Society under Stalin Flashcards
(41 cards)
How did Marx describe religion?
The opium of the people and claimed it was used to justify the power of the upper class over the people
What was Lenin’s attitude towards the church?
Allowed the freedom of religious worship whilst destroying the power of the Russian orthodox church as church lands were seized, births, marriages, deaths and schools became secularised, priests pursecuted and atheist propaganda circulated
What happened in 1927?
Sergius, the patriarch of the orthodox church made a promise to stay out of politics for state recognition
How did Stalin directly attack the church?
- Religious schools were closed
- Religious creeds forbidden
- Worship was restricted to registered congregations
- Many churches were physically destroyed or deconsecrated
- From 1929-1940, holy Sunday was abolished as workers were employed for six of the seven days of the week with 1/6th of workers having each day off
- Brief relaxation in 1935 but renewed through terror as the constitution criminalised the publication or organisation of religious propaganda
- Whilst priests could vote (which they previously lost in 1918), lost were accused of political involvement and many were sent to gulags
- Orthodox congregations still survived through donations
What happened to Muslims?
- Their property and institutions were seized
- Sharia courts were abolished
- This created a split in the church with the new mosque movement taking a pro-soviet line as pilgrimages to mecca were forbidden from 1935, the frequency of prayers, fasts and feasts reduced and the veil forbidden
- This led to backlash from central Asian Muslim communities as traditionalists who followed these guidelines were murdered
- Many Muslim priests were imprisoned and executed
What happened to Jews?
Jewish schools and synagogues were destroyed especially in Georgia and Armenia but faith remained strong
What was religion like by 1941?
- Nearly 40,000 Christian churches and 25,000 mosques were closed and converted into schools, cinemas, clubs, warehouses, museums and grain stores
- Religious belief remained strong due to the harshness of collectivisation nd the purges with over half a million religious believers in the 1937b consensus despite it being much higher but people failed to admit due to pressure on believers and expression controversial views thus it became impossible to kill religious beliefs
What were the lives of women like under Lenin?
Propaganda created a new liberation for women where sex discrimination was outlawed, divorce and abortion made easier, family as a relic of bourgeoise society and women encouraged to work but there were limited numbers
Why did Stalin retreat to traditional policies towards women in the 1930s?
A fall in population, fear of war and rise in family breakups (several million orphans in the USSR causing them to be placed into state run institutions considered a great social evil). This was known as the great retreat as family became the focus of propaganda with Stalin as a father figure and ideal family man
How was the importance of marriage emphasised?
Wedding rings and certificates being reintroduced
How did film and art change?
Shifted from presenting muscular women for the soviet economy to feminine family woman with adoring children
What was the new family code issued in May 1936 and by law in June?
- Abortion became illegal leading to rising birth rates after it was previously legalised in 1929
- Fees were introduced for divorced and both parties has to attend the proceedings increasing difficulties (Previously Russia had the highest divorce and abortion rate in Europe)
-Contraception was only permitted on medical grounds - Mother with 6 or more children received tax exemptions and bonuses for every additional child under 10
- Child support payments were fixed at 60% of the father’s income but difficult to collect due to polygamy
- Children who committed violent cries were treated like an adult from 12
- Adultery was criminalised as the name of male offenders were put in the press
- New decrees were enforced against prostitution and homosexuality although in practice, authorities failed to acknowledge their existence
What were divorce rates like in Moscow in 1934?
37%
How many abortions were there for every 57,00 live births?
150,000
What percentage of men and women in their 30s were married by 1937?
91% of men and 83% of women
What happened to women?
They ere more likely to be unemployed and without compensation as their appearance in the fringes of society increased as prostitutes numbers rose. The failures for women to get injustices overturned in court led to strikes and protests but only the most committed women were willing to attend party-organised meetings but overall female involvement declined. Poorer women were still expected to look after the home and children with the added strain of full time work and the status of Asian Islamic women were reduced further.
How were young people treated under Stalin?
Free education was offered at all levels of co-educational schools in the 1920s in order to teach about socialist ideology as traditional teachers and examinations were abandoned. Students from a proletariat background were given priority in higher education courses but students were poor and dropped out
What was Stalin’s view towards Lenin’s education system?
Stalin wanted to revert back to organised school structure and traditional methods of teaching and discipline as the system failed to produce skilled workers, scientists and technicians
What did the Narkompros?
It centralised education through nursery schools for 3 year olds, infant schools up until 7 and secondary schools until at least 15 with parental contribution plus many adult educational institutions were established. Schools became the responsibility of collective farms of town enterprises
Who controlled universities?
Veshenka for delivering economic growth
When was the quota system abandoned and what replaced it?
1935 and replaced by selection for academic achievement as it had a curriculum formal teaching, report cards and uniform. Nationalism was promoted plus military training before the war
How were days structured?
- 30% for Russian language and literature
- 20% and 15% science for the training of specialists and for the less able practical work as the quality of university science graduates improved but due to the loss of the quota system, there were limited working class students
- 10% for soviet style history
How was loyalty emphasised in the education system?
- Teachers were given a high status and often party members
- They were closely watched and could easily be arrested if they didn’t live up to high standards under the stakanovite system
- If students failed, they could be blamed or purged
How did literacy improve?
65% of the population were literate before the revolution and by 1941, 94% of 9-49 year olds in towns and 86% in the countryside which was beneficial to absorb propaganda
