Family Flashcards
(17 cards)
What were the overall attitudes towards the family unit throughout 1917–85?
• Views shifted over time • Some leaders wanted reform, others were more conservative
What were the two views on the family under Lenin’s government?
• Kollontai promoted communal living and free love • Lenin and Trotsky were conservative and critical of free love
Why did Lenin support Zhenotdel reforms despite differing views?
• Recognised abuses in traditional marriage • Saw need to reform marriage and divorce laws
What reforms were introduced to liberate women and reform the family?
• Abortion on demand • Contraception • Easy divorce • Legalised prostitution • Legalised male homosexuality
Why was relaxed divorce law counterproductive?
• Men divorced pregnant women • 70% of divorces (1917–28) initiated by men • Women left homeless, jobless, and without income
What was The Great Retreat of 1936?
• Stalin’s shift to conservative family policies
Why did Stalin bring about the Great Retreat?
• Wanted stable families to support economic development
What were the key aims of the Great Retreat?
• Increase birth rates • Reduce divorce rates
What reforms did Stalin introduce in the Great Retreat?
• Banned abortion and contraception • Criminalised male homosexuality • Pathologised lesbianism • Stigmatised sex outside marriage
What changes did Stalin make to divorce?
• Made divorce expensive and difficult • Required fathers to pay at least 1/3 of income in child support
What pronatalist policies did Stalin introduce?
• Financial incentives for childbirth • 2000 roubles/year for women with 7+ children for 5 years
What was Khrushchev’s view on the family?
• Supported traditional female roles • Aimed to ease burden on women
What reforms did Khrushchev introduce to support families?
• Legalised abortion (1955) • Increased maternity leave (1956) • Expanded childcare and laundries (6th 5YP) • Promoted fridges to reduce shopping burden
What problems remained under Khrushchev’s reforms?
• Crèches opened late/closed early • Contraceptives hard to access • Domestic appliances limited and unhelpful
What was Brezhnev’s view on the family?
• Upheld family as core of Soviet life • Encouraged women to prioritise motherhood over work
What was Brezhnev’s main aim in family policy?
• Increase the birth rate
How did Brezhnev try to increase the birth rate?
• Promoted pronatalist campaigns • Criticised working mothers who ‘neglected’ children
