24 - Class, Women And Young People Flashcards
What did the Soviet regime encourage to create a classless society? What would families share?
Communal living
Kitchens and toilets
What life was often subjected to public scrutiny? Whose interests were seen as superior to individuals?
Private life
The community
What is a term used by the communists to describe the “class enemy”?
Burzhui
What did people try to hide behind as private life was slowly being abolished? Why?
A mask of conformity
To preserve their own identity
Why was the Communist Party so keen to unmask potential threats?
To subject them to the purges
What did the October Revolution intend to bring to Russia? What did workers take control of as a result of the revolution?
Greater equality
Factories and farms
What harsh discipline was introduced under War Communism?
Harsh labour discipline
What 2 reasons saw working conditions deteriorate under Stalin?
Seven-day work week
Longer hours
What was introduced in the 1930s to increase one’s productivity?
Bonuses and payments
What elite did the Stakhanovite movement produce? For what 2 reasons were they better off?
Labour elite
Higher wages and better housing
What conditions deteriorated in the countryside? Why?
Living conditions
Collectivisation
What 2 elements characterised the poor standards of urban living?
Overcrowding
Poor sanitising
What Revolution produced greater opportunities for women? What 2 things could they get assistance with?
Communist Revolution
Jobs and childcare
What marital process was made easier? What medical procedure was legalised under Lenin?
Divorce
Abortion
What did women begin to do in increasing numbers? What was provided to benefit childcare?
Work
Nurseries
What did women have to carry on doing while juggling a job? Which gender initiated most divorces?
Housework
Men
What did Stalin begin to extol in the early 1930s? Why?
Traditional family values
Falling birth rate
What did Soviet propaganda portray Stalin as to families? How were women portrayed?
A “father figure”
As mothers opposed to workers
What legal procedure was made more difficult under Stalin? What was offered to large families facing a divorce?
Divorce
Financial incentives
How much of the industrial workforce were women by 1940?
43%
What key element was seen as crucial to building a new socialist society? Who provided free schooling for all?
Education
Lenin
What training was provided from Lenin’s educational curriculum? How was this workforce described?
Vocational training
“Socially useful labour”
What key institutions played a role in indoctrinating socialism? Who were students told to inform the authorities on?
Universities and schools
Teachers/parents holding “anti-Soviet” views
Where in society were improvements made? How many people under the age of 50 were literate?
Education
90%
What was the name of the youth-wing to the Communist Party? When was it formed?
Komosomol
1918
What was the name of the junior-wing of the Communist Party? When was it established?
Pioneers
1922
What did the Pioneers take an oath to? What did they wear?
The Communist Party
A special uniform
Who did Komsomol encourage its young members to assist? What clubs did they set up? What work were they encouraged to participate in?
Police
Political clubs
Voluntary social work
What did Komsomol membership ease? What did it enhance?
Educational advancement
Job prospects
How many members did Komosomol have by 1940? What did some of its members controversially prefer?
10 million
Western culture
What does Historian Orlando Figes state about family decrees from the mid-1930s?
“They aimed to strengthen the Soviet family”
What does Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick mention about the purges of “class enemies”?
“Party officials replaced class enemies purged from central government”
