Theme 4a - social security

Question 1

marxism and work

Answer 1

parasitism should be abolished
everyone should work

Question 2

What were the 3 stages of work under Lenin

Answer 2

1917-18 - chaos
1918-21 - war communism
1920s - NEP

Question 3

what happened with work initially in the USSR

Answer 3

employment and economic chaos
unemployment up when russia taken out of WW1 in 1918
March 1918 - 75% chemical and metal workers in Petrograd unemployed
bosses employed as “bourgeois specialists”
rising unemployment

Question 4

what happened with work under war communism

Answer 4

sept. 1918 - compulsory labour for 16-50
rations given based on occupation - workers got most (Aristocrats got 25% of what workers got)
workers got work cards, giving rations
communal dining halls (claimed that in 1920 Moscow 93% were regularly fed in these)
other communal facilities (creches, laundries) - helped women
party members got privileges

Question 5

what happened with work and benefits under NEP

Answer 5

capitalism + unemployment returned
1921-24 - unemployment up 13%
creches funding ended + soldiers jobs prioritised ( unemployment up for women )
benefits created - 1922 Labour law (Unions could negotiate) , social insurance created, comprehensive education for workers and families
workers in 1926 paid around 10% more than in 1913 and ate more meat

Question 6

why did unemployment rise from 1921-24

Answer 6

red army demobilised
workers returned to cities
govt. sacked people in their factories to improve efficiency and make them profitable

Question 7

March 1918 - unemployment of … in Moscow

Answer 7

75% metal and chemical workers unemployed in Moscow

Question 8

results of system of work under war communism

Answer 8

fuel shortages - houses destroyed for fuel
war communism never gave >50% of needed food and fuel (people fled to farms and turned to black market)

Question 9

stats of people moving out of cities under war communism

Answer 9

Petrograd pop decreased 50% from 1917-21
during civil war total factory workers decreased 25%

Question 10

what did rapid industrialisation under Stalin result in

Answer 10

full employment
peasants fleeing collectivisation got city jobs
safety not priority as speedy construction was - hazardous conditions especially in mines
harsh labour discipline

Question 11

how was labour discipline made harsher under Stalin

Answer 11

lateness criminalised
unions lost rights
strikes banned
“continuous work week” introduced
1940 - workers lost right to change jobs (internal passports)

Question 12

benefits of 5 year plans

Answer 12

workers got rations
1933- most soviet citizens got electricity
increases in healthcare, including mass vaccinations
1930s - Moscow metro opened

Question 13

drawbacks of 5 year plans / evidence of inequality

Answer 13

peasants still got alot less. Food scarcer on farms due to requisitioning
healthcare had a “Party first” policy - party members guaranteed vaccines, workers queued for remaining
party officials organised banquets (radical inequality)

Question 14

post war work and benefits under stalin 1945-53

Answer 14

full employment
workforce increased by 4 million (returning soldiers)
food shortages
expensive canteens (use dropped significantly)
healthcare increased - infant mortality down, vaccines for common diseases made universally available from 1947.

Question 15

on average, post ww2 how much did eating in communal canteens cost

Answer 15

about 1/2 a workers wages

Question 16

infant mortality stats 1940-50

Answer 16

infant mortality decreased 50%

Question 17

problems with benefits after the WW2

Answer 17

• consumer goods problems
  food shortages
  poor housing
  poverty

Question 18

housing under Lenin

Answer 18

property initially taken from rich and distributed.
Civil war - people fled to farms for food and houses destroyed for fuel
end of civil war - house rebuilding started (90% built by companies under NEP)

Question 19

housing under Stalin 1929-40

Answer 19

urban pop. 3x as peasants fled collectivisation
govt. tried to solve housing problems in 2 ways - kommunalka (communal apartments) and factory towns

Question 20

what were kommunalka

Answer 20

buildings in cities that were divided up. rooms v. small with families sharing one room
low utilities investment (rooms not rewired, low/ no sewage system)
650,000 people in a Moscow district had no bathhouse.

Question 21

what were factory towns

Answer 21

accommodations built around factories (e.g. Magnitogorsk)
- poor quality as the factories were prioritised
- barrack-style dormitories
- no water or bathrooms
- lack of electricity
in Magnitogorsk housing meant to be modern but this proved too expensive

Question 22

housing under Stalin 1941-53

Answer 22

WW2 made housing worse (1/3 urban housing destroyed)
industry still prioritised
dorms still poor (Moscow Coalfields - 15,000 beds for 26,000)
scheme to try to get workers to build houses failed
houses constructed leaked, and had no utilities

Question 23

benefits under Khrushchev

Answer 23

objective of increasing standard of living
with VLS + increasing consumer goods + welfare and housing

Question 24

healthcare and pensions under Khrushchev

Answer 24

healthcare budget 2x in his first few years to 44 billion. death rates and infant mortality rates dropped.
1950-65 pensions 4x (but number pensioners also 4x)

Question 25

1961 Khrushchev introduced …

Answer 25

free lunches in schools and factories
free transport
full pensions + healthcare for farmers

Question 26

Khrushchev housing

Answer 26

1950-65 urban housing 2x
cheap mass housing introduced - Khrushchev believed this was necessary in short term.
- Khrushchev slums building type (meant to be short term, but became standard throughout 70s and 80s )
- K-7 apartment blocks made from prefabricated panels
- 10x more space for people, and bathrooms and kitchens

Question 27

brezhnev’s social contract

Answer 27

brezhnev promised increased living standard + benefits in return for obedience
consisted of - job security, low prices for essentials, free healthcare, some social mobility, 2nd economy free from govt. to plug holes in command economy

Question 28

living standards under Brezhnev

Answer 28

increased significantly - utilities provided basically free, govt provided healthcare and pensions
in return there was little organised opposition to govt.
made society stable

Question 29

stagnation under Brezhnev

Answer 29

full employment - which was inefficient
female unemployment increased
health decreased despite investment - infant mortality increased 4% in 70s
black market - corruption

Question 30

how was full employment inefficient under Brezhnev

Answer 30

hidden unemployment was around 20% (people paid to do nothing)