Family life - Brezhnev

Question 1

stat about amount of children

Answer 1

dropped from 2.9 in 1959 to 2.4 in 1970 on average

Question 2

stat about alcoholism

Answer 2

by 1982 = average adult consumed 18L of spirits each year - double of 1970

Question 3

stat linking alcohol & deaths

Answer 3

early 1980s = alcohol contributed to 1/4 of all deaths

Question 4

what was introduced to reinforce traditional family values and when?

Answer 4

new family code 1968, especially concerning divorce

Question 5

birth rates

Answer 5

barely enough to sustain the existing population = higher in central Asian countries with strong Islamic influence

Question 6

when was birth incentives discussed?

Answer 6

at the 1981 party programme

Question 7

housing & family

Answer 7

shortage of adequate housing put strain on families - overcrowding in flats was still an issue

Question 8

what was done to try & lower alcohol consumption? why were they ineffective?

Answer 8

health campaigns which warned against continued alcohol use, but cheap vodka was always available

Question 9

divorce stat

Answer 9

remained common - over 1/3 of marriages ended in it

Question 10

issue of ww2 with families

Answer 10

many grew up fatherless in the 50s & this generation lacked role models when raising a family of their own

Question 11

what was done to try & decrease divorce rates?

Answer 11

• restrictions were made, making it costly & long-winded
• men couldn’t divorce during pregnancy & 1st year of the baby’s life

Question 12

what was done to combat marriages arranged in haste?

Answer 12

family code of 1968 = couples had to give 1 month notice before marriage, which could be extended if it was suspected that the marriage was to secure a residency permit