Examine the status of women and youth in Russia under Stalin.

Page /3 History Test essay 3 Sanjana Purker

Joseph Stalin, in a way, reversed Lenin’s policies with respect to the women and youth. Lenin’s policies were truly socialistic in nature. They completely went against any form of the bourgeois system, while Stalin’s new policies were not created to defend any such principles or ideals. They were solely implemented to ensure Stalin’s position as the sole commander of Russia and quench his thirst for power. He backtracked any such law that gave women freedom or gave students any liberties. He wanted everything in his control and would not tolerate any form of freedom.

With respect to the position of the youth, besides going to school, they were supposed to join youth organizations like the Pioneers (for children under 15) and at the top level- the Komsomol. The Pioneers were similar to the Boy Scouts involving trips, camping and outdoor learning for small children. The Komsomol on the other hand, was very serious in nature and its member would carry out propaganda in villages and attack bourgeois values and traditions. Children were taught how to be good Communists and socialists. They were required to be loyal to Stalin and the government, and put the State before any thing else, even their families. In fact in many cases, children were asked to report their parents to the authorities if they went against the State in any way. They were forced to send their parents to the Gulags if necessary. This tore many families apart. Stalin aim was to create some sort of minions for him- People who would be loyal to him in the future and whom he could successfully control. He wanted to capture and influence the minds and heart of the youth because they would be the leaders of tomorrow.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The members of the Komsomol were part time workers and enforcers of Stalin’s policies; especially in the city of Smolensk. They played a major role in fulfilling the target production figures in the Five-Year Plans. They participated in the collectivization drive and led the ‘spring sowing’ of grains in the kolkhoz (co-operative farm) and sovkhoz (state farm). They were very important in the building of the super industrial city – Magnitogorsk. They were made to enroll in technical courses to improve their qualifications and capabilities and yes, to ‘encourage competition’ between groups of worker. Thus, we see time and again how he changed his ideals to get what he wanted, even if it meant bending a bit towards capitalism. The eminent historian R.Service gives us an accurate picture of the position of youth in Stalinist Russia. “The youth thought themselves to be agents of progress for Soviet society and for humanity as a whole. Stalin had active support in their hundreds of thousands, perhaps even their millions..…. Stalin’s rule in the early 1930s depended crucially upon the presence of enthusiastic supporters in society.”

There was a major change in the education system, which had a direct effect on the youth and children. Exams that had been banned under Lenin were reinstated. Lenin wanted the children to get a more hands-on, practical form of learning. He denounced the exams system of the bourgeois and the West. He believed that people were more productive in the real world rather than in classrooms. Stalin did want to give them so much liberty. He felt that this would lead to free flowing of ideas and went back to the exams system with a strictly censored, state reined curriculum that included a large component of History. But this history was a fudged up history. It portrayed Stalin in a glorified manner and over exaggerated his relationship with Lenin. The curriculum was a rigid program of education and discipline. Such a program encouraged students to continue and pursue the same ideals and values in the future. Stalin ensured that he would be able to mould and shape the future on his terms.

As far as the status of women was concerned, historians have labeled the period under Stalin as the “Great Retreat”. Lenin had painstakingly worked emancipation of women and protection of women’s rights since feminism was an integral component of Marxism and completely opposed the bourgeois ideology. After the Revolution of 1917, the Zhenotdel (“women’s sector”) of the Communist Party was created to support, promote and report women's rights and issues. Men and women were given an equal standing in marriages and divorces were easily available (It is true that many divorces happened through the means of a postcard!). Moreover, in 1920 abortion was made legal. Women were no longer bound to men.

The emergence of Stalin as the central authority changed all of this. There was a ‘Great Retreat’ back to family values. The Zhenotdel was abolished in 1930 in the reorginization of the party. Issues related to women’s rights came at a distant third or even fourth place after industry and agriculture. The new Family Code of May 1936 outlawed abortion (except in a case when there was a danger to the life of the mother). There were even a some reports of some women facing imprisonment for having an abortion, even though the actual punishment for these women was supposed to be public contempt and not prosecution. (But then, we must remember that it was a society under STALIN, so this is not very surprising. He had knack for meting out extreme punishments.) Obtaining a divorce became harder. It became more expensive and time-consuming, thus providing an incentive to the husband and wife to make their marriage work. Families were encouraged to have more children as monetary incentives and child support payments were made to families with more children.

There was a change to pro-family, pro-discipline and anti-abortion policies. This was mainly due to the falling birth rate and this would, in the long run, lead to a deficit of labour. Moreover, there was a marked increase in juvenile crimes because of a large number of homeless children on the street. This led to social instability. On a more personal note, Stalin himself had a hard time accepting the sexual and domestic freedom of women. He firmly believed in the docile and subservient nature of the woman. Sheila Fitzpatrick said, “The new message was that family came first, despite the growing number of women who were receiving education and entering professional careers. No achievement was greater than that of a successful wife and mother.” Stalin encouraged the traditional family as the basic unit of society as it was more efficient to enforce his policies and hence to prevent this disintegration of society, restrictions were imposed on women’s independence.

The Five Year Plans brought about a drastic change in the societal status of Soviet women, even though it was unintentional. Stalin ordered a mass entry of women into the industry due to the high demand for labour in industry and state farms to promote the rapid economic growth. His aim was NOT enhance the independence of women. He believed that the employment of women would increase the household income that could be re-invested to improve the infrastructure of Russia. Between 1932 and 1937, 82% of all newly employed workers were women.

Women had added responsibilities at work but they had no relief at home. The working Soviet woman was still expected to be the dutiful and doting wife and mother. She worked as hard at work as her husband and worked doubly hard at home, more than he did. Yet, she was paid lesser than her husband and interruptions in work due to childbirth dwindled her chances of promotion. Moreover, social services were not granted to women. Another sad aspect was that after working long hours, she would have to come home to the demands of the household, childcare, standing in lines for supplies and shopping, and bad healthcare and hygiene. Very little was done to make life easier for the working Soviet woman. This left her with no time to pursue higher education or get into politics.

However, it must be noted that despite these hardships, society at last went through a positive change. Stalin tried to eradicate loose morals and emphasized family values and togetherness. A Russian peasant said, ”I can’t find words to express my gratitude to comrade Stalin…. My children are my joy, I’ve never had an abortion, and I’m not going to have any.” The fact of the matter remains that women played a much important role in contributing to their country than they ever did in Tsarist Russia and in many parts of the world. Even though modern feminists would condemn Stalin for the “Great Retreat”, many historians look at it as an overall positive movement. Probably one of the only positive impacts Stalin had on Russian society. On the other hand, a part of the youth followed its intended course to become loyalists of Stalin while a part realized Stalin’s hidden agenda and pretenses and rebelled against him, only to be suppressed mercilessly.

Resources: