Education under Stalinism Rachel & Katja

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Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.
Joseph Stalin
Stalins Aims for Education Policy
1. Mass provision of primary education - with equal opportunity for all - in order to overcome
the high illiteracy rate that was inherited from tsarist Russia
2. Stalin was aware that the young people of Russia would be the future workers of Russia and
therefore he was determined to ensure that they would be skilled enough to play their part
in Russia's industrial and scientific development
3. The creation of a new 'socialist citizen' who accepted collectivist rather than individualistic
ideals and instil this ideal within the population D. Treadgold, University of Washington:
the intent of the Soviet regime is not to educate, but to indoctrinate through a culturally
totalitarian system of controls which produce, in the words of Stain, a group of intellectuals
who are "engineers of human minds," and for the rest, minds capable of being engineered.
In this manner it is intended to create the "new Soviet man."
Comparison between education under Lenin and education under Stalin
EDUCATION UNDER LENIN EDUCATION UNDER STALIN
Lenin saw education as an instrument for the
Communist transformation of society (C. Corin
& T. Fish)
Stalin saw education as a means of promoting
and improving industrialisation, building the
future workforce.
Schools encouraged to follow a more liberal
line of childrens development
Schools diverged from Western teaching
methods and returned to a more socialist
school of thinking
There was a focus on creativity and progressive
methods of teaching
Education was structured around mechanical
and engineering lessons and teaching became
more formal
Aim in developing individuals who accepted
collectivist rather than individualistic ideals
Teachers were forbidden to discipline pupils
and or set homework and examinations
School uniforms, report cards and test results
were reintroduced

Progression to Stalinism in Education
During Leninist Russia, Lenin did not believe education could be politically neutral (C. Corin
& T. Fish) in 1919 the Party Programme declared the institution of the school to be an
instrument for the Communist transformation of society.
Learning the alphabet under Lenin:
A = All power to the Soviets
B = Bolsheviks
C = Communist
Under Lenin, religious teaching was replaced by atheistic Communist values
In the early 1920s the head of the Commissariat for Enlightenment, Lunarcharsky, employed
more progressive Western teaching methods between 1919 and 1920 schools followed a
more liberal curriculum focused on development of personality. (Lunacharsky was
condemned as anti-revolutionary (Shelia Fitzpatrick).
On the whole, schooling was a disaster area. (C. Corin & T. Fish)
More traditional methods of teaching reinstated with the NEP in 1921.
1927: 15
th
Party Congress greatly increased expenditure on education as a result it grew
(by 1933):
7.9 million students 9.7
118,558 schools 1666,275
Illiteracy almost eradicated by 1939: literacy of 9-49: towns - 94%, rural areas - 86%
a nationwide campaign to eradicate illiteracy (A. Wood)
Education was highly centralised
Soviet ethics stress the primary of the collective over the interests of the individual (G.
Curtis)
Stalinism ordered a total ban on all manifestations of intellectual individualism, heterodoxy
or dissent. (A. Wood)
Budget for schools (emphasise that these statistics are Soviet-produced):
1924-5 1925-6 1926-7
Constituent Republics 62.9 million 84.6 million 105.3 million
Local 118.4 million 151.8 million 211.9 million
TOTAL 181.3 million 236.4 million 317.2 million
Number schools & pupils from 1914-27:
Elementary Education Secondary Education
Schools Pupils Schools Pupils
1914-15 104,610 7,235,988 11790 563,480
1920-21 114,235 9,211,351 4,163 564,613
1921-22 99,396 7,918,751 3,137 520,253
1922-23 87,559 6,808,157 2,478 586,306
1923-24 87,258 7,075,810 2,358 752,726
1924-25 91,086 8,429,490 1,794 710,431
1925-26 101,193 9,487,110 1,640 706,804
1926-27 108,424 9,903,439 1,708 784,871

Youth & Schools
Provision of Secondary education expanded under Stalin
Outside-school: children & youth expected to join organisations such as:
Octobrists 8-10 years of age
Pioneers 10-16 years of age
Komsomol 19-23 years of age who often assisted the police and Red Army
Gender equality was emphasised and practised - women provided with equal education
School uniforms: enforced equality & the notion of the collective.
Were encouraged to challenge ideas & ideals of previous generations, guaranteeing loyalty
to the Party as opposed to families or pre-revolution knowledge.
Treatment of Youth was dictated by Communist belief in a strong & obedient workforce.
Propaganda of education promoted:
Co-operation
Respect for authority
Improvement in worker skill levels
Technological & scientific advancement
My Student, 1948 encourages students to excel academically
Curriculum and Schooling Structure
From early 1930s Stalin insisted education would be more strict
1943: single-sex schools replaced co-education in urban areas
Marxist-Leninist theory was a major element of the curriculum
The underlying philosophy of the Soviet curriculum was that the teachers job was to
transmit standardised materials to the students and the students job was to memorise those
materials, all of which were put in the context of socialist ethics (G. Curtis).
Creativity discovered due to the emphasis placed on the collective as opposed to the
individual.
Some tsarist elements remained:
Five-point grade system
Formal and regimented classes (G. Curtis)
Uniforms: (standard) black dresses, white collars - girls, white shirts & black pants -
boys
In the curricula of the schools the most modern methods are applied in accord with local
needs. (B. Baggins)
Under Soviet control schools became:
More strict - engrain discipline in youth so that they would become efficient workers
Focused on developing skills necessary for skilled workers
More liberal decisions of the 1920s reversed (under Lenin) following introduced:
School uniforms
Reports
Test results/exams
1932: rigid programme of discipline introduced:
Exams (banned under Lenin) reintroduced
History curriculum closely monitored - A Short History of the USSR produced -
Stalins role in the 1917 Revolution & his relationship with Lenin exaggerated -
propaganda supported this by depicting him as god-like and benevolent(C. Baker).
Books strictly censored
Emphasis on outdoor activities and noble, principled morals
A study in the 1950s (American) found:
Soviet teachers were well educated
Classes seemed to be small - effective & efficient education
Placed emphasis on science & engineering