Theme 4

Question 1

Women- Lenin

Answer 1

Divorce reform- post card divorce- legal and easy
Alexandra kollontai- marriage suppresses female sexuality
Belief that gender oppression came from class oppression
5% of party congress- female party members work in stereotypical roles
Civil war- women fill jobs as nurses
Female prostitution legal and widespread
High proportion in agriculture
Women tractor drivers- high wage only 8
Women supporting role

Question 2

Women- Stalin

Answer 2

2/3 pay for same work
Contraception- 1FYP no provision 1936 banned
Wanted women to have more babies
Paid women for babies
Abortion banned
Made divorce hard
Women on collective farms gained social status
13 million women in industry
WW2- women portrayed as needing protection
Made up 75% of workforce in war
Post war shown as heroic

Question 3

Women- Khrushchev

Answer 3

Virgin lands campaign- recruited women as milkmaids, gardeners and mothers
Accepted women played domestic role
Young women expected to dress modestly
1963- Valentina Tereshkova first woman in space
Women employed in light industry
Over represented in farming

Question 4

Women- Brezhnev

Answer 4

Saw women as reason for economic problems
Less rational with economic decisions
Women pamper children and make them lazy
New incentives to encourage birth
70% doctors were women

Question 5

Social security- Lenin pre 1921

Answer 5

Declaration of the rights of toiling and exploiting people- abolished private land ownership introduced universal labour duty
Revolution- economic chaos early economic plans failed to help
Oct 18- 100,000 people unemployed
War communism- no unemployment- work card=rations according to occupation workers for most

Question 6

Social security- NEP

Answer 6

Back to unemployment, less workers= less cost
Former Red Army= priority
Benefits- public transport, communal dining halls (factories) communal facilities
1922- labour law- allowed trade unions And social insurance for workers- paid benefits covering 9 million workers
Never provided more than 50% of what people needed to live on
62.2% unemployed= women

Question 7

Social security- pre war Stalin

Answer 7

Full employment- rapid industrialisation 
Conditions worsened- one day off 
Harsh labour discipline:
>late=crimes
>unions- no negotiation
>damage=crime
>strikes=banned
1940- internal passports introduced- no moving between jobs
FYP=rations
1933- electricity
More transport- train
Better healthcare and canteens

Question 8

Social security- post war Stalin

Answer 8

Full employment continued
Less communal eating 
Improved conditions
Doctors increased + vaccines- malaria, typhus 
Infant mortality down 50% 
Poor hygiene 
Food shortage- rotten food used
Economy struggled- soap, warm clothes, shoes- bad for health

Question 9

Social security- Khrushchev

Answer 9

Full employment 
Focus on improving standard of living 
Doubled healthcare budget 
Free lunch in schools, offices and factories
Free transport
Pensions and healthcare for farmers
Pension budget x4

Question 10

Social security- Brezhnev

Answer 10

Stable society- social contract:
Job security- full employment 
Low prices on essentials
Second economy 
Social benefits
Social mobility 
In return for obedience and conformity 
Better standard of living 
Benefits- subsidised rent, utilities, healthcare, pensions 
Full employment- economic inefficiencies 
Labour shortages
Increased female unemployment 
Decreased health and life expectancy 
Increased alcoholism

Question 11

Housing- Lenin

Answer 11

Aug 1918- decree controlling house redistribution
1920- housing redistributed- families lived in rooms
Former owners killed
NEP houses built by private companies (89%)
1921- rent reintroduced and house building starts
End of civil war- workers flee to country for food

Question 12

Housing- Stalin

Answer 12

Demand increased- budget low
Kommunalka- buildings divided, small communal apartments
Family- small single room communal kitchen
Modernisation not a priority
Failure to invest in sewage or communal facilities
5.5m^2 in 1930
4m^2 in 1940 - redivided many times
People lived in sheds, under stairs, corridors, communal kitchens
Factory building was priority- accommodation- barrack style dorms- Magnitogorsk- no water or lights- 20% mud huts
High levels of disease
1/3 of housing destroyed in war- industrial building priority
4FYP- budget small

Question 13

Housing- Khrushchev

Answer 13

Urban housing more than doubled
Stopped building govt buildings and focused on housing
Cheap mass temporary housing built- khrushchyovka- families had apartment with bathroom kitchen and 2 bedrooms
Created privacy

Question 14

Education- Lenin

Answer 14

Unified labour schools-
Free polytechnic education to 8-17
Education made compulsory
Banned religion, punishment, homework and exams
Promised free breakfast and medical exams
NEP-
1921- some schools closed to save money
Fees introduced for primary and secondary except poorest children
In first 18 months children in school halved
Mid 20s expansion:
Economy stabilised- education grew
1927- primary fees abolished
1928- 60% primary age children in school
90% middle class attended secondary- 25% completed it
40% working class attended 3% completed

Question 15

Education- Stalin initial reforms

Answer 15

1931- curriculum reform- abolished polytechnic
Core subjects( reading, writing, maths and science) most important
1932- new discipline
1933- new textbooks
1934- decree on the teaching of civic history- soviet history lessons focused on heroic men
1935- national exams

Question 16

Education- Stalin primary

Answer 16

Target of 100% of 8-12 enrolled by 1932
95% by then increase from 60% in 1928
Post war almost 100% in primary education

Question 17

Education- Stalin secondary

Answer 17

Fees maintained- limited access
Scholarships offered by trace unions and party
Grew significantly
Post war 65% got some secondary 12-17
By 1939 1.5 million completed secondary only 7% of child population compared to 216,000 in last years of NEP

Question 18

Education- Stalin university

Answer 18

Number increased 105(1914)-817(1939) 800%
Students increased 1914 (127,000) to 1939 (811,000)
Exams and discipline in place
University courses reflected needs of the economy significant expansion of courses in construction, transport and factory production
WW2 has an impact 1944 only 227000 students remained
By 1953- reconstructed around 1.5 million students

Question 19

Education- Stalin Labour reserve schools

Answer 19

Established by Ministry of Labour 1940 to train young men 14-17
Recruits enrolled in course got accommodation and food but no pay
Harsh conditions
Provided skilled labour for 4 and 5 FYP
WW2 important part of soviet industry
1946-1952 4.2 million young people trained in metallurgy, electricity production, industrial and military construction and railway workers

Question 20

Education- Khrushchev reorganisation

Answer 20

Teachers reluctant to move to country
Small country schools merged- new schools offered 10 years education
Schools in towns and cities doubled
Investment in teacher training- teachers improved
Increased number from 1.5 mil teachers in 1953 to 2.2 mil in 1964
Abolished secondary and uni fees
Special funds for poor children (1959)

Question 21

Education- Khrushchev reforms

Answer 21

1956
Reintroduced polytechnic education 
Needed skilled workers
More practical 
1959 education law
Compulsory for 7-15 
Academically gifted went to special schools
1960- Stalinist discipline relaxed
1961- emphasis on learning languages

Question 22

Education- Brezhnev repealing reforms

Answer 22

More academic curriculum
Ended vocational training
Abandoned compulsory secondary education target 100%
By 76 only 60% finished
By 78 almost 70% teachers had uni education

Question 23

Education- Brezhnev small scale reform

Answer 23

Sept 1970- textbooks updated to reflect scientific knowledge
Homework reintroduced
70s- increased attempt to get peasants in school offering hot meals

Question 24

Education- Brezhnev uni

Answer 24

1953-1980 1.5 mil to 5 mil
Curriculum expanded
New unis for non Russian students

Question 25

Literacy- Lenin

Answer 25

Decree on illiteracy 1919- illiterate people 8-50 had to learn to read and write govt power to conscript education
Red army- Trotsky introduced education for all soldiers 1918-50% literate 1921-86% 1925-100%
Civil war-
-decline in literacy
-learning not a priority
-schools turned into barracks
-war economy- no room for education

Question 26

Literacy- NEP

Answer 26

Initially education declined due to economy
May 25- initiative so all adults are literate by Oct 27
Some success but educating peasants was hard
38%-55% in 1928 after campaign rates declined

Question 27

Literacy- Stalin

Answer 27

Realaunched campaign against illiteracy
1930- 16th party congress ensured primary school compulsory in 1FYP
3 million volunteers from Komsomol to educate workers and peasants
During collectivisation- teachers attacked
Teachers poorly equipped- little to offer peasants
1FYP- 90% soviet adults attended literacy course- 68% literate
1939- 94% literate- showed sexual inequality 97% men and 90% women