Social developments Flashcards
(128 cards)
1
Q
How was the Baikal-Amur Mainline a positive for women under Brezhnev?
A
Provided recruitment for single women
2
Q
What were 3 negatives for women in the workplace under Brezhnev?
A
- Low paid and unskilled work
- Double burden
- Only 4% of the Central Committee
3
Q
What percentage of low skilled workers were women under Brezhnev?
A
72%
4
Q
What were the 3 main points of the 1968 Family Code?
A
- banned divorce of pregnant or 1 year post natal women
- provided private accommodation for new mothers
- greater benefits for having more children
5
Q
What were 3 positives for women in the workplace under Khrushchev?
A
- Valentina Tereshkova
- increased role in local soviets and the Politburo
- Furtseva first woman in the Politburo
6
Q
What were 3 negatives for women in the workplace under Khrushchev?
A
- Low skilled, traditionally female roles
- Experienced sexual violence in the Virgin Lands
- No further military role
7
Q
What was legalised again in 1956 in the USSR?
A
Abortion
8
Q
What were 3 of Lenin’s successful policies toward housing?
A
- house of the rich redistributed to the poor
- rent free housing introduced
- socialist policies
9
Q
What are 3 ways housing policies under Lenin were limited?
A
- NEP privatised 60-80%
- redistribution outlawed
- rent free ended in 1921
10
Q
What was a positive policy of Stalin toward housing?
A
Reintroduced redistribution
11
Q
What were 3 negatives of Stalin’s housing policies?
A
- forced Kommunalka
- living space reduced to 4 square metres
- corridor dwellers
12
Q
What were 3 successes of housing policies under Khrush and Brezh?
A
- urban housing doubled
- benefits for larger families
- low cost housing standardised
13
Q
What was a key negative of housing under Khrush and Brezh?
A
Moved away from ideals of Communism
14
Q
Why was there a housing crisis in the USSR?
A
Many houses were destroyed in WW2 and urbanisation increased pressure
15
Q
What was the Marxist ideal for housing?
A
People should be allocated housing based on their needs
16
Q
What is Kommunalka?
A
Communal housing, often shared by 2 to 7 families with shared facilities
17
Q
What were 3 positives of social security under Khrush and Brezh?
A
- pensions increased and retirement age reduced
- more schools and services for peasants
- free healthcare
18
Q
What were 2 flaws with healthcare under K and B?
A
- poor quality in Asian Russia
- low life expectancy due to alcoholism
19
Q
What were 3 positives for employment under K and B?
A
- almost full employment
- increased wages and decreased pay gap
- minimum wage introduced
20
Q
What were negatives of employment under K and B?
A
Low job satisfaction and growing corruption
21
Q
What were 3 negatives of employment under Lenin and Stalin?
A
- NEP triples unemployment
- 1930s trade unions lose right to strike
- 1932 workers lose right to leave their jobs
22
Q
How was equality increased under Lenin and Stalin?
A
Better gender equality and deprivatisation
23
Q
How was equality negatively impacted under Lenin and Stalin?
A
Party and Stakhanovite privileges seen in housing, rationing cards and education
24
Q
Why was social security important in the USSR?
A
Stabilise politically and economically and provide a productive workforce
25
How was healthcare improved under Lenin and Stalin? (3)
- doctors doubled in the 1930s
- medicine made cheap and vaccines available
- infant mortality declined by 50%
26
What were 3 negatives for population health under Lenin and Stalin?
- Between 1917-21 the population of Leningrad halved due to food shortages
- cycles of famine
- goods such as shoes and soap not easily available
27
What act in 1918 abolished private property?
Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling People
28
What did the USSR become in 1930?
The first country to end unemployment
29
What did the USSR become in 1922?
The most comprehensive welfare system in the world
30
What did Stalin believe about family?
A stable family is the centre of a stable economy
31
Was was made illegal in the USSR in 1936?
Abortion
32
What did propaganda from the 1936 Family Code attack?
Unfaithful men
33
How did the 1936 Family Code change marriage? (3)
- reintroduced wedding rings
- revalued wedding certificates
- divorce made more difficult and expensive
34
How did attitudes to sex change due to the 1936 Family Code?
More traditional attitudes adopted and campaigns promoted abstinence
35
What was criminalised/reduced in the 1936 Family Code? (5)
- incest
- bigamy
- adultery
- homosexuality
- contraception
36
What were 3 positives of women in the workplace under Stalin?
- lots of women in industry
- lots of female tractor drivers
- infamous role in the military
37
What percentage of industry workers were women in 1940?
40%
38
How many female tractor drivers were there under Stalin?
50,000
39
How many women were in combat roles by 1945?
800,000
40
What were infamous Russian female fighter pilots called?
'Night witches'
41
What were 3 negatives for women in the workplace under Stalin?
- earned 60% of male wage
- horrendous conditions
- first to be demobilised from the military
42
What were 3 negatives for women in politics under Stalin?
- Zhenotdel closed in 1939
- female politicians expected to go home
- 'wife activists' organised stereotypically female sectors of government
43
What was Kollontai's role?
Commissar for Public Welfare (1917-1918) and history's first female ambassador
44
What were 3 reforms of the 1918 Family Code?
- divorce legalised
- women no longer the property of men
- maternity leave granted
45
What was legalised in 1920 in the USSR?
Abortion
46
What was Zhenotdel?
Women's Communist Organisation
47
What was the purpose of Zhenotdel?
Increase female political power
48
What were 3 limitations of the 1918 Family Code?
- divorces led to abandonment of women
- no women in the Politburo
- traditional attitudes remained
49
What were 3 successes for women in the workplace under Lenin?
- Zhenotdel recruited women
- 70,000 women fought in the Red Army
- occupied some political roles
50
What were 3 negatives for women in the workplace under Lenin?
- NEP limited jobs and increased prostitution
- largely unskilled labour
- first to be demobilised
51
What was Komsomol?
Political youth organisation aiming to eliminate capitalist culture aged up to 28
52
What was the incentive for joining Komsomol?
Access to state-sponsored holidays and higher education
53
What was the educational purpose of Komsomol?
Taught values of Communism and improves literacy rates
54
How did Lenin reform universities?
Nationalised them
55
What was Stalin's quota for working class students in higher education?
70%
56
How much did student numbers increase under Khrushchev?
1.5 - 5 million
57
What did Brezhnev fund in education?
18 new unis in non-Russian republics
58
How many doctors were there in the USSR by 1975?
32,000
59
What fraction of the Soviet population was in education by 1980?
1/3
60
What was abolished in 1956?
School fees
61
How did Khrushchev reform education? (3)
- established vocational education
- university students had to spend 2 years in practical employment
- reversal of Stalinist policies
62
What were 3 problems with Khrushchev's education reforms?
- unpopular vocational education
- only 65% of schools complied with reforms
- nepotism got children into elitist schools
63
What were 3 positive reforms to education under Brezhnev?
- ended vocational changes
- 70% of teachers attended university
- free textbooks and hot meals
64
What were 2 negative aspects to education under Brezhnev?
- only 60% of students finished secondary education
- curriculum stagnated
65
How did Stalin reform education to support a skilled workforce? (2)
- maths and science promoted over humanities
- Stakhanovite movement extended to teachers
66
How did Stalin reform education which diverted from Communist ideology? (4)
- strict discipline
- corrupt scholarships
- gender separation
- history taught achievements of great leaders
67
How did Stalin reform education which supported Communist ideology? (2)
- free primary education
- increased literacy
68
What was the role of Krupskaya?
Deputy Minister for Education
69
What was the role of Lunacharsky?
Minister of Culture
70
What were the aims of education under Lenin?
Make it free and accessible and consolidate power
71
How did Krupskaya and Lunacharsky reform education? (3)
- free, compulsory and comprehensive
- free breakfast and medical checks
- uni open for all
72
What was banned in schools under Lenin? (4)
- religion
- exams
- homework
- corporal punishment
73
What was a key limitation of education under Lenin?
Lack of funding and resources - 1 pencil for every 60 students
74
Purpose of collective housing - Figes
'private space and property would disappear, family life would be replaced by Communist fraternity'
75
Importance of education - Figes
'for the Bolsheviks, education was the key to the creation of a socialist society'
76
Komsomol - Figes
'the organisation functioned as a reserve army of enthusiasts'
77
Communal apartments - Figes
'a microcosm of the Communist society'
78
Spying in Kommunalka - Figes
'eavesdropping, spying and informing were all rampant in the Kommunalka of the 1930s'
79
Family expectations - Figes
'the good Stalinist was supposed to be monogamous, devoted to his family'
80
Which old Russian proverb portrayed traditional attitudes to women?
'the more you beat your wife the better the soup will taste'
81
Why did the Bolsheviks aim to improve the status of women?
Driven by the Communist ideal of equality between sexes
82
What was passed into law concerning the status of women in December 1917?
Equal pay of men and women
83
What did the 1918 Soviet Constitution declare concerning the role of women?
That men and women had equal legal status
84
What percentage of divorces were initiated by men following the 1918 Family Code?
70%
85
Why did female employment increase under Lenin?
Due to the reality of needing more industrial workers during wartime
86
How did war and famine in the 1920s impact women?
Left many homeless and destitute
87
What was the campaign against the veiling of women in 1927?
The attempt of the Bolsheviks to break down traditional Muslim attitudes to women by using young female activists to campaign against veiling, while introducing contraception and childcare
88
What was the reaction to a Zhenotdel meeting in Baku?
Muslim men attacked it with dogs and boiling water
89
Why was Zhenotdel closed in 1939?
The male-dominated party claimed all women's issues had been solved
90
What was the impact of collectivisation on women?
They became the bulk of agricultural workers as men moved away to work in cities and fight in WW2
91
What did the number of female workers rise from in 1928 to 1940?
3 million to over 13 million
92
What percentage of higher education places were reserved for women in 1929 versus how many were already occupied?
20% v 14%
93
Who were the most privileged group of women in the 1930s?
The wives of the Soviet elite
94
What was the role of the wives of the Soviet elite?
Did not enter the workforce, instead did 'social work' such as organising cultural productions in the workplace
95
How many women received the Hero of the Soviet Union award in WW2?
89
96
How may the role of women be considered more advanced in the Soviet Union than the West?
The distinction between male and female work was more blurred
97
What percent of party membership was women in 1932?
16%
98
When did Furtseva enter the Politburo?
1957
99
Why was Furtseva's role limited?
She was a favourite of Khrushchev, do when he was dismissed her career declined
100
How much did the status and role of women change in the Soviet Union? (OPINION)
The intention for equality was clear from the Bolsheviks, however this began to crumble when the the party became less ideologically pure and more male dominated, failing to change traditional attitudes and often making lives worse for women in general
101
How did the Bolsheviks view the family?
An outdated institution, the 'capitalist tyranny of parents'
102
How did Kollontai view sexual freedom?
Argued for the 'new proletarian morality' and union of free love in place of 'bourgeois marriage'
103
How does socialism provide an alternative to the family unit?
Communal living breaks up traditional family structures and the state can take over the upbringing and social services of children
104
What changed for marriage in law in 1927?
Equal status given to registered and unregistered marriages
105
In 1926, what percentage of marriages in Moscow ended in divorce?
50%
106
In 1926, what was the ratio of abortions to live births in Moscow?
3:1
107
What was changed in law in July 1944 to support the family? (2)
- awards introduced for 'mother-heroines' with 10 or more children
- tax on single people encouraged marriage
108
How did the multi-generational families under Khrushchev help the state?
Reduced the cost to the government of supporting the old and sick
109
Why was abortion legalised in 1955?
To reduce financial strain on the family
110
What was the average number of children of families in cities in 1970 in the USSR?
2.4
111
How did alcoholism in the Brezhnev era damage the family?
Caused an increase in domestic abuse and divorce
112
What did Khrushchev declare in 1961?
That Soviet people would finally enjoy the benefits of socialism
113
What was developed socialism?
A Soviet society instilled with the values of the revolution
114
What did the 1977 Soviet Constitution guarantee?
Its citizens full employment
115
By how much did real wages rise between 1967-77?
50%
116
What did the 9th 5YP (1971-75) do for the first time?
Set a higher growth rate for consumer goods than heavy industry
117
What was the Octobrists?
USSR youth group aged 5-9
118
Who were the Pioneers?
USSR youth group aged 10-14
119
By how much did state spending increase between 1950-80?
Fivefold
120
What were krushchoby?
'Khrushchev's slums' - nickname for prefabricated housing blocks
121
What did some hospitals in the USSR lack as recently as 1988?
Heating and running water
122
What percentage of children failed to complete primary education under the Tsar?
88%
123
How did NEP affect schools?
State spending on schools declined and student numbers shrank
124
How many schools were destroyed during WW2?
82,000
125
What was Russification?
The policy of imposing Russian language and culture on the ethnic minorities
126
What were rabfaki?
Schools set up after the revolution to teach basic literacy and numeracy to those who dropped out of education
127
What was the literacy rate under the Tsar?
35%
128
What was the literacy rate in the Soviet Union's urban population by 1939?
94%
