The Family Flashcards
Summarise communists views on the family
Their views and policies changed over time
Some leaders were determined to reform the family, others were more conservative
What was the role of the family, 1917-35?
Lenin’s government = DIVIDED
• Alexandra Kollontai: replace traditional family life with communal living and free love —>
—> experiments in communal living took place, but they were abandoned by the mid-1920s
• Lenin was more conservative. Particularly critical of free love YET recognised the abuses that went on in traditional marriage— supported reforms proposed by the Zhenotdel including:
- abortion on demand
- contraception
- easily accessible divorce
- legalisation of prostitution
- legalisation of male homosexuality (lesbianism never criminalised)
What effect did the relaxation of divorce laws (Lenin) have?
Rising divorce rates
Some men abused the sheen by marrying women and then divorcing them once they became pregnant
What happened to family policy under Stalin?
became much more conservative.
Trotsky: contrasted the ‘advances’ made in family policies in the 20s with what he called the ‘Great Retreat’ under stalin.
What were Stalin’s key sims for the family?
Increase birth rates
Cut divorce rates
Create stable families to serve the goal of economic development
How did Stalin achieve his aims towards the family?
- Abortion criminalised unless the life of the woman was in danger
- contraception was banned
- male homosexuality was criminalised: consensual sex between men punishable by 5 years in a labour camp
- lesbianism treated as a ‘disease’: lesbian women could be subjected to hypnotherapy to ‘cure’ them
- sex outside marriage was stigmatised
- divorce: expensive and hard to obtain. First divorce cost one weeks wages, subsequent divorces were more expensive
- following divorce, fathers were required to pay a minimum of 1/3 of their income to their former wives to support their children
What type of policy did Stalin also adopt regarding the family?
Pronatalist policies— offering financial incentives for women to have children:
- women with seven children— 2,000 roubles a year for five years
- women with eleven children— 5,000
What were Khruschev’s policies towards the family?
Introduced policies to liberate women BUT many of them were based on traditional assumptions.
His family policies:
• legalised abortion 1955
• increased paid maternity leave from 77 days to 112 days in 1956
• expanded crèche, child care facilities and communal laundries during the sixth Five-Year Plan
• introduces convenience foods, and mass produced clothing during the Seven Year Plan, in an attempt to end the ‘double shift’
• aimed to make refrigerators widely available, ending the need for daily shopping trips
What problems remained despite Khruschev’s policies towards the family?
- contraception remained hard to acquire
- crèches tended to open late and closed early— women were still unable to work full days
- domestic appliances were either less helpful than anticipated or less widely available
What happened to family policies 1964-85?
Changed in 1965– new Law that liberalised divorce—>
By 1979 around 1/3 of soviet marriages ended in divorce.
Brezhnev’s main aim for family policy = increase the birth rate SO
He launched a pronatal campaign to emphasise the “natural differences” between the sexes, stressing:
• women’s “natural” ability to nurture and
• “natural” need for a strong man
By the late 1970s, this pronatalist message was coupled with official criticism of women who “neglected” their children by going off to work— Brezhnev’s propaganda: working women were responsible for:
• juvenile delinquency
• rising crime
• drug taking
• alcoholism
• family break-up
^^^ persisted into the 1980s and was reaffirmed by the last 3 leaders
