

Female party members under Stalin

During the civil war women tended to work in positions which reflected traditional stereotypes eg: commissariat of health

• no significant role in senior committees

Female party members under Stalin

Expected to play a homemaking role and be wives and mothers devoted to creating a well ordered communist home instead of employing Nannie’s

Female party members under Khrushchev

Slightly larger role in politics but still had positions which reflected traditional stereotypes of their caring role in society such as health or education

• increase in education or participation in the workforce did not lead to a rise in women in government

Families and women in 1920s

Kollontai believed the family was a oppressive organisation and wanted communal living and monogamous marriage

• ‘withering away of the family’ to truly liberate women

• Lenin criticised this but still recognised the abuses in traditional marriage so reformed divorce and marriage laws

Reforms to the traditional family in 1920s

Zhenotdel - advance women’s rights 1919

• education - co education

• Legal rights - 1919 legal right to equal pay, work and voting right

• Legalised abortion

• ‘Postcard divorce’

Results of the Zhenotdel

Meaningless or counter productive

• democracy was suspended in 1921 making equal voting rights pointless

• Postcard divorce was used to exploit women by divorcing them after they became pregnant - no income or home

Stalins policies to family

The great retreat 1936 - cut divorce rates and increase birth rates (caused by the liberal policies of the 1920s and also designed to create a stable society which could put all its time into industrialisation)

• male homosexuality was criminalised, sex between men was punishable by 5 years in a labour camp

• Divorce expensive and difficult to obtain - one weeks wages

• Abortion criminalised unless woman’s life was in danger

Stalins pronatalist campaign

Part of the great retreat in 1926

• financial incentives to have chrildren 5000 for 11 chrildren

• Media campaign exposing unfaithful men eg: Trud regularly carried stories about men who abandoned themselves to live lives of ‘wilderness, degeneracy and baseness’

Women and the family under Khrushchev

Women’s rights ⬆ but instead of liberating women he wanted to make their roles as wives and mothers easier

• the 7 year plan aimed to eliminate the double shift by making refrigerators widely available ending the need for daily shopping trips

• 6th year plan made a commitment to improve in everyway the lives and working conditions of women workers including the expansion of crèches and childcare facilities

How did Khrushchev address the problems facing women

Magazines including woman worker carried articles by woman describing their lives and exposing the inequalities that persisted in Soviet society - double shift

Why were Khrushchevs policies about women’s employment a failure

• crèches open late and close early so women still couldn’t work full days

• Some employers failed to recognise the new legal entitlements of maternity leave and pay

Women and family under Brezhnev

Continued to stress the centrality of family to Soviet life, much less was done to improve status (officially it had been achieved)

• lack of women in senior jobs (industry agriculture and government reflected women’s natural desire to focus on their families’

• By 1982 official figures indicate women spent twice as much time doing domestic work than men - Brezhnev applauded this