Social developments (1917-85) Flashcards
1
Q
What was the labour market like under Lenin?
A
- Factory workers drifted to the countryside after revolution and a decree was formed to make unemployed people accept employment
- War communism forced conscription and labour exchanges set up but people did not join them in fear of getting an unwanted job.
- End of civil war caused people to move to cities due to rural famine causing 1 million unemployed in 1926 but skilled workers’ real wages rose under the NEP
- Arteli, paid as a group, distributed pay and arranged jobs. Grouped together by age and type of trade but were shut down but made a comeback in 1929 as shock brigades
- NEP, skilled workers demanded more pay due to shortages meaning benefits for some parts of the working class
2
Q
What was employment like in the Stalin years?
A
- 1930, first country to meet full employment during peace time
- Hired workers grew from 11.6 million in 1928 to 27 million in 1937
- Industrialisation meant more opportunities but lack of modern technology, high targets put stress on workers and rural to urban migration put stress on rural areas
3
Q
What were the negatives of full employment during the Stalin period?
A
- Division between skilled and unskilled workers
- Trade unions couldnt improve terrible work conditions
- 1930, Benefits removed due to unemployment
- Low productivity, 1927, soviet worker was half as productive as a British worker due to repetitive, easy work.
- 1932, Passport system introduced to stop workers moving jobs for better pay. Didn’t work as by 1937, 30% of all urban workers had changed jobs quarterly
- Common Absenteeism 1931 and 1939 measures not carried out due to rarity of labour
- Heavy reliance on gulags for labour, 1.5 million in 1945 to 2.5 million in 1953
4
Q
What were the positives of full employment during the Stalin period?
A
- 1931, wage differences increased to reward skilled workers but didn’t matter as there was little to buy
- Honours given to good workers and put into shock brigades such as Alexei Stakhanov who mined 15x the normal amount of coal.
5
Q
What was housing like under Lenin?
A
- Bolsheviks confiscated large houses renting them to workers distributed according to rank in the communist party
- Not enough housing for everyone
6
Q
What was housing like under Stalin?
A
- Low priority on housing due to industrialisation despite worker housing demand increasing
- Moscow population grew from 2.2 million in 1929 to 4.1 million in 1936
- Donbass population double and Magnitogorsk grew from 25 people in 1929 to 250,000 in 1932.
- Industrial centres no housing making workers sleep in tents or factories
- When possible, identical apartment blocks built with communal services
- 1936, 6% of rented housing had 2 or more rooms. 5% of people slept in kitchens or bathrooms but it was cheap
- Poor rural housing of timber huts
-WW2, Stalingrad lost 90% of housing and Leningrad lost a third
7
Q
What were social benefits like under Lenin?
A
- 1921, Compulsory vaccination to treat Cholera and Typhus killed 6 million between 1918-20 due to doctors fleeing in 1917
- Doctors increased from 70,000 in 1929 to 155,000 in 1940
- Hospital beds rose from 247,000 in 1928 to 791,000 in 1939
- Sanitation taken seriously showing big progress
8
Q
What were Social benefits under Stalin?
A
- Cheap food available in the canteen for workers and rabbit meat during hard times
- Work clothes given free of charge
9
Q
Who provided social benefits and what were they?
A
- All below Provided by trade unions
- Organised sports facilities, meetings and film shows
- Workers given cheap, subsidised 2 week holidays
- Sick pay organised
10
Q
What were the key economic features of economic stability under developed socialism 1953-85?
A
- Full employment, Real wages grew by 50% between 1966 and 1977. Wage gap difference made much lower to 50% of the USA’s in 1970
- Job security, hard to dismiss someone not good at their job. minimum wage introduced in 1956 and working week reduced in 1957. High labour turnover at 30% annually moving to employers with more benefits
- Improved material benefits, Khrushchev moved towards material goods and so did Brezhnev, 9th five year plan saw consumer goods production higher than heavy industry
- Nomenklatura system,
11
Q
What were the key social factors of social stability under developed socialism? 1953-85
A
- The education system, instilled socialist values into young people helping boys and girls to gain high status jobs through secondary and further education. Matching amounts of boys and girls in higher education 1980’s
- Youth groups, boys and girls became committed communists. Important to progress through the Octobrists, Pioneers and Komsomol to get into party and better promotion chances
- Social security benefits, state welfare spending increased 5 fold between 1950-80. Pension scheme expanded in 1956 such as 40 roubells weekly in 1980. Many had to take part time jobs such as street sweeping as pension was not enough
- Housing, housing space increased by 216 million square metres between 1951-61 but were poor quality and not always finished
- Healthcare, considerable growth. Accesible but varying quality. Entitled to time off work at a sanatoria. 1978, 2,000 Sanatoria and 1000 rest homes. Best quality at cities but poor in rural areas, 1988 some didn’t have running water
- Rural living conditions, schools, housing and health increased in rural areas due to investment. 1966, wages made regular instead of payments and by 1975 wages only 10% less than urban workers
12
Q
To what extent was there protest under complete socialism 1953-85?
A
- 1959, Komsomol sent in Temirtau to build a metal works but burnt down the canteen and hanged a police chief due to terrible working conditions and low pay. KGB sent in to restore peace
- 1962, protest to high food prices and lowered wages at Novocherkassk killing 70 people and food supplies were sent to the town.
- Riots in Sverdlosk in 1969 and Gorki over food shortages. Unrest in Kiev over housing shortages
-1977 Setting up of Free trade union association, Sought to represent workers which went against government controlled trade unions so Kleblanov (the leader) was evicted and dismissed
- Terrorism examples such as 1977 Moscow Metro train bombing. 1969 failed Brezhnev assassination attempt but these are minor examples
13
Q
- Were there any social problems during complete socialism? 1953-85
A
- High divorce rate caused by death of father figures in WW2
- Alcohol consumption grew by 600% between 1940-80 despite a 25% population increase. 20 million alcoholics in 1987
- 1970’s, robberies on evening trains. 1975, government introduced 1 year course on soviet principles and law for young people
14
Q
What impact did the civil war on the role of women in rural areas?
A
Womens lives changed for the worse
- Over 70,000 women in the red army but few held rank
- Millions of women employed in factories but inadequate childcare
- Plan to make creches failed due to lack of resources
Long term Impacts
- Many women unskilled lost jobs to returning soldiers
- Traditional attitudes about pregnancy and maternity leave led to less women in workplaces
- 1921-22 famine forced women into prostitution away from work
15
Q
How did the status of Islamic women change?
A
- Anti-veiling campaign of 1927 in Muslim areas increased opportunities for women and were celebrated by posters
- ## Violent resistance to change such as the Zhenotdel meeting being attacked by Muslim men with dogs and boiling water and honour killings took place where women refused to veil. This caused a more gradual approach to emancipation in the 1930s
