Chapter 16 Flashcards
What did it mean with the official abolition of class titles and ranks in November 1917
Everyone would be a plain citizen, and party officials would be comrades
Who were the class enemies under Lenin and Stalin
Burzhui
What was the role of the Burzhui under Lenin
- Given menial tasks like sweeping roads
- Houses turned into Kommunalla - communal living space
Evidence of class warfare remaining under Lenin, despite contradicting Marxist ideology
- Proleteriat obtain most from rations
- Burzhui barely enough to survive
Evidence how class structure has changed for the burzhui from 1921
Even when factory managers re-introduced for NEP, social standing completely different
Values of the ideal ‘Soviet Man’
Prioritise the State over themselves and their families in work and in war
Brutallity of Lenin’s measures for the proleteriat
By 1921, workers failing to meet targets would be shot
Evidence to show Stalin’s harsh treatment of proleteriat
Workers arriving late would result in immediate dismissal and eviction from housing
Despite going against Marxist ideology, what did Stalin do to encourage greater work amongst the proleteriat
- Introduce wage differentials and bonuses
- Created a ‘diverse proleteriat’
What increased competition amongst workers under Stalin
Stakhanoivte Movement
How did living-conditions change under Lenin and Stalin
- Remained primitive in the countryside
- In towns, conditions became more cramped, with erratic water supplies
Summary as to change in class structure under Lenin and Stalin
An autocratic elitist society, instead of becoming a ‘classless socieity’, had been replaced by a new hierarch, that remained highly stratified, dominated by the party
What group of society experianced a transformation under Lenin
Women
How did Lenin significantly improve the lives of women
- In November 1917, divorce was made easier and less expensive
- Abortion legalised in 1920
- Girls given same education opportunities as boys
Evaluation of why despite Lenin’s reforms, lives of women remained poor under Lenin
- Still expected to work and look after their famalies
- For most, the double burden of work and home, made for a grim life with constant toil
Stalin’s policies to women
- Divorce attacked, with importance of marriage re-emphasised
- From 1936, large fees introduced to deter divorce
- Financial incentives to those with large famlies
- Contraception banned
Stalin’s use of propaganda for women
In films and art, women portrayed as less masculaine, and more feminine with a family and children
Evaluation of how effective Stalin’s and Lenin’s policies were to women
- 43% of industrial workforce were female by 1940, but on average, women earned 40% less than men, and didn’t hold many administrative positions
- Still 150 abortions for every 57 live births
How did education policies change under Lenin and Stalin
- Lenin established the Commisariat of Englightenment which provided free education at all levels
- Under Stalin, many schools became responsability of town or collective farm
- From 1921, the teaching of religion was forbidden in schools
- Universities put under Veshenka control as were seen as agencies for delivering economic growth
- If students performed poorly, the teachers were blamed and were purged
What did the academic curriculum look like under Stalin
- 30% Russian literature and language
- Military training in the years before the war
Literacy rates by 1941
94% in towns
Youth groups under Lenin
- RKSM founded in 1918 for those 14-21
- In 1926 was renamed Komsomoll and age range extended from 10-28
How did Stalin change youth groups
- Used them as a political tool
- Became directly affiliated with the party in 1939
To what extent was their opposition for youth groups
- Direct opposition was very rare
- Instead, those favouring Western culture - like jazz - were branded ‘hooligans’
