SOCIETY

Page 1

Need a literate workforce in order to develop the country

Technical engineers, physics, chemistry, maths

History - emphasize their imperial past - Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great - ignored role of Trotsky

Russian - Russification - truly united USSR

Complete control of curriculum - patriotism and appreciation of Communist party ideology - desire to work

Secondary education was encouraged and so was university - creating an elite group of people

Discipline in schools = discipline in work

10 million women entered the workforce under Stalin

50-60% teachers were women, and some were doctors

Vast majority = factory workers

Equality BUT less paid and less literate

Traditional family values - abortion and divorce rate decreased - increase in population

Communist ideology replaced religion - Stalin was god-like figure

Church accused of supporting the Kulaks - Kulaks were suspected of hoarding grain in the churches

Priests were humiliated and forced to leave the villages, many killed

1 in 40 churches were functioning by the end of the 1930s

Stalin set up the godless league to convince people that religion was useless

Young pioneers - komsomol

1927-1940 membership 2-10million

Indoctrination - Stalin's ideas

Living conditions

Working conditions

+

·

Free health service for all

·

Holidays with pay for many workers

·

Insurance against accidents

·

Divorce more difficult and abortion was a

criminal offence unless on medical grounds

·

Sport and exercise encouraged – trade unions

and collective farms provided clubs and sports

·

Paid according to ‘piece work’ – if you worked

hard you would earn more

·

No unemployment – unlike countries such as USA,

UK and Germany

·

Women were employed (1940 – 40% of workers

were women)

·

Education improved

-

·

Overcrowding as peasants moved to the city –

trams and buses crowded and often one family per room with 6% of households

having more than one room

·

Often one family per room, sharing the

bathroom and the kitchen

·

Rationing only stopped in 1934

·

Passports (internal) – restrictions on

movement

·

Workbook – recorded if late/badly behaved –

fined

·

Peasants who worked in urban areas took time

to adjust to the regulations of factory work

·

Gulags and slave labour

·

Wages dropped by 50% (1928-1933)

·

Working week was 7 days (no Sunday off as no

religion)

·

No trade unions to sort out improvements in

living/working conditions

Education

Women

Religion

Youth

Changes in urban society experienced in 1930s