Culture and Society Flashcards
How had Marx described religion and what had Lenin done?
As ‘the opium of the people’ and claimed it was used to justify the power of the upper classes over the people
Lenin had allowed freedom of religious worship while destroying much of the ‘earthly’ power of the Russian Orthodox Church - church lands were seized, births, marriages, deaths and schools were secularised, priests persecuted and atheist propaganda circulated
What did Sergius (the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church promise in 1927?
He promised to stay out of politics in return for State recognition of the Orthodox Church
What happened to religion under Stalin?
It came under a more direct attack when religious schools were closed down and the teaching of religious creeds, forbidden
What were some of the other religious changes under Stalin?
Worship was restricted to ‘registered congregations’ only
Many churches were physically destroyed or deconsecrated
Between 1929 and 1940 the hold day of Sunday was abolished (workers were employed for six days a week with a sixth of workers having each day off)
When was there a brief relaxation of the anti-religious campaign and when was it renewed?
1935 but was vigorously renewed when the terror extended
What religious policy did Stalin implement in 1936?
His 1936 Constitution criminalised the publication or organisation of religious propaganda, although priests regained the right to vote (which they had lost in 1918)
What happened to many priests and what was the outcome?
Many were victims of the purges, accused of political involvement and large numbers went to the gulags in the 1930’s
Orthodox congregations survived nevertheless, with priests supported by voluntary donations
How did Soviet Muslims suffer?
Their property and institutions (land, school and mosques) were seized and their Sharia courts were abolished. This produced a split within the Islamic Church with the ‘New Mosque’ movement taking a pro-soviet line
What other policies were brought against Muslims?
Pilgrimages to Mecca were forbidden from 1935, the frequency of prayers, fasts and feasts reduced and the wearing of the veil forbidden (this led to backlash in some of the Central Asian Muslim communities where traditionalists murdered those who obeyed the Soviet injunctions
Many Muslim priests were imprisoned or executed
Who else did the anti-religious drive also extend to and what was the impact?
Jews - as Jewish schools and synagogues were closed down
There were attacks on Buddhist institutions and the Armenian and Georgian churches
In each case - while the power of the church was broken, faith remained strong
By 1941 how many churches had been closed down and what had they been converted into?
40,000 Christian churches and 25,000 Muslim mosques
Turned into schools, cinemas, clubs, warehouses, museums and grain stores
Was the regime successful in killing off religious belief and how do we know?
Despite the pressure on believers and the dangers of expressing ‘controversial views’ - in the 1937 census over 1/2 a million soviet citizens described themselves as religious believers (the real number would have been much higher)
Religious belief was possibly strengthened by attacks during the period of collectivisation and the purges
What had changed for women under Lenin?
Soviet propaganda had encouraged the new ‘liberation of women’
Sex discrimination was outlawed, divorce and abortions made easier, the family was regarded as a relic of bourgeoise society so women took jobs alongside men
What in the 1930’s led to Stalin reverting to more traditional policies and what was this change known as
The fall in population growth (not helped by the purges or living conditions on the collectives and in the overcrowded urban apartments)
Combines with disruption caused by family breakups and fears of war
Known as The ‘Great Retreat’
What was the Great Retreat?
A conscious rejection of the social experiments of the post-revolutionary period
What happened during the Great Retreat?
The ‘family’ became the focus on a new propaganda wave, in which Stalin was presented as a father figure and ideal ‘family man’ and divorce and abortion were attacked
The importance of marriage was re-emphasised, wedding rings were reintroduced and new-style wedding certificates were issued
In films and art women were portrayed in a new way (less the muscular plainly dressed woman who helped build Soviet Russia in the 1920’s and more the feminine family woman with adoring children
What was put forward in May 1936 and made law in June, following a decision of the CC?
A new ‘family code’
What was stated in the new family code?
Abortion became illegal (increasing birth rate in late 30’s)
Contraception was banned and only permitted on medical grounds
Divorce was made more difficult (large fees introduced and both parties had to attend proceedings)
Mothers with 6+ children got tax exemption and bonus payment for every child under 10 in the family
Child support payments by fathers were fixed at 60% of income (difficult to collect as men married several times)
What three final things were stated in the new family code?
Children who committed violent crimes were treated like adults from the age of 12
Adultery was criminalised (names of male offenders published in the press)
New decrees were to be enforced against prostitution and homosexuality (but, authorities regarded these as ‘capitalist vices’ and were reluctant to acknowledge their existence
What was the regime alarmed by , possibly encouraging the enforcement of the new family code?
Reports of large numbers of orphaned and abandoned children and a soaring juvenile crime rate
By the 1930’s there were several million orphans in the USSR and the NKVD placed them in state-run institutions but the decline of family life came to be considered a great social evil
What was the situation with women in the 1920’s?
The proportion of women in work was little diferent from the situation before the first world war
Russia had the highest divorce rate in Europe but also the highest marriage rate, despite housing shortages, which often compelled divorced couples to keep living together
A law in 1929 made the USSR the first European country to legalise abortion on demand, in an attempt to give women a freedom of choice
Despite the new emphasis on family life and encouragement for women to give up paid employment when they married what happened?
The numbers of women working in factories continued to increase and large numbers also worked on the collective farms, where status and conditions were poor
Despite the new family code what remained high?
Divorce rates (37% in Moscow in 1934) and there were over 150,000 abortions to every 57,000 live births
What happened through encouraging traditional marriage but what did it fail to increase?
In 1937 - 91% men and 82% of women in their thirties were married, the year 1929-40 saw a falling rate of population growth
What were the outcomes for women?
Single and divorced women were more likely than men to be left unemployed and not get compensation (women in this position often appeared on the fringes of society e.g. number of prostituted in cities rose)
Failure of women to get injustices overturned in the courts led to several strikes and protests but only the most committed women were prepared to give up time for things like party-organised meetings in the workplace
Female participation in high party politics actually declined in the 30’s
Was there an improvement for women in the 1930’s?
No significant improvement - Poorer women still expected to look after their children and homes even though they had the additional burden of contributing more to the full-time work force as part of the drive to construct socialism.
Women in the Asian Islamic Republics had even lower status
How was education initially viewed?
As crucial in building a socialist society. Free education was offered at all levels in co-educational schools in 1920’s
How did Stalin view the results of the educational experiments of the 1920’s and why?
As disastrous - an industrialising USSR needed a better-educated and skilled workforce.
The new education system was failing to produce the skilled workers, scientists and technicians the country needed
Due to Stalin’s view on education what did the CC do?
Implemented a significant change in policy in the 1930’s, introducing a more organised school structure and reverting to traditional methods of teaching and discipline
What was the school structure?
Centralised control of education was provided by Narkompros (the peoples commissar for education), which provided nursery schools for children at 3, infant school until 7 and secondary school until at least 15. Parents were expected to contribute towards the cost of secondary school. Many adult education institutions also established
What had happened to education in the 1920’s?
An emphasis on acquiring knowledge was despised. Ideology was more important and children were expected to do socially useful work. Traditional teachers were driven out and replaced by more committed communists. Students from a proletarian background were given priority on high educational courses, although some students were of poor quality and there was a high drop out rate. Exams were abandoned.
Under Stalin what did many schools become the responsibility of?
Collective farms or town enterprises , while the universities were also seen as agencies for delivering economic growth and put under the control of the economic planning agency (Veshenkha)
What was abandoned in 1935 to do with education?
The quota system, whereby a high proportion of working-class children were given places at secondary schools. Instead selection reappeared for all, including non-proletarians. This meant the able received a strong academic education
What was more emphasis put on?
Higher training of specialists who could help in the industrial drive, with courses in maths, science and technology.
For the less able, increasing amount of ‘practical’ work (linking to 5YPs) was encouraged
As the importance of duty and loyalty to the Party was fostered at all levels what did this mean?
Teachers were given a higher status and were increasingly likely to be Party members.
Despite teachers and lecturers increasingly becoming party members why did they still suffer?
They were closely watched and could be arrested if they failed to live up to the expected high standards.
They were encouraged to set high targets for themselves and their students under the Stakhonovite system, and if students failed to do well, they could be blamed and purged
What selective secondary schools like in the 30’s?
Had a rigid academic curriculum, formal teaching, report cards, tests and uniforms. Some were single sex. The core subjects were reading, writing and science with 30% of time devoted to Russian language and literature, 20% to maths and 15% to science an 10% to Soviet-style history. Nationalism was promoted and military training was incorporated in the years before war
