THEME 4 - SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS Flashcards
1
Q
soviet constitution
A
1917
- all soviet citizens had the right to work, rest, leisure, health care, education and cultural benefits
- Stalin’s push for industrialisation caused consumer goods industries to massively underperform
2
Q
results of civil war on economy
A
- collapse of industrial production
- gift of workers to the countryside where food supplies were reliable
3
Q
labour conscription 1918
A
- take the job you were given - meant Red Army was always supplied
4
Q
labour exchanges
A
- made to supervise the hiring of workers
- some feared getting jobs they didn’t want - didn’t sign up
5
Q
demobilisation of Red Army post civil war
A
- millions returned to cities and there was a surplus of workers
- 1926 unemployment reached over 1 million
- skilled workers under NEP had increasing job security and secure wages
6
Q
arteli groups under NEP
A
- workers in same trade who offered services as a group and got paid as a group
- govt thought they were backwards and did not encourage their use
- shock brigades introduced in 1929 - young workers would go and work on construction projects - essentially he same thing as the arteli
7
Q
results of NEP
A
- wage differences between skilled and unskilled workers grew - made more prominent by the shortage of skilled workers
8
Q
conclusion of labour market under Lenin
A
- shortage of workers during civil war
- surplus of workers post war
- difference in wages for skilled and unskilled workers
- increasing use of arteli - despite govt’s dislike
9
Q
USSR’s goals for full employment
A
- 1930 - USSR announced it was first country to achieve full employment
- workers rose from 12 million in 1928 to 17 million in 1937
10
Q
full employment impact
A
- divisions in work place between skilled and unskilled workers
- productivity was low - 1927 soviet worker produced half of what a British worker produced
- 1932 - internal passport produced - harder to move around jobs because labour shortages was becoming an issue
- 1932 - bonuses and better rations introduced for skilled workers and in 1934 piecework introduced - good for skilled workers
- 1939 - absenteeism made a criminal offence
- gulags used more - from 1945 1.5 million prisoners to 2.5 million in 1953
11
Q
conclusion of full employment
A
- whilst full employment was achieved there was still:
- poor living standards
- poor treatment of workers
- material benefits did not reach the workforce
12
Q
housing 1917
A
- bolsheviks began splitting up large houses of rich and giving them to workers
- HOWEVER houses not allocated based on need - up to rank in Party
- not enough housing to meet everyone’s needs
13
Q
housing results of 5YPs
A
- housing was low priority - industrialisation meant workers needed houses
- Moscow population grew from 1 million to 4 million 1936
- magnitorsk grew from 25 to 250,000
- workers slept in tents or in factories at new industrial centres
- later 1930s housing got better - barracks built with communal kitchens
- in 1936 - 24% of people rented a part of a room, and 25% lived in corridors
14
Q
impacts of WW2 on housing
A
- stalingrad lost 90% of housing
- leningrad lost 33% during the siege of 1941-44
15
Q
social benefits under Lenin and Stalin
A
- workers given free clothes and food
- workers given 2 weeks paid holiday
- by 1953 soviet worker was likely to be employed, housed ad receiving social services but life was very harsh
16
Q
healthcare under Lenin and Stalin
A
- compulsory vaccination in 1921 against lice-spread typhus - serious problem resulting in 6 million deaths
- doctors fled russia during revolution - problem for healthcare provision
- doctors increased from 70,000 in 1918 to 144,000 in 1940 - govt increased number of training places on offer
17
Q
Khrushchev and the promotion of a stable society
A
- 1961 - Khrushchev declared that the soviet public would benefit from socialism
18
Q
developed socialism
A
- a society that had become instilled with the values of socialism
19
Q
soviet constitution 1977 employment
A
- full employment was guaranteed - was some seasonal unemployment - guaranteed job satisfaction by being employed
- limited gap between best and worst paid - people could buy material items but there was outrage over pay inequality
- increased wages by 50% from 1967 to 1977- gave people more spending power - but they had to save because there was no point in spending - no shops
20
Q
job security under Khrushchev
A
- difficult to dismiss people that were not good in their job
- managers ignored absences and low standards - absent due to being in queues of food
- targets would be met by intense labour work
- 1956 - minimum wage introduced - good meant nobody was below poverty line but also meant people struggled with families living on minimum wage
- 1957 - working week reduced and paid holiday introduced
21
Q
improved material benefits under Khrushchev and Brezhnev
A
- both followed the trend of moving investment away from heavy industry to light industry
- ninth 5YP 1971-75 saw a greater investment in consumer goods than heavy industry
- targets for production were not met but progress was sufficient for the population to see improvement
- economic improvements were based on skilled work - meant people could have social mobility
22
Q
the nomenklatura system
A
- partly controlled every element of employment
- workers employment depended on securing a place with an internal passport
- period of ideological study was also good way to gain promotion
- party membership grew from 6.9 million in 1953 to 17 million in 1970
- by the 1970s 20% of all males over 30 were party members
23
Q
differences + similarities between Khrushchev and Brezhnev’s nomenklatura systems
A
- Brezhnev - people often promoted where they lived - no social mobility - unlike Khrushchev era
- simular in encouraging their successors being successful
- nepotism was prominent - Brezhnev’s son became minister of foreign trade
24
Q
education system under Brezhnev and Khrushchev
A
- to get a good job, the usual route as to complete secondary education before going onto higher education
- equal opputinity for boys and girls - 1980s the number of women going into higher education was equal to that of men
- schools in large urban areas got better teachers - especially in elite areas
- played key role in creating a soviet elite
- youth groups were a key way of maintaining party membership
25
the provision and range of social security benefits under Khrushchev and Brezhnev
- 1950-80 state welfare spending increased by 5 times
- 1956 - pension scheme for old and sick was expanded and retirement age was reduced
- peasants did not receive a pension until Brezhnev era
26
housing under Khrushchev and Brezhnev
- annual amount of housing space by state increased from 180 million square metres in 1951 to 400 million square metres in 1961
- most housing was created directly by the state
- Khrushchev created Khrushcholby (slums) - they were cheap to build but poorly finished to meet targets
- although housing was poor - still long waiting lists
27
healthcare under Khrushchev and Breznhev
- hospitals available but the quality of health was a problem
- polyclinics available and used by many
- sanatoria - rest homes used with medical facilities
- workers were entitled to take time at polyclinics or sanatorias for most medical complaints
- better medical facilities in large cities - still bad conditions in rural towns - in Central Asia most hospitals did not have running water by 1988
28
living conditions in the countryside under Khrushchev and Brezhnev
- increased investment in agriculture was continued under Brezhnev - some investment used to build homes, medical facilities and healthcare services in rural areas
- 1966 - income of collective farmers increased
- 1970s - rage of rural workers was only 10% less than industrial workers
29
examples of protest under Khrushchev and Brezhnev
- protests over food prices in 1962 - 70 killed
- komosol workers were called up to develop temirtau in 1959 - protests over food shortages and lack of clean water
- terrorist attacks in 1977 bomb left on Moscow metro - killed 7
- strikes and riots in Gorki in 1980 over houses meant that local police had to be involved
30
examples of social problems
- WW2 killed lots of men - children grew up without father figures - 1979 - divorce rate was 34%
- insufficient economic basis also affected social cohesion
- 1975 - govt introduced principles of the soviet state and law to make youth aware of obligations of state
- alcoholism was a serious problem - soviet population grew by 25% alcohol consumption was 600% - 20 million alcoholics in USSR by 1987
31
communist outlook on women
- lenin said that marriage was a type of capitalist slavery
- radical communists called for the emancipation of women - ideas were not always favoured by conservatives in party
- in the great retreat 1935 women moved away from their maternal roles
32
changing status of women under Lenin
- 1917 - zhenotdel was set up with the communist ideology of equality between the sexes - communists argued that extra argued that extra help would liberate women from their maternal roles
- decrees 1917:
- made divorce easier and abortion was legalised
- law that said a woman must obey her husband & take his name was abolished
- women didn't need their husband's permission in studying or taking a job
- equal pay passed for women
33
results of Lenin's changes for women
- 70% of divorces were initiated by men who normally left women who were pregnant
- attitudes of the male population were slow to change because the laws on equal pay were not implemented very quickly
34
women during civil war
- 70,000 women fought in Red Army - few had high rank
- millions of women recruited into factories
- govt lacked resources to implement creches
35
results of women in civil war
- many lost their jobs when men returned from war - they were unskilled
- rise of prostitution - due to the disruption of the war
36
islamic women under Lenin
- resistance where polygamous and male dominated families were entrenched in culture
- young women went into Central Asian parts and educated muslim women on childcare, basic contraception and hygiene
- 1927 - campaign to unveil
- opportunities for islamic women increased - still resistance - in Baku a Zhenotdel meeting was attacked by men with dogs
37
collectivisation and industrialisation in countryside 1928
- 1930s - Zhenotdel shut down in russia - declared men and women were equal
- 50% of the population was women
- during collectivisation men left the countryside to work in towns
- women worked in countryside on lower wages - traditional attitudes to women slow to change in rural areas
38
women during WW2 1941
- men conscripted into army - women left to do agricultural work
- post war there was few able men to work on farms - soldiers moved to towns
- no livestock - women tied themselves to shackles and plowed the fields
39
collectivisation and industrialisation on women in towns - 5YPs
- women had to work out of economic necessity
- number of women working increased from 3 million in 1928 to 13 million in 1940
- women began working in typical men's jobs - praskovia Angelina used to motivate female workers
- 1929 - govt reserved 20% of education for women - 1940 40% of engineering students were women - more women involved in higher jobs - but highest still dominated by men
40
women in politics
- under represented at all levels - despite declaring equality
- 1932 16% of party membership was female
- before 1939 female delegates were under 10%
- one seven female members of central committee
- only one to ever be full candidate - Ekaterina Furtseva in 1957 under Khrushchev
41
family code of 1918
- under socialism the family 'ceases to be necessary'
- divorces could be dissolved
- abortion legalised
- creches more available
- attack on traditional family and role of church
- 1927 - registered and unregistered marriage was given equal status
42
results of family code
- divorce rate highest in Europe
- 1926 - 50% of marriages ended in divorce
- 'postcard divorces'
- abortion rates increased - 75% of pregnancies aborted
43
the great retreat 1936
- divorce made expensive
- free marriage lost legal status
- abortion and gay rights made illegal
- pregnant women guaranteed job security, maternity leave extended to 16 weeks and men imprisoned if didn't pay child maintenance
- number of nursery places doubled during the second 5YP 1933-37
- 1944 mother awards for women who had 10+ children, single person tax and divorce made more complicated - had to go to court and work it out
44
changes for women under Khrushchev
- double burden - women had to look after family as well as have a job
- 49% of workforce was female
- older women looked after domestic duties because the grandmothers were greatly respected
- family benefits were promoted such as pensions - still train put on families
- 1955 abortion legalised to reduce strain on families
45
women under Brezhnev
- continued khrushchev's emphasis on importance of family
- family code 1968
- emphasis on tradition
- restrictions placed on divorce - illegal to divorce pregnant women
46
growth rates under Brezhnev
- 1982 - growth rate of population declining by 0.8%
| - Russian birth rate declining but in Islam areas - focus on tradition was strong - birth rate increasing
47
housing under Brezhnev
- shortage of housing put strain on family relations
48
drinking under Brezhnev
- alcoholism significant factor that undermined family
- 1982 average soviet adult consumed 18L of spirit a year
- Nerntsov argued that alcoholism was cause of 25% of death in 1980s - health campaigns focused on alcoholism but rarely any desire to stop heavy drinking
49
divorce under Brezhnev
- rate high - 1/3 of marriages anded in divorce - generation lacked role models due to WW2
50
October 1917 education decrees
- transformed schools into polytechnic
- free education and breakfast
- no religion taught in schools
- ended gender segregation
- no corporal punishment
- no homework or exams
- church buildings used as schools
- secondary vocational schools - some children went to factories 3 days and school 2 days
51
education during civil war stats
- for every 60 children there was 1 pencil
- 7 million orphaned
- first 18 months of Civil War education was reduced to 50%
52
education during NEP
- schooled closed in 1921 to save money and fees for schools that opened - 1927 fees abolished
- big inequalities in system - 90% of bourgeois children started school and 25% finished - whereas 40% of working class children started school and 4% finished
- trade unions literacy went from 86% to 96% in 1926 - 99% in 1927
- 97% students paid fees
- 1928 60% of children in education - 10% more than 1917
53
komosol
- 14-28
- by 1982 over 40 million members
- handed out pictures of Lenin and stalin
- sent into markets to monitor trade
- talks from local factory workers
54
illiteracy under lenin
- 1919 decree on literacy - everyone from 8-50 must be able to read and write
- 50% of soldiers literate in 1918 - 100% in 1925
- 1924 lipunkty introduced - 6 week intensive course - teachers didn't like it - based near secondary schools not illiterate areas leading to low attendance
55
purpose of the curriculum in schools
- help instill socialist values
| - stalin wanted to abolish progressive methods and have discipline and return to core subjects
56
expansion goals for education
- wanted 100% of 8-12 year olds to be in school by 1932 - reached 95% - better than 1928 60% in schools
- fees needed - govt unwilling to spend on education during 5YPs
- scholarships and party grants offered
- July 1943 - gender separated schools - stalin thought it would lead to inappropriate behaviour
57
obstacles to expansion of education
- bed resources
| - low wages put people off being teachers
58
university under Stalin and Lenin
- 1917 Commissariat of Education said unis should be open for all
- great turn 1936 - bourgeois specialists were expelled and replaced with red specialists
- stalin launched enrolment in 1928 for uni - 70% of places were saved for working class
- 1930s all uni staff purged
59
results of WW2 on unis
- bad - 1944 only 227,000 students were in uni
| - HOWEVER uni increased by 800% from 1914 to 1939
60
Khrushchev's attitude towards schools
- enabled a policy that meant that people who were working could return to school
- abandoned need for the non-russian states to learn Russian
- emphasis on vocational schools - controversial part of his reforms
61
Brezhnev's attitudes towards education
- throughout '70s adults could continue education through extensive programme for adult education
- diplomas and degrees were offered at vocational schools - helped updating workers skills
- stalin ignored from curriculum
- changes made to basic structure - some schools turned specialist
- opened to boys and girls - participation of girls low
- children of graduates most likely to gain place
- Brezhnev undid Khrushchev's reforms in focusing on vocational education
