RR - Unit 4 - Social Developments Flashcards
1
Q
Work and Benefits - 1917 - 1918 - 3 Points
A
- Declaration of rights of toiling and exploited people, ensuring that everyone worked
- Benefitted the peasants and capitalists could no longer male money by simply owning property
- March 1918 - 75% of chemical and metal workers in Petrograd were unemployed
2
Q
Work and Benefits - 1918 - 1921 - 6 Points
A
- September 1918 - able-bodied men aged between 16 - 50 lost the right to be unemployed
- Compulsory labour proved unsustainable
- People in work were issues a work card, which entitled them to free rations
- Working class got the most rations and aristocrats got 25% of what the workers did
- Party members were given food privileges
- At its peak there were 22 million ration cards
3
Q
Work and Benefits - 1920s - 8 Points
A
- Unemployment surged due to the Red Army being disbanded
- Urban workers were unable to get jobs after their return from war
- Reduction in number of workers to reduce cost
- Government sacked 125,000 administrators
- 1922 - 6.2% of unemployed in cities and towns were women
- 1922 - labour laws gave unions the right negotiate pay and working conditions
- Social insurance covered, such as maternity leave, medical care, disability, and unemployment benefits
- Government invested in education for worker’s children
4
Q
Work and Benefits - 1930s - 7 Points
A
- Rapid industrialisation led to full employment of men and women
- Hidden unemployment - all the people Stalin wanted were working, all the others were left uncared for and were not reported in statistics
- Unions lost right to negotiate, strikes were banned, and lateness was criminalised
- Minimal rise in living standards, but by 1933 most Soviets had access to electricity
- Safety was not a priority, and factories were often in bad conditions
- Continuous work week, with an alternating day off each week, allowing factories to be open 7 days a week
- Increase in healthcare provision, such as mass vaccination
5
Q
Work and Benefits - 1945 - 1953 - 8 Points
A
- 1940s - workers lost their right to change jobs
- Workforce increased from 8 million to 12.2 million
- Decline in living standards, which led to communal eating as people could not afford to eat individually
- Sanitation in the workplace was inadequate, and there frequent outbreaks of dysentery and vomiting
- Soviet workers only got 10 - 15 days off a year
- Infant mortality declined by 50% between 1945 - 1950
- Number of doctors increased by over 60% between 1947 - 1953
- Vaccines were made universal, and there was a rapid decline in malaria from 1949
6
Q
Housing - 1918 - 1928 - 6 Points
A
- Lack of housing, and aristocrats had a surplus
- Priorities of the government were to provide housing for workers, remove excess wealth from those who had it, and the civil war
- Houses were further destroyed during the civil war for timber and fuel
- Property owners lived in single rooms
- Churches were sometimes turned into housing for workers
- Town houses were socialised between 1923 - 1924
7
Q
Housing - 1930s - 5 Points
A
- Urban population had trebled between 1929 - 1940, which increased the demand for housing
- Priorities of the government were to keep the housing budget to a minimum, heavy industry, and construction of factories and combined housing
- Buildings were divided into small kommunalka, and bathrooms and kitchens were shared
- Average family had 5.5 square metres
- Some factories had housing inferior to kommunalka, with several families living in a barrack style dormitory
8
Q
Housing - 1941 - 1954 - 6 Points
A
- WW2 had mad the housing situation worse, with 1/3 of urban housing destroyed
- Priorities of the government were to recover from the war, keep the housing budget small as it was managed inefficiently, and increase housing for collective farms
- 4,500 villages built, and 31,000 communal buildings
- Kommunalkas had 4 square metres of space per family, and barracks had 3 squared metres of space
- Barrack conditions were poor, with 15,000 beds for 26,000 workers, and 1 wash basing for every 70 people
- Houses were weak, roofs leaked, and there was no gas, electricity, or sewerage
9
Q
Khrushchev’s Promotion of a Stable Society - Priories - 2 Points
A
- Increase living standards for workers
- Increase production of consumer goods
10
Q
Khrushchev’s Promotion of a Stable Society - Successes and Stability - 2 Points
A
- Apartments were small, but were 10 times bigger than kommunalkas of Stalin’s era
- People had improved family lives
11
Q
Khrushchev’s Promotion of a Stable Society - Limitations and Stagnation - 2 Points
A
- Lack of informants meant it was harder to find information
- Increased privacy for the people, which is good for the people, but not the State
12
Q
Brezhnev’s Promotion of a Stable Society - Priorities - 5 Points
A
- Job security
- Low prices for essential foods
- Thriving second economy, free of government interference
- Improve and increase social benefits
- Social mobility
13
Q
Brezhnev’s Promotion of a Stable Society - Successes and Stability - 3 Points
A
- Government spending on health care grew from 4% to 5% per year
- Government benefits, work, and trading on the back market meant citizens were likely to have a comfortable life - improved living standards
- Organised opposition to the government extremely rare
14
Q
Brezhnev’s Promotion of a Stable Society - Limitations and Stagnation - 5 Points
A
- Full employment led to serious economic inefficiencies and there was hidden unemployment
- 20% of the employees being paid were not doing a useful job
- During the later 1970s, there were at least 1 million fancies not filled, and lower production rates
- Healthcare spending increased but health care declined
- 1970s infant mortality rate went from 3% to 7% and life expectancy dropped from 68 to 64
15
Q
Policies Introduced by Brezhnev and Khrushchev - 4 Points
A
- Investment in healthcare went from 21.4 billion in 1950 to 44 billion in 1959
- Decrease in deaths and mortality rate - went from 81% in 1950 to 27% in 1965
- 1961 - new reforms introduce free lunches in schools, lunches, and offices, free public transport, and free pension and healthcare rights for farmers
- 1960 - 1965 - housing doubled as the government invested in cheaper materials for housing
16
Q
Changing Status of Women - Key Points - 11 Points
A
- 1918 - Soviet Constitution gave men and women equal right s
- Zhenotdel - women’s department within the Communist Party
- Lenin tried to improve the status of women by providing them with better pay and easier access to divorce
- Stalin hindered the improvement of the status of women and reversed many of Lenin’s reforms
- 1917 - 1940 - women less visible in propaganda, and if they were, they were portrayed as weaker than men and as mothers
- 1917 - 1952 - Alexandra Kolloant was the first women in government in Europe
- 1941 - 1964 - women portrayed as a symbol of the Russian nation, but during the war, were portrayed as in need of men
- 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space and portrayed a hero in the USSR
- Late 1960s to late 1970s - propaganda emphasised a true Soviet women as an exemplary worker, caring wife, and mother
- 1970s - tone of propaganda became more conservative, and women who went to work and neglected their children were criticised
- 1980s - women blamed for problems in the workplace, such as drunkenness
17
Q
Women in the Workforce - 5 Points
A
- Women encouraged to work in orphanages to assume their motherly role
- Women in towns worked a double or triple shifts - no balance in household roles
- Made up a large proportion of agricultural peasants
- Women in the workforce increased by 300%
- Doctors and nursing professions were dominated by women, and and led to those in the field being paid less
18
Q
Improvements for Women in the Workplace - 6 Points
A
- Women entered the industrial force in large numbers, however, increase as more a result of industrialisation than improved position of women
- 3 million women workers in 1928, compared to 13 million women workers in 1940
- 1940 - 41% of workers in heavy industry were held by women
- 1960s - 45% of industrial jobs went to women
- 1960s - women made up half of Soviet graduates
- Increase in number of women in higher and technical education - 20% in 1929, compared to 40% in 1940
19
Q
Lack of Improvements for Women in the Workplace - 5 Points
A
- Under the NEP, job opportunities for women in factories was limited to low level jobs
- Many women were involved in prostitution to try and make money, due to widespread unemployment of women - roughly 39% of men in urban areas used prostitutes in the 1920s
- Khrushchev recruited women for the Virgin Lands Scheme, but this only to provide incentive for men, and they were restricted to traditional roles
- Women were paid 60 - 65% less than men, and received verbal, physical, and sexual abuse
- Low pay meant they were more likely to slip into poverty
20
Q
Lenin’s Soviet Policy Towards The Family - 8 Points
A
- Aim was to create a consistent view on family and reform traditional family
- Alexandra Kolloant advocated for free love
- Family Code of 1917 made divorce easier
- 1926 - postcard divorces
- Contraception, abortion, and prostitution made legal
- Rising abortion and divorce rates
- Women left their abusive husbands
- Zhenotdel unwilling to help women who were victims of sexual harassment, as it wasn’t a crime
21
Q
Stalin’s Soviet Policy Towards The Family - 6 Points
A
- Aim was to grow the population to industrialise more and become more conservative
- 1936 - abortion criminalised and contraception banned
- Tax on single people to encourage marriage
- Sex outside of marriage was stigmatised
- Divorce made more expensive
- Importance of family emphasised
22
Q
Khrushchev’s Soviet Policy Towards The Family - 6 Points
A
- Aim was to promote the family as a social unit and encourage women to care for family and look after their family whilst working
- 1955 - abortion legalised
- 1956 - paid maternity leave went from 77 was to 122 days
- Sixth FYP focused on improving living and working conditions of women
- Seven Year Plan aimed to eliminate double shift
- 1960 - 49% of women in the workforce were older family members
23
Q
Brezhnev’s Soviet Policy Towards The Family - 6 Points
A
- Aim was to reinforce traditional values
- New Family Code of 1968 made sexual morality more strict
- Lowered the pension age for women form 60 to 55
- Divorce rates remained high, with over 1/3 of marriages ending in divorce
- 1982 - women spent twice as long doing household chores than men
- Lack of women in senior or more skilled jobs
24
Q
Problems and Issues of Education - 4 Points
A
- Low level literacy - only 32% of the population in 1917 could read and write
- Educational inequalities in rural areas
- 88% of children failed to complete primary school
- Not free or universal
25
Q
Successes in Improving Education - 8 Points
A
- Abolished corporal punishment
- Established unified labour schools to provide polytechnic education to all children aged 8 - 17
- Schools provided free breakfasts and medical examinations
- Education made compulsory
- Children did 4 hours of factory work
- As the economy stabilised in the mid 1920s, so education was expanded
- 1927 - fees for primary school abolished, so most children received full primary education
- 1928 - 60% of Soviet children of primary school age were in education, which was 10% more than prior to the revolution
26
Q
Failures in Improving Education - 9 Points
A
- NEP led to some schools closing to save money
- Reintroduction of fees for primary and second school children, except for the poorest children
- NEP caused plans to link children’s homes and schools scrapped - nearly 7 million children were orphaned by the war
- Civil war meant insufficient funds available for education
- Free compulsory education not achieved until 1950s
- Schools did not have resources to provide free meals and medical check ups
- 97% of secondary school students paid fees to attend
- 90% of middle-class school students started school, compared to 25% who finished
- 40% of working-class students started school, compared to 3% who finished
27
Q
Educational Reform Under Stalin - 5 Points
A
- 1921 - decree ordered curriculum reform and abolished polytechnics
- 1928 - Soviet higher education expanded
- 1935 - system of national examination introduced
- University courses reflected the economic needs
- Fees maintained in higher levels of education to keep costs down
28
Q
Consequences of Stalin’s Educational Reforms - 5 Points
A
- 1944 - 227,000 students in University
- 1953 - 1.5 million students in University
- 1935 - almost 100% of children aged 8 - 12 gained the full four years of primary school
- Number of students in higher eduction continued to rise
- 65% of children aged 12 - 17 gained some secondary education, but only 20% aged 15 - 17 completed it
29
Q
Khrushchev’s Educational Policies and Reforms - 5 Points
A
- 1956 - reintroduced polytechnic education
- 1956 - abolished fees for students attending secondary schools
- By 1959, 73% completed secondary education, compared to 20% in 1933
- 1960 - Stalin discipline relaxed
- Invested 2 million in teacher training in 1964 - better education and more went to university
30
Q
Khrushchev’s Successes in Education - 3 Points
A
- Higher level of secondary school attendance
- Education became more cultural ion 1961, with more emphasis on foreign languages
- Improved education for the academic elite, with the number of special schools increasing
31
Q
Khrushchev’s Failures in Education - 2 Points
A
- Polytechnics were unpopular as people preferred academic education
- Curriculum reforms not implemented in 47% of schools
32
Q
Brezhnev’s Educational Policies and Reforms - 7 Points
A
- Restored focus on academic education
- Abandoned compulsory education with the hope that 100% of children would voluntarily complete it
- Ended vocational courses for 16 - 19 year olds in farms and factories
- Expanded university courses to reflect the demands of light industry
- Academic staff grew from 87,000 in 1958, to 380,000 by 1980
- Attempts to increase peasant population in schools by requiem all schools to provide hot meals
- Free meals available to poorer students
33
Q
Brezhnev’s Successes and Failures in Education - 3 Points
A
- By 1978, almost 70% of teachers went to university
- 1976 - only 60% of children finished secondary school, which was much lower than the targets set
- Curriculum remained largely unchanged
34
Q
Illiteracy During the Communist Rule - 8 Points
A
- Before the revolution, illiteracy was 65%
- December 1919 - ‘liquidation of illiteracy’ decreed for all citizens aged 5 - 50
- Those who refused to attend lessons faced criminal charges
- 1920 - 1925 - 5 million went through literacy courses
- Trotsky introduced literacy classes for all of the Red Army
- By 1925, 100% of soldiers were literate
- By 1939, over 94% of Soviet citizens were literate
- By 1959, 99% of the urban population was literate and 98% in the countryside
35
Q
Literacy and the Civil War - 2 Points
A
- Military victory and economy prioritised over education
- Manu teachers in 1917 did not support the regime
36
Q
Literacy and the NEP - 4 Points
A
- May 1925 - announced an initiative to make all adults literate by October 1927
- Initiative pushed back to 1933
- Transport workers had 99% literacy in 1927
- To save money they had to close down 90% of reading rooms established during the Civil War
37
Q
Literacy and Stalin - 2 Points
A
- Government recruited 3 million volunteers from Komsomol to educate workers and peasants
- Volunteers called cultural soldiers, organised in military style
