Social Development

-How successful was the government in providing social security for the soviet people between 1917 and 1985 -To what extent did the role of women and the family change between 1917 and 1985? -How successful was the soviet government's attempts to improve the provision of education?

Full employment

• 1930 first country to achieve full urban employment (11.6million 1928 to 27million in 1937)

What was the impact on full employment on the workers?

• Divisions in the workplace by the old industrial workers and the new peasant recruits

• Working conditions poor, no attention from government

• Productivity low, 1927 soviet worker produced half of a british worker

• 1931, wage differences between skilled and unskilled workers were increased

• Gov used honours and medals to motivate the workforce

Housing

• Not enough housing

• 1917 Bolsheviks took housing from the rich and rented them to families of workers.

• Increase population in cities Moscow 2.2million 1929 to 4.1million 1936 demand for housing

• 1930s blocks built

  • all looked the same, promoted communism through communal kitchens.

What were the social benefits?

Trade unions provided social benefits.

• Workers given two weeks paid holiday, normally taken on cheap state resorts

• Sick pay and health care

What were the key features of social stability under developed socialism?

• Full employment

• Job security

• Improved material benefits

• The nomenklatura system

• The education system

• Youth groups

• Provision and range of social security benefits

• Housing

• Health care

• Living conditions in the country side

How does full employment promote a stable society?

• Government does achieve full employment, however people aren’t happy with their jobs

• Constitution of 1977 guaranteed all soviets full employment

• Increase in per capita consumption 3.8% annually in Khrushchev’s years

How does Job security promote a stable society?

• Difficult to dismiss someone who was bad at their job

• Moonlighting, where they do more work ‘unregistered’

• Turnover 30% per year- very high

• Working week was reduced in 1957 number of paid holidays was increased

How does Youth groups promote a stable society?

• Provided opportunities to mold the young intercomitted communists

• Important to be a part of to secure promotions or be apart of the party

  • Octoberists- 5 to 9

  • Pionneers- 10 to 14

  • Konsomol- up to 28

How does Housing promote a stable society?

• Government couldn’t keep up with the demand of housing, however they rapidly tried to build more apartments

How does Health care promote a stable society?

• 1950 to 1980 there was considerable growth in the provision of healthcare

• Availability of healthcare was not a problem however quality was

• Russia tradition of using sanatoria, a rest-home with medical facilities, 1978 2,000 sanatoria

• Best medical services available in Moscow, Leningrad other major cities

• 1988, some hospitals didn’t have heating or running water

How does Living conditions promote a stable society?

• incomes of collective farmers increased in 1966, introduced regular wages

• 1970s majority of the soviets were having benefits from the great soviet experiment

How does Nomenklatura system promote a stable society?

• Central committee of the communist party developed the nomenklatura system

• Promotions were the source of higher wages and greater privileges

• Worker needed an internal passport and dwelling permit for employment, easier to get if you were educated or a party activist

How does Social security promote a stable society?

• Between 1950 and 1980 state welfare spending increased

• Pensions, maternity benefits and housing received more attention

• 1956 pension scheme for the old, sick and disabled was expanded

• Pensions rose at a higher rate than wages during Brezhnev era 40 roubles a month in 1980

How does the education system promote a stable society?

• Wanted to instill socialist values from a young age

• Better educational qualification led to better jobs which led to better rewards

• Men and women were equal

Impact of the civil war on women 1918-21

• over 70,000 women fought in the Red Army

• Millions of women recruited into factories, but few held high rank

• Traditional attitudes that women were unsuitable for heavy manual labour and limitations of maternity leave

• The disruption of war and famine 1921-22 left women homeless, rise in prostitution

Changes to the status of Islamic women

• Women often veiled and denied an education

• Campaign against the veiling of women in 1927 met with the success of some islamic women had an increase in opportunities, and female brigade leaders and tractor drivers were celebrated through films and posters

• Women who refused to wear traditional dress were sometimes killed by family members as ‘honour killings’

What was the impact of collectivisation and industrialisation on women in the countryside?

• Collectivisation relied on female workers

• Women had the bulk of agriculture work

• Status of rural women improved in Khrushchev and Brezhnev years

what was the impact of collectivisation and industrialisation on women in the towns?

• economic hardships 1930s forced women to work for economic necessity

• 3million female workers in 1928 to over 13 million in 1940

• Women dominated light industry, also worked in male-roles like construction industry

• Towns women had better access to higher education (1929 20% reserve of higher education places for women)

• Wives of the soviet elite, more privileged group who were married to industrial managers or party officials

What happened in the provisional government of 1917?

• Gave women the right to vote.

• 1932 women made up 16% of Party membership

Who was Alexandra Kollontai?

• First woman to become a people’s commissar

When was the family code and what was it?

• 1918

• Made divorce easier, abortion made legal

• Divorce rates by mid 1920s Russia divorce rates were at the highest

When was the great retreat and what was it?

• 1936

• Raise the status of marriage

• Divorce made more expensive (4 to 50 roubles)

• Male homosexuality was illegal

• Abortion outlawed except if the mothers life was at risk

• Two year prison rates for fathers who didn’t pay towards their children

• Tax on single people

What were the social changes under Khrushchev?

• Double burden on women as they were expected to care for their family and work

• Increase respect for the elderly, housing, maternity arrangements, health care and childcare

• Abortion again legalised in 1955

What were the social changes under Brezhnev?

• New family code in 1968 as there was low growth rate and birth rate (1970 2.4 children drop from 2.9 in 1959)

• Housing improvements, still overcrowding

• Campaigns to reduce alcoholism as it contributed to deaths and abuse

• High divorce rates, 1 month notice before getting married, couldn’t divorce a pregnant woman

What was education like under Lunachevsky?

• Wanted free universal and compulsory education from children 7-17

• 1818 church schools taken over by the government

• Teachers poorly paid- taught 40+ children at the same time

How successful was Lunachevsky policy?

• Bit successful but didn’t have any resources due to the civil war- 1 pencil for 60 students

• High drop out rates

• 1926 average child went to school for 2.77 years

What was education like during the 1930s

• Goal was achieved in urban areas

• Number of children in education increased from 14 million in 1929 to 20 million in 1931

How successful was education within the 1930s

• Successful as standards of teaching in rural areas increased because teachers were deported to isolated areas during the great terror

What was education like from 1934

• System of general academic schools that provided 4 years of primary-level education

• 3 years of ‘incomplete education’

• students could stay for a further 2 or 3 more years to complete ‘secondary education’ or transfer to a vocational programme

How successful was education from 1934?

• Was successful as it created basic schooling

• Better teacher student ratio

• students left to work

What was education like in the 1980s?

• Government turned general schools into specialist schools, including maths science and foreign languages

• High demand for admission, schools open for both boys and girls

How effective was the education in the 1980s

• High demand for admission many kids couldn’t get a place

• Decline in girls admission creating inequality

• Nepotism as parents bribed admissions to get their children in

Explain the obstacle of Money in education?

• Not enough money being directed into education, not enough resources, teachers not paid enough

• Schools closed down in winter as no heating, disruption in education and low attendance rates

• Underfunded school transportation

Explain the obstacle of Traditional attitudes in education?

• Hard to get rural children into school

• Farming ideals hard to break, children needed at harvest

Explain the obstacle of Actions by the government in education?

• Forced collectivisation of agriculture after 1928 removed many teachers from village schools

• Students told on unpopular teachers to the government- resulting in some schools having no teachers

Explain the obstacles of WWII in education?

• 82,000 schools destroyed

• Large number of teachers killed

Explain the obstacles of cultural influences in education?

• All students had to learn Russian

• Muslim areas, female teachers had very little respect, limited muslim women entering education

What is rafbak?

Schools set up after the Bolshevik revolution to teach basic literacy and numeracy to those who had dropped out of education.

What methods were used to increase literacy?

• remedial schools (rafbaki) for workers who didn’t have basic literacy skills

• All red guards had to attend literacy classes

• Literacy league to promote literacy

• More emphasis on women’s literacy

What was the increase in literacy levels?

• 1959 99% in urban 98% in countryside