Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Social Developments 1917-35 - Education & Young People - Coggle Diagram
Social Developments 1917-35 - Education & Young People
reduction of illiteracy
improving literacy levels was a key aim in the 1920s and 30s
literacy in the 1930s
helping all adults to become literate became a key goal of the regime in the 1930s 0 the govt built evening schools and 70,000 libraries
historical assessment
Arnove and Graff(1987)
USSR Decree on illiteracy 26 December 1919 required all illiterates between the ago of 8 ad 50 to study
it is difficult to control the outcome of literacy campaogns. although the government hoped that people would use their new literacy skills to read ideological wrks and the libraries were well stocked with political books, people were most interested in travel and biography books
Trotsky and literacy in the CW
T, who led the Red Army, introduced literacy classes - a very progressive policy
1918: half of the soldiers could not read and write
1925: Trotsky had managed to end illiteracy in the army
reading rooms
outside the army, reading rooms known as 'likpunkty' offered six-week courses in reading and writing.
but during the CW, people only had time for survival not learning
literacy after the CW
the govt wanted to end adult illiteracy by 1927
the metal workers reduced illiteracy by 10% in one year after 1925 to just 4%
this campaign was particularly successful through trade unions
growth of primary, secondary & higher education
youth groups in the USSR
youth groups under Krushchev
K always tried to involve the youth groups in his policies
he wanted to use the Komsomol to hold the Party officials to account for their actions
youth groups under Brezhnev
saw the politically ambitious older leaders of the Komsomol as a threat. he emphasised their role in disciplining the members and developing respect for authority
youth groups under Stalin
were supposed to spy on their parents and ac as informants
historical assessment
Michael Geyerand Sheila Fitzpatrick (2009) argue that the 1920s were a period of the intense generational divide in Soviet Russia
The Komsomol was a very political organisation and parents were often shocked by the extent to which their children were changed by their experiences within it. they would sing political songs in church and girls would dress as much like boys as possible
Orlando Figes on the Early Use of Komsomol in Villages
' the Komsomol grew much more rapidly than the party in the countryside... The was a social club for the bored teenagers of the village. it organised them in a crusade against the Church and the oo=ld patriarchal order'
Bolshevik youth groups
Komosal was for people aged 16-28
members of these groups wore uniforms and mainly participated in outdoor activities. they also listened to talks by representatives of the regime
Komsomol members were often undisciplined, despite their supposed links to the Party. they were often drunk and engaged in hooligans
the Young Pioneers was for children aged 10-15, and was founded in 1922
Bolsheviks spread communist ideology via youth groups
the young were recognised as a crucial part of the population. as the future generation, they were crucial to the continuity of the communism in the SU
education in the 1930s
primary and secondary
1927: most people only went to school for four years
1940: most people attended school for six years
30% of people continued education from 14-17 although there were school fees - these levels were similar to Britain
higher education
one million people had graduated from university by 1940
one in three had studied engineering
workers had a specialist
state control of curriculum
Stalins views on education could not be contradicted
he also had favourite ideas , such as Lysenko's ideas pn plants breeding
he saw all other explanations as counter-revolutionary
as such, the disruption Stalin himself caused in education held the country back
he produced his own pamphlets on subjects such as politic and linguistics
science teaching was made tricky as a result
formalising education
after 1934, education became more formal
history was taught again, after being abolished following 1917
it was taught as if history built up to the Bolshevik Revolution and ended with the victory of communism
school uniforms, exams, homework and harsher discipline were reintroduced
materials had to be approved by the state before they could be used
the Soviet regime strictly controlled the education curriculum. Later, Stalin's intervention in education hindered teaching