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Assess the impact of Stalinism on... (Society and Culture Social and…

- - - - Inefficiencies in the manufacturing sector, where industry could not take advantage of economies of scale (mass productions/assembly-line techniques
      - Agricultural prices were falling because domestic demand had been satisfied by 1926, little for peasants to buy even if they could sell their surplus. Falling prices meant peasants were cutting production and putting less produce on the market, with all the dangers of food shortages this implied
- - - - The Komsomol was the Soviet Union's youth organisation (Soviet equivalent of Hitler Youth, although they were not identical). The Komsomol were originally independent of the Communist Party, but by Stalin's time it had come under his control. Membership was optional however failure to join could be used as evidence for lack of support towards communist ideals. More practically, lack of membership made it difficult to spread essential ideals of the party. Membership could be seen as a form of blat
      - Membership to the Komsomol made one almost by definition an 'activist'. Komsomol members would volunteer to assist the party or state organisation, displaying their devotion and involvement with the regime. Examples of this include involvement in grain procurement during the collectivisation process and the anti-religion campaigns of the 1930s.
      - They had their own uniform which had knickers, brtinki (boots), stockings and a semi-military tunic with a Sam Browne belt worn diagonally across the chest.
      - Activism had an appeal for Komsomol members who displayed great enthusiasm for the idealistic goals of the regime. The element of activism was to expose any abuses they discovered in the democracy.
      - Komsomol activists were not always viewed with positive light by ordinary Soviet citizens and their activities were often resented. They were seen by ordinary citizens as the regime's favoured and privileged few.
    - - A stigma was attached to a person who was from a previously bourgeois or upper class background, and many soviet citizens made efforts to 'create' a proletarian or peasant background; to conceal their own background became a crime. It became the duty of Komsomol members to 'unmask' people and expose their true social origin. Unmasking could result in loss of work, food, housing, promotion and other essentials of life. It could also result in expulsion from the Komsomol itself.
      - Not all young people immediately embraced the regime. Between December 1933 and May 1934 police came across several counter-revolutionary groups, especially those supporting Trotskyism and fascism
      - Shiela Fitzpatrick accounts for the impact of youth homelessness at the time. She states the 'Leningrad police were concerned about the demoralising influence gangs of homeless children were having on school children in the city'. She states that knife fights and other forms of violence were common among young homeless people. Homeless children were corrupted and rebellious, and in some areas, children started to leave their parents to live with the homeless children
    - - For some young people, Soviet rule inspired genuine idealism which went far beyond the exhortations (pressure) of the regime. They sought to do more than obey party dictates or industrialise the nation, they sought to create a new way of life, a new way of living based on true socialist principles.
      - Small groups of young people began to experiment with ideology in a practical way and live based on socialist principles. They would share living space, money and possessions. Domestic tasks were rostered, each person given an equal share of work (regardless of gender and capability). It was their ideal form of socialism.