Leninist/Stalinist Society Flashcards
What does Marxism teach about class struggles?
Society will evolve through class struggles
What name was given to the Bolshevik ‘class enemies?’
Burzhui
When was the official abolition of the ‘class hierarchy?’
November 1917
What did the abolition of the ‘class hierarchy’ mean for society?
official titles and privileges were removed.
How were the former bourgeoisie affected by the removal of class hierarchy?
They could no longer work, they were made to do tasks such as cleaning streets and their homes were requisitioned and turned into a communal living space for workers.
What was a Komunalki?
A communal living space for the working class.
How did the NEP affect the Buzhui?
It was a political acknowledgement that society needed bourgeois specialists.
Explain the communist idea of the ‘socialist man.’
The type of personal who was publicly engaged and committed to the community.
What was ‘Proletarianisation?’
To turn the mass of the population into urban workers.
What harsh working conditions were evident during Lenin’s time?
Workers could be imprisoned/shot if they failed to meet targets and internal passports were blocked to stop people leaving their working positions.
How had the labour force grown by 1932?
It had doubled.
How did the working conditions become more severe under Stalin?
7 Day working weeks, longer hours and dismissal and eviction for missing work. Strikes were illegal.
What changes to working conditions were made in 1931?
Intorduction of wage differentials, bonuses and payment by the piece.
Better housing.
When was the Stakhanovite Movement?
1935
What was the Stakhanovite Movement?
Stakhanov extracted an immense amount of coal and was hailed as an example of what should be achieved.
It became a way of forcing management to support their workers to increase production.
During the Stakhanovite Movement, what happened to managers who failed to fulfil targets?
They were removed and branded as saboteurs.
When was rationing phased out?
1935
What rights were given to women after 1917?
The right against sex discrimination and the right to own property.
How was the church affected after 1917?
It’s influence was removed by the recognition of only civil marriage.
What changes were made to divorce after 1917?
it was made easier and less expensive
When was abortion legalised and why?
1920.
High levels of mortality rates due to illegal abortions.
How was the common family unit affected after 1917?
Contraceptive advice provided for free,
1926 introduced a new family code & 1928 wedding rings were banned.
What changes were made under the 1926 Family Code?
It gave women in ‘common law’ marriages the same rights as those in civil marriages.
When did family become a particular focus for Stalin?
1930.
Why did Family become a focus for Stalin?
A fall in population growth after the purges and the living conditions in Komunalki.
What changes to family code were enforced from 1936?
Large fees introduced to deter divorce,
adultery was criminalised,
contraception was banned,
bonuses for families with large numbers of children
What was the ratio of abortions to live births by 1940?
150,000 abortions to 57,000 live births.
What was enforced by the Commissariat of the Enlightenment? (under Lenin)
provided free education at all levels in coeducational schools.
What changes were made to education under Stalin?
Education became the responsibility of the collective farms.
Secondary education & University education was selective and high targets were set for teachers.
If pupils failed to achieve, teachers could be purged.
What was the Komsomol?
A youth organisation connected to the communist party.
When were the church lands seized?
1917
When did the church and the state officially separate?
1918
Why did hundreds of priests loose their lived during War Communism?
They were deprived of rations.
What year was religious worship restricted to ‘registered congregations?’
1929
How did the working conditions affect religion?
There was no religious resting day allowed within the working week.
How many churches had been shut down by 1941?
40,000
in 1937, what percentage of society defined themselves as believers in religion?
57%
How did Stalin’s centralisation affect national minorities?
It juxtaposed the single ‘soviet identity.’
When did Stalin begin deportations of non-Russians?
1930.
When was Petrograd renamed to Leningrad?
1924.
Why was Petrograd remaned to Leningrad?
Lenin had to be remembered as Godlike in order to support Stalin’s cult and the idea that Stalin was Lenin’s ‘disciple’
How did the 1930s shape literature and the arts?
Stalin felt the arts were only necessary if they supported socialist ideologies.
The creativity of the 1920s was suppressed in a wave of conformity by the 1930s.
