Changing Attitudes to Family

The Family Between 1917 and 1935

There was a tension between conservative and radical views on marriage in this period. Lenin and his party tried to offer reforms which reduced abuses in marriage.

Alexandra Kollontai's view of the family

Alexandra Kollontai preferred the idea of communal free love to traditional family groups.
There were a number of experiments in communal living, but these rarely made it past the mid-1920s.

Lenin's view of the family

Lenin was more traditional and did not favour free love.
He supported a number of proposals to counter some of the abuses which went on in traditional marriages:
Readily available abortions.
Access to contraception.
The legalisation of prostitution.
The legalisation of homosexuality.
These were extremely progressive positions.

Divorce

Divorce rates went up after laws were relaxed.

Historical assessment

Paul Ginsborg (2016):
Ginsborg argues that Lenin agreed with Kollantai that housework and childcare needed to be collectivised in order to liberate women. Indeed, in a 1919 pamphlet, Lenin wrote that Russian women were still 'domestic slaves.' However, he did not agree with Kollantai that human relationships needed to change as part of the revolution. He was particularly against her revised vision of sexual morality.

Historical assessment cont.

Sheila Fitzpatrick (1999):
‘The upbringing of children is normally considered women’s business, and so it was in Soviet Russia in the 1930s. It was women, not men, who wrote again and again to the authorities asking for help for their children, “barefoot and hungry.”'
The most common type of appeal from urban citizens was a written request for help in tracing an absent husband and collecting family support payments. Aleksandra Artiukhina, chairwoman of a large trade union with many women members reported that “thousands of letters come to me at the union from worker women about seeking their husbands.”

The Family Between 1936 and 1953

Family policy became stricter and more traditional in Stalin's dictatorship.

'The great retreat'

Family policy became more conservative as Stalin’s grip on power tightened.
Trotsky, who was in exile, called this ‘the great retreat’.

Stalin's aims for the family

Stalin aimed to cut divorce rates and increase births. He thought more stable family units would help the economy.
- Abortion was made illegal unless the mother’s life was in danger.
- Contraception was made illegal.
- Male homosexuality could now be punished by up to five years’ hard labour.
- Lesbian women now underwent hypnotherapy as a ‘cure’.

Divorce

Divorce became more expensive, and the price increased for subsequent attempts.
- After a divorce, men were required to give one-third of their wages to the woman to help support their children.

Higher birth rates

Financial incentives were used to encourage higher birth rates.
Having seven children could earn a woman 2,000 roubles a year for five years of the child’s life.
- 11 children granted a woman 5,000 roubles each year.

Historical assessment

Sheila Fitzpatrick (1999):
'In May 1936, the government put out a draft law to strengthen the family whose most notorious aspect was the prohibition of abortion. This came as a shock to many party and intelligentsia members, since the removal of Tsarist prohibitions had been a conspicuous part of early Soviet “liberationist” legislation.'

Historical assessment cont.

Sheila Fitzpatrick (1999):
'If earlier generations of scholars perceived the social conservatism embodied in the legal changes of 1936 as a volte face, it is now interpreted as the culmination of trends already observable in the 1920s. This shift in interpretation has occurred not so much because of new research. Rather, it reflects a paradigmatic change involving a reconsideration of the standard against which Soviet policies are measured.’

1Communist Government in the USSR, 1917-85

1.1Establishing Communist Party Control, 1917-24

1.1.1The Creation of a One-Party State

1.1.2Government under Lenin

1.1.3Centralisation of Power

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Establishing Control

1.1.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Establishing Control

1.2Stalin in Power, 1928-53

1.2.1The Elimination of Opponents

1.2.2The Purges of the 1930s

1.2.3End of Topic Test - The Elimination of Opponents

1.2.4Stalin's Power Over the Communist Party

1.2.5Stalin's Power During & After the Communist Party

1.2.6End of Topic Test - Power Over the Communist Party

1.2.7A-A* (AO3/4) - Stalin in Power

1.3Government, 1953-85

1.3.1Changes in Leaders' Control of the State

1.3.2Khrushchev's Attempts to Reform Government

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Government 1953-85

1.3.4Stability & Stagnation, 1964-85

1.3.5End of Topic Test - Stability & Stagnation

1.3.6A-A* (AO3/4) - Government 1953 - 85

2Industrial & Agricultural Changes

2.1Towards a Command Economy

2.1.1Nationalisation of Industry, Communism & the NEP

2.1.2End of Topic Test - Towards a Command Economy

2.2Industry & Agriculture in the Stalin Era

2.2.1Five Year Plans & Industrial Change

2.2.2Five Year Plans & Industrial Change 2

2.2.3End of Topic Test - Five Year Plans

2.2.4Agricultural Collectivisation & its Impact

2.2.5Recovery from War after 1945

2.2.6End of Topic Test - Collectivisation & Recovery

2.3Changes in Industry & Agriculture, 1953-85

2.3.1Light Industry, Chemicals & Consumer Goods

2.3.2Investment in Agriculture & Virgin Lands

2.3.3Attempts at Reform after 1964

2.3.4End of Topic Test - Industry & Agriculture

2.3.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Industry & Agriculture

3Control of the People, 1917-85

3.1Media, Propaganda & Religion

3.1.1State Control of Mass Media & Propaganda

3.1.2Attacks on Religious Beliefs & Practices

3.1.3Attacks on Religious Beliefs & Practices 2

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Media, Propaganda & Religion

3.1.5Cults: Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev

3.1.6A-A*/ - Media, Propaganda & Religion

3.2The Secret Police

3.2.1Attacks on Opponents of the Government

3.2.2The Roles of Yagoda, Yezhov & Beria

3.2.3Andropov & Late Opposition to Soviet Rule

3.2.4End of Topic Test - Secret Police

3.3The State & Cultural Change

3.3.1Proletkult, Avant-Garde & Socialist Realism

3.3.2Nonconformity from the 1950s

3.3.3End of Topic Test - State & Cultural Change

3.3.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Control of the People

4Social Developments, 1917-35

4.1Social Security

4.1.1Full Employment Benefits

4.1.2Housing & Social Benefits

4.1.3Khrushchev, Brezhnev & Stable Society

4.1.4End of Topic Test - Social Security

4.2Women & Family

4.2.1Changing Status of Different Groups

4.2.2Changing Attitudes to Family

4.2.3Changing Attitudes to Family 2

4.2.4End of Topic Test - Women & Family

4.3Education & Young People

4.3.1Growth of Primary, Secondary & Higher Education

4.3.2Reduction of Illiteracy

4.3.3State Control of the Curriculum

4.3.4End of Topic Test - Education & Young People

4.3.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Social Developments

5Historical Interpretations

5.1What Explains the Fall of the USSR, 1985-91?

5.1.1Economic Weakness

5.1.2Attempts at Economic Reform

5.1.3Failure To Reform The Communist Party & Soviet Gov

5.1.4Impact of Reforms

5.1.5End of Topic Test - Economic Reform

5.1.6Impact of the Nationalist Resurgence

5.1.7Impact of the Nationalist Resurgence 2

5.1.8End of the USSR

5.1.9Gorbachev & Yeltsin's Responsibility

5.1.10End of Topic Test - Nationalist Resurgence

5.1.11A-A* (AO3/4) - Explaining the Fall of the USSR

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