Life In The Soviet Union Flashcards
How had life changed in the USSR by 1941?
Life had changed greatly due to economic and social reforms since 1928, but living conditions were still poor for many.
What was socialism supposed to achieve compared to capitalism?
- Remove class divisions
- Prevent the rich owning everything
- But in reality, factory workers were worse off than party bureaucrats
What were urban housing conditions like?
Basic, but better than before 1928
Families often had only one or two rooms
Some lived in barracks or shared communal housing
What were housing conditions like in the countryside?
Little investment in collective farm housing
Conditions remained very basic
Food access in the city?
In cities:
Food was rationed until 1935
Four grades of ration cards: lowest had no meat or fish
Industrial workers got highest rations
Food on collective farms?
Workers had low pay and didn’t own the crops
Relied on personal garden plots for food
What was factory work like?
Poor health and safety
Strict laws punished lateness and skipping work
Workers had few rights, and trade unions were banned
What were conditions like on collective farms?
Work was very hard and poorly rewarded
Workers resisted by working slowly
Conditions were harsher than in the cities
How did the government control people’s freedom of movement?
Internal passports introduced in 1932
People couldn’t move without permission
What was the role of the secret police?
Closely monitored everyone’s lives
Enforced state control through surveillance and fear
How did people respond to rural hardship?
Many tried to escape the countryside
Despite the risk of Gulag imprisonment, thousands fled
Were men and women treated equally in the workplace?
Men earned more than women in both urban and rural workplaces
Who had the best living and working conditions?
Communist Party members had access to:
Better housing
Better jobs
Holidays and special perks
What was life like under Stalin’s rule, even for party members?
Despite privileges, no one was truly free
Everyone lived in fear of being reported or arrested
