Education and Young People

Question 1

What percentage of the Russian population was literate in 1917?

Answer 1

1917 = 32% of the population could read and write

Question 2

Lenin -

How did Lenin aim to reduce illiteracy during War Communism?

Answer 2

1. Trotsky introduced literacy classes throughout the Red Army.
2. Lunacharsky set up a network of Reading Rooms across Russia that offered 6 week intensive courses in reading and writing.

Question 3

Lenin -

How successful was Lenin at reducing illiteracy during War Communism?

Answer 3

Successful in the army

• by 1918, 50% of soldiers were literate
• by 1925, 100% of soldiers were literate

Outside the army it was a failure, as learning to read was not a priority during the civil war.

Question 4

Lenin-

How did Lenin/Stalin aim to reduce illiteracy during the NEP?

Answer 4

• communists worked with trade unions to establish libraries and run literacy classes

Question 5

Lenin -

How successful was Lenin/Stalin at reducing illiteracy during the NEP ?

Answer 5

• overall literacy rates improved from
  1914 = 38%
  1928 = 55%
• the Metal Worker’s Union had 96% literacy rate by 1926

but rural areas/peasants still lagged behind

Question 6

What target did Stalin set regarding illiteracy in 1930?

Answer 6

In 1930, the Communist Party set the target of eliminating illiteracy by the end of the First 5YP.

Question 7

Was the Communist Party successful in it’s aim to eliminate illiteracy by the end of the First 5YP?

Answer 7

No - because ‘cultural soldiers’ were sent to rural areas during collectivisation. Teachers were associated with the government, and therefore 40% of teachers were attacked in the first year of the campaign.

HOWEVER = by 1939, over 94% of Soviet citizens were literate

Question 8

Which groups existed for young people?

Answer 8

1. The Young Pioneers (age 10-15)

2. The Komsomol (16-28)

Question 9

When was the Young Pioneers established?

Answer 9

1922

Question 10

When was the Komsomol established?

Answer 10

1918

Question 11

Summarise Youth Groups in the 1920s

Answer 11

• wore uniforms
• activities such as camping and hiking
• meant to be well disciplined, but had a reputation for hooliganism and promiscuity

Question 12

Summarise Youth Groups under Stalin

Answer 12

• expected to spy on their parents and report any criminal behaviour to the police
• encouraged to be hard working and obedient and help build socialism

Question 13

Summarise Youth Groups under Khrushchev

Answer 13

• had a lot of faith in youth organisations

- keen to involve Komsomol members in initiatives such as holding factory managers to account

Question 14

Summarise Youth Groups under Brezhnev

Answer 14

• Brezhnev = suspicious of youth groups as thought them to be ambitious
• aimed to keep young people disciplined, hard working and respectful of the government

Question 15

Describe schooling during the civil war.

Answer 15

• winning war was more important than education
• many schools turned into stores/ barracks
• some areas, education ceased completely

Question 16

Describe schooling under the NEP

Answer 16

• schooling expanded
• Primary School = fees abolished and most citizens received a 4 yr primary education. around 60% completed primary school.
• Secondary School = largely unreformed and received limited central funding, so only wealthy families went

Question 17

When were schools for primary schools abolished

Answer 17

1927

Question 18

Summarise education under Stalin

Answer 18

1. Expansion in education and improvement of literacy rates (primary, secondary and university)
2. Government established tight control over the curriculum

Question 19

Describe the educational curriculum under Stalin.

Answer 19

Aim = create a generation of disciplined and patriotic workforce

• core subjects prioritised (reading, writing, maths,science)
• history of ‘great men’ and national heroes (e.g Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great)
• strictly regimented discipline

Question 20

Give a statistic showing Stalin’s expansion of primary education.

Answer 20

almost 100% of 8-12 year olds gained the full 4 years of primary education

Question 21

Give a statistic showing Stalin’s expansion of secondary education

Answer 21

• around 65% of 12-17 year olds gained some secondary education
• around 20% of 12-17 year olds completed secondary education

Question 22

Give a statistic showing Stalin’s expansion of university under Stalin.

Answer 22

1927 = 170,000 students
1953 = 1.5 million

Question 23

Name 3 educational inequalities/ problems under Stalin/

Answer 23

• despite Trade Unions offering many scholarships, fees in education were maintained in order to keep costs down
• children of party officials favoured

Question 24

Give 3 ways in which Khrushchev tried to increase the quality of education

Answer 24

1. merged all country schools to improve standards in rural areas
2. invested in teacher training and recruitment
3. reducing class sizes

Question 25

Give 2 examples of how Khrushchev changed the nature of education.

Answer 25

1. shifted the balance of the curriculum away from the traditional subjects towards vocational training
2. replaced exams with continuous assessment

Question 26

Give 2 ways in which Khrushchev improved access to education

Answer 26

1. 1956 abolished fees for secondary schools

2. doubled the number of schools in towns and cities

Question 27

Describe Brezhenv’s attitude to education

Answer 27

• more traditional curriculum was re-instated, same mix of subjects studied as in 1947
• vocational training of 16-19 year olds was in factories and farms were ended
• textbooks updated to reflect soviet acheivements/new technology/ atheist views