Life in communist Russia 1930's

Life in communist Russia 1930's

1. Moving into the cities

   • 1930-40: 19 million moved from the Kolkhoz to the city
     • Life in the farms was poverty
     • Overcrowding in cities

2. Religion

   • Communists believed that religion was a distraction from lives of misery- needed to be stopped
   • Many churches closed and priests deported
   • 1939: Only 1 in 40 churches was still working
   • 1939: Only 7 bishops active in whole of Soviet Union
   • Big churches in Moscow like the Christ the Saviour cathedral were blown up
   • Islam
     • Only 1 in 20 mosques still working by 1941
     • Leaders imprisoned
   • However, 1937: 57% of Russians still believed in God- high #

3. Education

   • 1930: All education made free + compulsory
   • 1939: Illiteracy rate gone down to 4% in males and 18% in females
   • 50,000 more schools 1927-33
   • Education geared towards five year plans
   • 70,000 libraries built

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