Growth of Primary, Secondary & Higher Education

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Education in the 1930s

Education steadily improved over the 1930s.

Primary and Secondary education in the 1930s

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 too.
- These levels were similar to Britain.

Higher education in the 1930s

Workers had a specialist education.
One million people had graduated from university by 1940.
- One in three had studied engineering.

Youth Groups in the USSR

The young were recognised as a crucial part of the population. As the future generation, they were crucial to the continuity of communism in the Soviet Union.

Bolshevik youth groups

The Bolsheviks spread communist ideology through youth groups.
The Young Pioneers was for children aged 10 to 15, and was founded in 1922.
Komsomol 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 hooliganism.

Youth groups under Stalin

Under Stalin, youth group members were supposed to spy on their parents and act as informants for the regime.

Youth groups under Khrushchev

Khrushchev always tried to involve the youth groups in his policies.
He wanted to use the Komsomol to hold Party officials to account for their actions.

Youth groups under Brezhnev

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.

Historical assessment

Michael Geyer and 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.
- Young people generally looked back at this time of their lives with nostalgia.

Orlando Figes on the Early Use of Komsomol in Villages

‘The Komsomol grew much more rapidly than the party in the countryside...The Komsomol was a social club for the bored teenagers of the village. It organized them in a crusade against the Church and the old patriarchal order.’

Illustrative background for undefined ?? "content

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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