History in Soviet Schools: Education, Ideology and Politics

Society for History Education
Education, Ideology, and Politics: History in Soviet Primary and Secondary Schools
Author(s): N. H. Gaworek
Source: The History Teacher, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Nov., 1977), pp. 55-74
Published by: Society for History Education
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Education,Ideology,and Politics:
Historyin Soviet Primaryand
SecondarySchools
N. H. GAWOREK
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
"Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who

holds it in his hand and who is struck with it."
---. V. Stalin to H. W. Wells
ALL SOCIETIES, whether simple or complex, use education to

integrate and socialize their members. The purpose is to transmit the
values, skills, and knowledge necessary for the survival and propaga-
tion of a social order. By examining the structure, processes, and
contents of an educational system we may learn more about the funda-
mental aspects of a society than by any other method.
In few nations is education as purposive, emphatic, or rigorous as
in the Soviet Union. By completely controllingthe educational system,
the regime seeks to enhance its power, legitimize its authority, pro-
Mr. GAWOREK,who received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,

currently teaches at that University's Green Bay campus.A specialist in Central and
East European history, he has published in the ModernEncyclopediaof Russian and
Soviet History, the American Historical Review, and in Jahrbiicher fiir Geschichte
Osteuropas.ProfessorGaworekis preparinga study on Soviet Russia'sfirst ambassador
to the United States.
55

56 THEHISTORY
TEACHER
mote its policies, and maintain public morale and stability. As in other
authoritarian societies, education in the Soviet Union embraces the
entire complex of sociocultural experiences to which its citizens are
exposed during their lifetime. The school system is centralized,
bureaucratized, and controlled by the CommunistParty which, since
the 1930's has overseen all aspects of scholarship, teaching, and
creativity-especially in the arts, the humanities, and the social
sciences. Party and state claim the exclusive right to educate children
according to their purportedaim of achieving the distant goal of com-
munism. Individual goals and aspirations are subordinated to the
needs of a regime which distrusts manifestations of individualism and
spontaneity. Education, therefore, is unabashedly political and
stresses loyalty to the regime, buttressing its claim to sole authority
to interpret the present, the past, and the future. Indeed, many of the
features are clearly unique even among authoritarian or totalitarian
societies.'
In addition to making some general observations regarding the
use and abuse of history, I shall examine the significance, function,
content, and efficacy of history in the Soviet Union's primary and
secondary schools in which Soviet citizens receive their major accul-
turating experiences.
History plays a crucial role in Soviet education. One should not

be surprised to find, however, that as an academic subject history is
not an autonomous scholarly discipline. To the contrary, it is partisan
and dogmatic. The educator M. A. Zinoviev echoed a long tradition
when he proclaimed that history is a "powerfulweapon of communist
education and it must wholly serve the cause of the struggle for com-
munism."2 Because it is the most political of the social sciences-
indeed, a "Party science"-the writing and teaching of history accord-
ingly are supervised closely. The Soviet government is convinced of
the efficacy of teaching history in accomplishing its immediate and
long-term goals. Indicative of this belief is the following statement:
"Soviet children, almost as a rule, dream of becomingfactory workers,
scholars... as well as people creative in other fields of socialist endeav-
or."3Thus, the history that is written not only reflects the philosophy
and policy of the regime, it is its auxiliary. As such it must explain
current policies and events in terms of the founding myths and char-
ters provided by Marx and Lenin. The history profession has little
choice but to propoundthe regime's definitions,decisions, and aspira-

HISTORY
IN SOVIETSCHOOLS 57
tions; it is forced to be "party-minded"and attuned ideologically. To
deviate is to risk punishment, and the syllabus of errors--"romanti-
cism," "bourgeois objectivism,""cosmopolitanism,""idealism,""revi-
sionism," "reformism"--is a long one.4
After the Bolshevik Revolution the Soviet leadership in announc-
ing the beginning of a cultural revolution, made drastic changes in
Russia's school system. A decade of discussion and experimentation
followed under the direction of A. V. Lunacharsky,commissar of edu-
cation, the historian M. N. Pokrovsky, and Lenin's wife Nadezhda
Krupskaia. Their enthusiasm and high expectations were emulated by
others: "Anxious to implement the millenium in the shortest possible
time ... Soviet educators ... were unabashed in their efforts to
achieve the well-nigh impossible."s Using the secularized, democra-
tized, co-educational,and labor-orientedpolytechnicalschools, the Bol-
sheviks indicted the old regime and bourgeois society while extolling
the virtues and promises of the new order. Education was to equip the
largely illiterate masses with knowledge, culture, and class conscious-
ness. From the very beginning, therefore, the regime sought to use the
schools for the transmission of communist ideas as well as the trans-
formation of society. In March 1919 Lenin stated,
in the field of public education the CommunistParty sets itself
the task of concludingthe work begun by the OctoberRevolu-
tion of 1917 of transforming the school from a weapon of the
class rule of the bourgeoisie into a tool for the complete elimi-
nation of class divisions of society and a tool for the commu-
nist transformation of society.6
The communist school, wrote E. P. Preobrazhensky in October 1919,
must effect the same revolutionary overthrow of bourgeois
society, that the Soviet power has effected in the economic
sphere by the nationalization of the means of production.The
minds of men must be made ready for the new social relation-
ships. ... In part, therefore, it is the task of the school to adapt
the mentality of the adults to the changed conditions. Still
more, however, it is the task of the new school, to train up a
younger generation whose whole ideology shall be deeply
rooted in the soil of the new communist society.7
These themes were repeated in numerous writings and decrees. The
school system became the instrument conveying both the principles of
communism and the necessity of supporting the new political order.
The primacy of politics over general education was established, partic-
ularly in the liberal arts and social sciences.
Implementing the new program, however, proceeded slowly. Ex-

58 THE HISTORYTEACHER
isting conditions--physical destruction, social and political dislocation

-prevented quick progress. The Unified LaborSchool of 1918 became
the model through which the regime attempted organically to inte-
grate learning, technical training, work, and politics.8Efforts to estab-
lish a uniform curriculumwere unsuccessful. In June 1923, however,
the "complex programs"were introduced, in which subject material
was adapted from the traditional disciplines. Knowledge was impart-
ed through concepts taught in an interdisciplinary manner rather
than in the traditional departmentalized form. The stress was on poly-
technical education, an emphasis which increased from year to year,
albeit with dubious results. The major themes and concepts around
which knowledge was organized were "nature"(productiveenergies),
"labor" (productive relations), and "society" (superstructure). The
central theme of the primary and secondary school curriculum was
"human labor." Instruction emphasized acquiring theoretical knowl-
edge, particularly as it related to the evolution and significance of
labor in Marxist terms, rather than on gaining practical skills for
which most schools lacked suitable equipment or local opportunities.
History as a separate academic subjectdisappearedalmost entire-
ly from the curriculum.Like geography, economics,political economy,
and sociology, it was incorporated into social science courses. Basical-
ly, history was only used to illustrate otherwise inexplicable phenome-
na.9 In this amalgamation of knowledge the factual and interpretive
teaching of history was discarded as "incorrect, unnecessary, and
unimportant."1oWhatever history remained was refracted through
Marxist-Leninist prisms; i.e., Marxist analysis of society, the laws of
social development, and the inevitability of the victory of socialism
and communism were the major themes of social science courses
which provided the bulk of the curriculum and were designed "to
promote political understanding and build political convictions in the
younger generation in accordance with Bolshevik ideology."11
Some instruction in history was considerednecessary. In grade III
a basic background to recent events in Russia was introduced, while
in grade IV highlights of humanity's past were presented. In grade V
medieval history focused on the class struggle between peasants and
landowners in Russia and in the West up to the French Revolution. In
grade VI the main topic was the conflictbetween workers and capital-
ists from the beginning of the industrial revolution to 1914. In grade
VII the development of capitalism to 1914 was examined. Major
events in recent history, such as Russia's disintegration during World
War I, the revolutions of 1917, the establishment of Soviet power, and
the future of world revolutions were the main topics in grade VIII. The

IN SOVIETSCHOOLS
HISTORY 59
mere understanding and appreciation of the past was rejected. Kon-
stantin Shteppa described the content of historical materials:
It excluded facts having to do with the cultural life of the past,
as well as events of so-called "external"history, that is, hav-
ing to do with international relations, war, and so on. Mention
of individuals who took a leading part in history was carefully
avoided, or where exceptions were permitted, in the case of
"popularheroes" and "leaders of revolutionary movements,"
the presentation was limited to the most general information
without any personal characterization and without any bio-
graphical detail whatsoever, except possibly an indication of
their "social origin." Chronological data were also avoided,
being replaced by general designations, such as centuries and
epochs. There was no concern whatsoever with chronological
consistency; historical material was organized and utilized
only to illustrate propositions and conclusions of an abstract
sociological character.12
Introducing the new material was difficult.Most members of the
teaching profession, whose ranks were decimated by emigration, war,
and famine, were not prepared or willing to teach the new program.
There were no adequate syllabi, curricula, or texts. Student commit-
tees often dominated the classroom and the manner with which the
subject matter was dealt. Many teachers were dismissed because they
were deemed politically unreliable. M. A. Zinoviev admitted that the
"problemof the democratization of historical science, of the establish-
ment of the close connection between history and contemporaneous-
ness ... although a very difficultproblem ... was nevertheless eagerly
taken up by Soviet teachers, but failed of solution for a long time."13
Nevertheless, Soviet educators believed they had discovered the laws
and methods providing the nexus between school, society, and politics.
Despite obvious shortcomings, frustrations, and failures, the
regime's efforts to inculcate new values and virtues were not entirely
without success, although it was charged that the social sciences were
the weakest link in the curriculum. The training of politically reliable
cadres progressed, albeit slowly. The degree of socialization and mobi-
lization achieved during this period was not inconsistent with the
reconstructionist aims of the New EconomicPolicy from 1921 to 1928.
II
The profound domestic changes of the late 1920's-Stalin's politi-
cal victory over his opponents, mass collectivization of the peasants,

60 THEHISTORY
TEACHER
forced industrialization-fundamentally altered the contours of Sovi-
et society and culture as well as educational policy. Greater discipline,
enthusiasm, energy, practical knowledge in technology and manage-
ment, loyalty, and subjection of the individual and the collective to
Party and state were now required. All human and material resources
of society had to be mobilized and harnessed if the ambitious goals of
the first Five Year Plan were to be achieved. Education, too, was to
be an integral part of this planned society.
The school system which had prevailed during the 1920's was
abolished.14Previous methods and principleswere criticized, and gen-
eral elements were condemned and repudiated.15A modified au-
thoritarian and formal learning school was established. The Central
Committee attacked especially the social sciences, which it regarded
as having "an inadequate historical focus ... which reflected an ex-
traordinarily weak conception of the past of other peoples and coun-
tries and of the development of mankind." The Central Committee
ordered that the bases of the social sciences, language and literature,
and geography, be strengthened by adding historical facts, exposi-
tions, and comparisons.16
This development gave history a new place in the curriculum. On
September 5, 1931, separate subjects were reintroduced to assure the
teaching of a definite volume of systematic knowledge in specific aca-
demic areas.17Formal and structured teaching, discipline, rigorous
examination, and grades were instituted. Traditional learning was
now stressed rather than the performance of socially useful labor or
the learning of "abstractions."18A year later, the curriculum was
standardized and defined in more detail.
Thus, history as a formal and separate subject once again became
part of the curriculum. Advocates of this instruction in history
demanded the inclusion in the social-scienceprograms of sec-
tions devoted entirely to history, in which would be elucidat-
ed, logically and with suitable fullness, the facts of the class
struggle, the economic development of society, and the revo-
lutionary movement. The occasional use of isolated historical
illustrations devoid of any connections with the facts, seemed
to them insufficient and, indeed, contrary to the spirit of
Marxism.19
The space allotted to history in the curriculumaccordingly grew. But
while the abstractions and sociological formulationsused in the 1920's
were discarded, other rigid formulations were introduced in their
stead.20
The turning point in this second cultural revolution came with the

HISTORY
IN SOVIETSCHOOLS 61
publication of two decrees by the Central Committee and the Council
of Commissars on May 16, 1934. The first reorganized the school sys-
tem into three tiers: an elementary school (grades I-IV); an incomplete
secondary school (grades I-VII); and a secondary school (grades I-X).21
A second decree, "Onthe Teaching of Civic History in the Schools of
the USSR," announced the regime's dissatisfaction with existing
instructional practices:
The textbooks and oral instruction are of an abstract schemat-
ic nature. Instead of teaching civic history in an animated and
entertaining form with an exposition of the most important
events and facts in their chronological sequence and with
sketches of historical personages, the pupils are given ab-
stract definitions of social and economic formations, which
thus replace the consecutive exposition of civic history by
abstract sociological schemes.
The decisive condition of a permanent mastery of history
is the observance of historical and chronological sequence in
the exposition of historical events, with a due emphasis in the
memory of the pupils of important historical facts, the names
of historical persons and chronological dates.22
New texts were ordered prepared by mid-1935for ancient, medieval,
and modern history, the history of the Soviet Union, and the modern
history of dependent and colonial peoples. Departments of history
were to be established at the universities of Moscow and Leningrad to
assume the training of appropriate specialists in the respective areas
of history.23
The Communist Party indicated the topics which were to be
stressed: the state-building efforts and successes of Ivan IV, Peter I,
and other rulers; Russia's territorial expansion;the importance of the
state; the heroic and patriotic deeds of tsars, generals, and the Russian
people who defeated domestic and foreign enemies; and the cultural
achievements of Russia. Many aspects of Russia's past, which previ-
ously had been glossed over or denounced, were now emphasized and
glorified. Russia's heritage and Russian nationalism became the new
social bond on which Stalin relied to ensure order and legitimacy and
to demand further sacrifices. The new ideological changes in the writ-
ing and teaching of history remained in effect through World War II.
In August 1941, the historian V. P. Potemkin, People's Commissar for
Education of the RSFSR, wrote,
One does not have to explain the significanceof the lessons of
history and literature in the education of steadfast defenders
of the homeland. Knowledge of one's country's great past--

the deeds of popularheroes,the stages of wars of liberation
foughtby the Russianpeopleagainstforeignconquerors,the
ingenious creationsof Russian science,literature,and the
arts--serve as a mightyweaponin the educationof our chil-
dren.24
The impactof the May 1934decreewas immediate.The teaching
of history expanded. More time was spent on it than on other subjects
in the social sciences. Historians were directed by the Communist
Partyto intensifythe promotionof communismwithinthe framework
of the changedpoliticaldirectionandto demonstratethe evolutionof
societies accordingto Marxist-Leninist
(readStalinist!)doctrineand
methodology.25History became the most importantof those subjects
"whichhave a decisiveimportancein the matter of the communist
indoctrinationof the growinggeneration."26
Instruction in history was formally begun in grade IV although
some basic historical materials, such as the significance of revolution-
ary holidays, the OctoberRevolution, life before the Revolution, etc.,
were introduced as soon as pupils acquired some reading skills in
grades II-III.27 The goal of the introductory lessons was to
foster the feeling of social duty in the pupils, to enrich their
consciousness with social emotion, nourishing Soviet patrio-
tism, and to prepare the pupils for further study of history,
i.e., to train the pupils to perceive historical materials, to
inculcate in them an elementary conceptionof historical time
and space, to give them a certain historic understanding and
to enrich their minds with a knowledge of the most important
facts of Russian history, which will be needed in the future in
the study of geography, in the reading of works of literature
and other subjects.28
World history was not stressed at this stage. Selected aspects of the
history of other countries were introduced only to demonstrate that
Russian history was an integral part of universal developments, to
explainphenomenanot so well developedin Russianhistory (for ex-
ample, the social and economic features of slavery), and to demon-
strate the links between Russia and other countries since the
seventeenth century.29
The history curriculum in the fifth through seventh grades in-
cluded the ancient East, Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, and early
modern Europe. In these grades students studied the origin and devel-
opment of societies on the basis of material life and modes of produc-
tion, the activities and contributions of major historical figures
(Spartacus, for example), and the social milieu in which they lived. The

HISTORYIN SOVIETSCHOOLS 63
progressionof societieswas explainedby referringto the emergence
of new social systemsbroughtaboutthroughthe class struggle.30
The history curriculumof the secondaryschool provided for
teachingfour years of generalhistoryandtwo years of the historyof
the peoplesof the Soviet Union.In gradesVIII-Xthe emphasiswas
on modernRussiaandworldhistory,in whichMarxism-Leninism, the
revolutionsof 1917,and WorldWar I were highlighted.31
It was not enough,however,to presentapprovedfacts and inter-
pretations.M. A. Zinovievemphaticallystressedthat
The correctteachingof historymust create in the stu-
dents the conviction that capitalism will inevitably perish.....
Throughthe studyof history,studentsbecomeconvincedthat
everywhere,in all spheres of scienceand art, industryand
agriculture,in the work of peace and on the battlefieldsthe
Soviet people marchin the forefrontof other nations,and
have createdvalues which are unequaledanywherein the
world.... Historicalmaterialpertainingto warsandmilitary
questionsis veryimportantfor the cultivationof Sovietpatri-
otism.32
The new emphasison method,content,andobjectiveswas reflectedin
the carefulattentiongiven to teachertraining.The teacherbecame
and continuestoday to be primarilyan ideologicaleducator.33
In the 1930'sand 1940'sthe Soviet governmentwas variously
preoccupiedwith collectivizingagriculture,industrializingthe econ-
omy, destroyingreal and alleged enemies,fightingfor survival in
WorldWarII, reconstructing a war-batteredcountry,andthe growing
conflictbetweenEastandWest.The entireeducationalestablishment
was involvedin these endeavorsand conflictswhich,accompaniedby
immeasurablehumanandmaterialsacrifices,transformedthe Soviet
Union into a world power.The school system produceda cadre of
generallyreliableandloyaladministrators, technicians,scientists,and
citizens,whose practicalskills and expertisewere greaterthan those
acquiredby the graduatesof schoolsduringthe 1920's.The discipline
of history,in particular,was consideredan importantvehicle in the
accomplishmentof the regime'sobjectives,whichincludedthe cult of
Stalin.34
With the exceptionof the introductionof universal secondary
educationandthe modestrevivalof polytechnicaleducation,the situa-
tion outlinedaboveprevaileduntil the mid-1950's.35

64 THEHISTORY
TEACHER
III
WhenStalin died in March1953,the Soviet Unionsoon entered
a new stage of developmentat home and abroad.The teaching of
history again played an importantrole in this reorientation.In a
secret session of the TwentiethCongressof the CommunistParty in
February 1956, First SecretaryNikita KhrushchevdenouncedSta-
lin's crimesand personalitycult,but also criticizedthe shortcomings
of the schoolsystem.He demandedthat the historicalrecordbe "set
straight."3AnastasMikoyan,too, flailedthe historicalprofessionfor
sluggishnessin the ideologicalstruggle,referringto the shortcomings
of Stalin's"ShortCourse."He askedhistoriansto makea morecorrect
study of the facts and events in the historyof the CommunistParty
and to presentthe entirecomplexlife of the Sovietfatherlandwithout
cosmeticornamentation.37AnnaPankratova,editorof the leadinghis-
toricaljournal Voprosyistorii,and writerof the text of Soviethistory
used in grade X, quicklypledged the supportof the professionin
carryingout the decisionsof the "history-making" congress.38
The effectof the Congresson the teachingof historywas dramat-
ic. Instructionin Soviethistoryin gradeX was stoppedimmediately.39
The text for grade IV was withdrawnand new syllabi and texts for
gradesIX andX wereprepared.Textsforotherhistorycourses,affect-
ed by the changein Partyline, were publishedeventually.40 Consider-
able confusionandambiguityaccompaniedthe rewritingandteaching
of historyduringthis periodof change.Discardingfamiliarmaterials
and orthodoxviews producedan intellectualand emotionalstrainon
the professionand demonstratedagain the importanceand perils of
espousingthe correcthistoricalview.41
Many facets of the school structureand pedagogicalemphasis
were changedas well. In a speech to the thirteenthKomsomolCon-
gress, Khrushchevdeclaredon April 18, 1958,that the schools'main
task must becomethat of preparingthe growinggeneration"forlife,
for useful labor,to cultivatein them a profoundrespectfor the prin-
ciples of socialistsociety."42
The resultwas a revivalof polytechnical
education.43
Greatereffortsin ideologicaleducationwere demanded.Educa-
tional institutionswere to foster the spirit of communismand the
materialistview as the onlybasis of a trulyscientificperceptionof the
universe.Thesecondaryschools,in particular,wereaskedto improve
significantlyin orderto kindlein the pupil"alove of knowledge,a love
of laborand respectfor workingpeople";"chractereducation"was to
inculcatein pupils"theessenceof communistmorality,supremeloyal-
ty to their Motherlandand to the peoplein the spirit of proletarian

internationalism."44While Khrushchev's reforms emphasized the

sciences, the humanities, "which play a very important role in the
formation of the communist world outlook of the student," were not
to be neglected.45
In September 1959 the Academy of Pedagogy proposed that the
episodic course in the history of the USSR be retained and that the
teaching of ancient history in grade V and medieval history in grade
VI be shortened and simplified. An introductorycourse in the history
of the Soviet Union and the modern and recent history of foreign
countries was also suggested. For grades IX and XI, systematic
courses in Soviet and recent history were recommended.46"History
courses in the secondary schools," the report stated,
must provide students with a scientific understanding of the
laws of society's development in a form intelligible to them
and must develop in them a conviction about the inevitable
victory of communism,while revealing the role of the popular
masses as the true makers of history and the historical signifi-
cance of the individual.
In a history course, special attention should be given to
explaining the role of the Communist Party as the directing
and guiding force in Soviet society and to a study of the
modern stage of communist construction in the U.S.S.R. It is
also necessary to show in detail the formation and develop-
ment of the socialist system, the growth of national liberation
movements, and the major events in the modern and recent
history of other countries.
History instruction in school is intended to bring up the
young people in the spirit of communist ideals, socialist patri-
otism, proletarian internationalism and a deep respect for
labor, and to facilitate the training of students for an active
public life.47
The program was accepted by the Central Committee and the
Council of Ministers with minor modifications.The Ministry of Educa-
tion was instructed to furnish the schools with new syllabi, textbooks,
and instructional materials, and to improve the education and qualifi-
cations of history teachers.4sProposals to further shorten instruction
in ancient and medieval history were not adopted, however. "Histori-
ography has been and remains an arena of sharp ideological struggle;
it has been and remains a class, party branch of scholarship,"read the
statement issued by the Communist Party.49Writers and teachers
were exhorted to serve Party and people and to expose reactionary
ideologies. Essentially, the task of history remained unchanged; it was

expected to "serve a better future ... which is communism."so

These developmentsaffirmedhistory'splace and functionin the
schools.51 Theplanto implementin onedecadethe eleven-yeargeneral
and polytechnicaleducationprovidedfor
the study of the problemsof worldhistoryandcontemporary
world developmentwhich must disclose the law-governed
process of mankind's advance toward communism,the
change in the balance of forces in favor of socialism,the
sharpeningof a generalcrisis of capitalism,the downfallof
the colonialsystemof imperialismandits consequences,and
the upsurgeof the nationalliberationmovementof the peo-
ples.... The social sciencesmust continueresolutelyto op-
pose bourgeoisideology,Right-socialisttheory and practice
and revisionismand dogmatism.They must maintain the
purity of the principlesof Marxism-Leninism.52
Contentand emphasischangedsomewhat,however.The stress
becameSoviet patriotism.The "cultof personality"(with the excep-
tion of the cult of Lenin)was muted by the value of loyalty to the
system.Theglorificationof manyaspectsof Russia'spastwas reduced,
the boastfulexcessesso evidentafterWorldWarII moderated.Alfred
Evans, who analyzedthe politicalcontentof historytexts for grades
IV and X used in the 1950'sand 1960's,noted that the theme of
revolutionhad been graduallydeemphasized.As a consequence,he
concludedthat historyin Russia had becomemore conservative"in
that it blursand neglectsfutureexpectationsand ... in that it invites
satisfactionwith past successes, and respectfulobservanceof past
traditions."53
IV
Theregimecontinuesto expectthe historyteacherto be a soldier
in the politicalstruggle.In that effort,the state maintainsits position
as sole repositoryof historicaltruth, whosemissionit is to facilitate
the progressiontowardcommunism.Instructionin historyis to sup-
port this cause with appropriateevidence and interpretations.Al-
though captivesof the regime,historiansandteachersof historyare
nonethelessviewedas potentially"dangerouspeople,"as Khrushchev
explainedto a delegationfromFrancein 1956,becausethey are "capa-
ble of upsetting everything."They must, therefore,be controlled.M
The conflictbetweenthe regime and dissentingintellectuals,among
whom are a goodlynumberof historians,vindicatesthis concern.
Several fundamentalquestionsandproblemsarise, therefore,in

IN SOVIETSCHOOLS
HISTORY 67
connectionwiththe functionandroleof historyin Sovietschools.Does
history fulfillits mission?Does it sufficientlybuttressthe Soviet sys-
tem? Does it furnishpalpableexplanationsof politicalandideological
changesand conflict?Does historybridgethe wideninggap between
the regime'sstatedgoalsof egalitarianism,transitionto communism,
andthe perfectibilityof manandsociety,andthe realitiesandgrowing
meaninglessnessof many tenets of Marxism-Leninism?
Despitethe dearthof sociological-psychological data andstudies,
instructionin historyappearsto facilitatea partialsocializationof the
majority of students. There are indicationsthat students in the
schools'upperlevelsfrequentlybecomedisorientedwhen suddenand
dramaticshifts occurin historicalinterpretationand the party line.
Intellectualsomersaultscontributeto what BertramD. Wolfe and
others have called "ideologicalagnosticism."There has been much
factualamnesiaas well.Intentionalfalsificationof facts,manufacture
of evidence, "distortionsby omission,"using "history as politics
projectedback into the past,"and toleranceof only one correctview
lead to a serious distortionof the past and the presentand probably
contributeto a twisted view of the future.Thereis ample evidence
that the intensity,repetitiveness,andambiguousveracityof the indoc-
trinal message backfiresfrequently.55
The dogmaticandparty-boundapproachto teachingand writing
historyservesa regimewhichbelievesit is essentialto controlchange;
the goalsto whichit aspires,however,clearlynecessitatestill greater
evolutionand change.Hence,a rigid and stereotypedset of formula-
tionsandsymbols,inculcatedin generationaftergeneration,arelikely
to inhibitsuch movement,magnifyingexistingproblemsratherthan
amelioratingthem.
Historyand otherexhortativestrategieshave failedto producea
new SovietMan.Onereadsof indifference,apathy,andincredulityon
the part of students and adults; alienationof the people from the
regime reminiscentof the pre-1917dichotomy;alcoholism;hedonism;
juvenile delinquency;dissentof intellectualsand scholars;the "inner
emigration";black marketing and other economiccrimes; unrest
amongsomenationalminorities;parasitism;"pettybourgeois"values
and practices;resurgenceof interest in religion;human and civil
rights movements;disregardfor authority;and interest in Western
goodsandvalues.ManySovietcitizensappearonlyto go throughthe
motionsof superficiallyabsorbingandparrotingthe messagein order
to reach certaingoals or to avoid conflict.Sixty years of carefuland
measuredinstructionhave not erasedwhat Khrushchevcalled"sur-
vivals of capitalism"in the "mindsand behaviorof the people."56

68 THEHISTORY
TEACHER
Clearly,the regimehas not succeededin bringingabouta sufficiently
lastingchangein the behaviorandconsciousnessof its citizens.Soviet
educationhas had limitedefficacyas an effectivesocializingdevice.
Thereare alsoproblemsrelatingto the freedomof inquiryandthe
constraintsimposedby the politicalstraitjacket.57 Soviet educators
acknowledgethat the young are inquisitiveparticularlyregarding
currentissues andproblems.Invariably,their solutionis to prescribe
greaterandmoresophisticateddosagesof the samemedicinebecause,
as academicianA. I. Pashkovpointedout, there are no "conflicting
schoolsandtrendsin the socialscienceswhichwouldreflectantagonis-
tic class interestsandthe strugglebetweenclassesor socialgroups."sa
Oftenthe regimehas taken historyand historiansto task for failing
to live up to expectations.It is doubtful,however,that a dogmaticand
Manicheanuse of historycan be effective.
CyrilBlack'sopinionis persuasive.Thefailureto achievea Marx-
ist interpretationof history,he said,is due not to an absenceof ambi-
tion or intelligence.Rather, "it is because the task is impossible.
Marxismprovidesnot a scientificlaw of historybut simplya general
approach,a pointof view, a spirit,andnothingmore."59 HansRogger
approached the dilemma from a different
angle.He failedto detectin
Soviet historians"a burningcompulsionto adjustfact and theory in
a new andharmonioussynthesis,"probablybecausethey knewit was
impossible.ThebestSoviethistorianscouldexpect"iscontinuedcoex-
istence of micro-lawand macro-law,of their professionalstandards
(even if in a limitedsphere)and the politicalservicesthey are asked
to render,of partialtruthsand large dogmas."Roggersaid that this
coexistencewas neithersatisfyingnorwasit likelyto last.eoAlexander
Gerschenkronsuggests that the regime,in its unrelentingeffort to
maintainits ideologicalmonopoly,"hasbeenresponsiblefor an abys-
mal debasementof Marxismas a scholarlytheory."Furthermore,he
does not believe that a "realrevivalof untrammeledcriticalscholar-
ship is yet in sight,"although"thereare signsof life pushingup from
beneath the frozensurface,and they shouldnot be allowedto pass
unnoticed."61
It is highly unlikelythat the regimewill lift presentconstraints
on the discipline,particularlyin view of the factthatno corresponding
changesin the basicsystemare in sight.Someobservershave contend-
ed that fundamentalsystematicchangemay be impossible.62 This is
not to suggestthat Sovietscholarshavenot contributedmateriallyto
advances in knowledge, albeit within the frequently ambiguous
boundsset up by the regime.Whilemanyobserversnote somelessen-
ing of the ideologicalrigidityand otherimprovements,conformityto

HISTORY
IN SOVIETSCHOOLS 69
the party line continues to inhibit substantially the ability of students
and teachers to gain information and to form independent judg-
ments.63As long as history is officiallyregardedand used as an ideolog-
ical weapon, this state of affairs can be expected to continue.
The tasks the regime must accomplish in the future will not
become easier. To the contrary. As Soviet society becomes more com-
plex and its problemsmore difficult,the leadership's ability to mobilize
and direct resources toward specific goals will also become more re-
stricted. This will increase the pressure on history's traditional role of
transmitting values, guiding behavior, providing palpable explana-
tions, and legitimizing the elite's rule. The dilemma has already
become apparent, because the entire organization and role of educa-
tion is still reminiscent of the years when the regime required near
total support and authority in its efforts to transform Russia and
secure it against domestic and foreign enemies. But illiteracy has been
eliminated; the economy is moving toward greater and diversified
production and consumption; a great reservoir of skilled labor has
been created; and the Soviet Union has become a superpower. It is
unlikely, a reasonable observer might argue, that the regime can
maintain indefinitely a traditional state of mobilization when greater
flexibility and sophistication are required.
The problems of combining the goals of liberal education with
various forms of indoctrinationinherent in Western societies have not
been raised in the Soviet Union. There, consciously and purposefully,
education has political aims. In the 1920'sit explained and justified the
October Revolution, painted a glorious future, and assisted the consoli-
dation of the Soviet regime; during Stalin's rule it helped mobilize
society, justified coercion, and rationalized Stalin's succession to
power; since the mid-1950'sits primary purpose has been to legitimize
the authority and policies of the successors of Lenin and Stalin. The
school still is the basic "transmission belt" between the country's
youth and its leadership. The speeches and resolutions of the twenty-
fifth Party Congress in early 1976 indicate that no change is contem-
plated.
The crucial problem confronting any regime is by what means it
can maintain itself in power. The Soviet regime's excessive and obses-
sive reliance on history as a major socializing and integrative vehicle
through which the basic tenets of the regime are enunciated, may well
be supplemented or even replaced eventually by other and more so-
phisticated forms of persuasion.

Notes
1 The educationalsystems of other socialist states were shaped by the Soviet model.
See Nigel Grant, Society,Schools, and Progress in Eastern Europe (Oxford,1969). For
a survey of the administrative aspects of Soviet education, see Herbert C. Rudman,
School and State in the USSR (New York, 1967).For a general backgroundto Soviet
educational policy and practice,see Maurice J. Shore, Soviet Education:Its Psychology
and Philosophy (New York, 1947);Nicholas Hans, The Russian Tradition in Education
(London, 1963);LeonhardFroese, IdeengeschichtlicheTriebquellender russischen and
sowjetischenPddagogik (Heidelberg,1956);OskarAnweiler, Geschichteder Schule und
Pddagogik in Russland vom Ende des Zarenreiches bis zum Beginn der Stalin-Ara
(Berlin, 1967);and RaymondA. Bauer, The New Man in Soviet Psychology(Cambridge,
1952).
2 M. A. Zinoviev, Soviet Methodsof Teaching History,trans. from the 1948 Russian
edition by A. Musim-Pushkin(AnnArbor, 1952),3. For an elaborationof history's direct
and indirect functions see Nancy W. Heer, Politics and History in the Soviet Union
(Cambridge, 1971), chap. 1.
3 I. A. Petchernikova in Helen B. Redl (ed.), Soviet Educatorson Soviet Education
(London,1964), 101. The Soviet regime still maintainsthat a new man will emerge. For
a recent discussion see Jeremy Azrael, "Bringing up the Soviet Man: Dilemmas and
Progress,"in Problemsof Communism,XVII (1968),23-31. Regardingthe role of histo-
ry in this socializationprocess,MarinPundeffwrote:"thepoliticalleaders in controlare
convinced that the writing and teaching of history is a powerfultool for shaping minds,
conditioning people, and attaining political objectives. Knowledge of the nature and
content of this new history is not only desirable but imperative."Marin Pundeff (ed.),
History in the USSR: Selected Readings (San Francisco, 1967), v-vi.
4 Anatole G. Mazour, The Writingof History in the Soviet Union (Stanford,1971),
363.
5 James Bowen, Soviet Education:Anton Makarenkoand the Yearsof Experiment
(Madison, 1962), 137. For a survey of the early history of Soviet education see Sheila
Fitzpatrick, The Commissariat of Enlightenment: Soviet Organization of Education
and the Arts under Lunacharsky,October1917-1921 (Cambridge,1970).
6 Kommunisticheskaia partiia Sovetskogo Soiuza v rezoliutsiakh i resheniiakh
s'ezdov, konferentsii i plenumov TsK (4 vols.; 7th ed.; Moscow,1953-60), I, 419. For an
analysis of Lenin's views and policies, see Frederic Lilge, "Lenin and the Politics of
Education,"Slavic Review, XXVII(June 1968),230-57. Worthnoting is that Lenin was
often critical of experimentation. He continuously stressed the need for acquiring
thorough and practical knowledge in all subjects.
7 N. Bukharin and E. Preobrazhensky,The ABCof Communism(Baltimore,1969),
284.
8 For the Central Committee'sdecree of October 16, 1918, which established the
Unified Labor School, see Direktivy VKP (b) i postanovieniia sovetskogopravitel'stva o
narodnom obrazovaniia; sbornik dokumentov za 1917-1947 gody (2 vols.; Moscow,
1947), I, 120-27. Cited hereafter as Direktivy VKP.
9 Konstantin F. Shteppa, Russian Historians and the Soviet State (New Brunswick,
1962), 29. For discussions and analyses of changes in historiographyand the impact of
politics and ideology on history, see Mazour, Writingof History in the Soviet Union,
and his ModernRussian Historiography(2nd ed.; Princeton,1958);Cyril E. Black (ed.),
Rewriting Russian History (2ndrev. ed.; New York, 1962);John Keep (ed.), Contempo-
rary History in the Soviet Mirror (New York, 1964);and Nancy Heer, Politics and
History in Soviet Union. For a description of the "complex"or "synthetic"programs
see Albert P. Pinkevitch, The New Education in the Soviet Republic, trans. by N.
Perlmutter (New York, 1929),esp. 305-309. "Civictraining"during this period is dis-
cussed in Samuel N. Harper, Civic Training in Soviet Russia (Chicago,1929),chap XII;
and OskarAnweiler, Geschichteder Schule und Piidagogik,260-85. For examples of the

IN SOVIETSCHOOLS
HISTORY 71
complex curricula for grades I-IV, see E. Koutaisoff,"Soviet Education and the New
Man," Soviet Studies, V (October1953), 107-108; and M. A. Zinoviev, Soviet Methods
of Teaching History, 49-54.
10 Quoted by George S. Counts, The Challenge of Soviet Education (New York,
1957), 87. Educators favoring the social sciences ridiculedattempts to restore history;
they saw in it only some value in preparing childrenfor the battle against capitalism,
allowing them to comparethe old with the new regime. Ibid., 88; and M.%A. Zinoviev,
Soviet Methods of Teaching History, 49.
11 Counts, Challenge of Soviet Education, 87. For his criticism of the social science
materials see pp. 89ff. The goal of education, elaboratedin 1923 by the Learned State
Council,consisted in "raisinga useful member of society, one who enjoys life, is healthy
and able to work, who is permeatedby social instincts,who has organizationalabilities,
who knows his place in nature and society ... a steady fighter for the ideals of the
working class and a capable builder of the communistsociety." Oskar Anweiler, Ge-
schichte der Schule und Piddagogik,234-35.
12 Shteppa, Russian Historians and the Soviet State, 32-35.
13 M. A. Zinoviev, Soviet Methods of Teaching History, 49.
14 Froese, IdeengeschichtlicheTriebquellen,144.In the intermediate levels of most
schools the complex system was abandoned in favor of the disciplinary approach in
1927-1928. Anweiler, Geschichteder Schule und Pddagogik, 284.
15 Stalin stressed the need for training "Bolshevikspecialists"especially for indus-
try. Without them, Stalin said in May 1928,all effortsto constructa socialist society and
catch up with and surpass the capitalist countries would fail. J. V. Stalin, Sochineniia
(13 vols.; Moscow, 1947-1953),XI, 77. A side-effectof the changes was the elimination
of foreign influences in Soviet schools. See Ruth Widmayer, 'The End of American
Influence in Soviet Schools," Social Studies, XLIII (April 1952), 151-55. Roger Pethy-
bridge argued that the unresolved literacy problem of the 1920's "had led to the en-
trenchment of the Bolshevik Party as the articulatorof the dumb masses, a role which
became increasingly difficultto abandonas time went on." The Social Prelude to Stali-
nism (New York, 1974), 174.
16 Direktivy VKP, I, 160. Cf. Pundeff (ed.), History in the USSR, 95-96.
17 Froese, IdeengeschichtlicheTriebquellen, 146-47.
18 Ibid., 147. Anweiler suggested that the regime wanted to end the "chaos" in
education and defeat its left-wing philosophy. Geschichteder Schule und Ptidagogik,
436. Anweiler cited loss of spontaneity and intellectual autonomy,schematism, dogma-
tism, and intellectual isolation as disadvantages of the new educational system. Ibid.,
452. The decree of March 4, 1937, eliminated the remnants of polytechnical education
and the Unified Labor School. The resulting gaps in the curriculum were filled with
courses in Russian language, mathematics, history, and other subjects (e.g., Constitu-
tion of the USSR).
19 Shteppa, Russian Historians and the Soviet State, 31.
20 M. A. Zinoviev complainedthat in the earlier formulations"Russianhistory was
an appendage to universal history. The indoctrinationalimportance of history was of
course lost by the distributionof historical material, and the students were not taught
to love the great and heroic past of their country. On the contrary this past was shown
only from the negative side." Soviet Methods of Teaching History, 56.
21 Direktivy VKP, I, 169-70.
22 "Soviet Legislation: Selection of Decrees and Documents,"Slavonic and East
European Review, XIII (July 1934),204-205. Additionalclarifying directives regarding
content and teaching of history followed.
23 Direktivy VKP, I, 171, sections 1 and 3. In 1936 the newly created Institute of
History of the Academyof Sciences became the guardianof nearly all historiographical
activities. Earlier institutions and associations such as the Society of Marxist Histori-
ans, the CommunistAcademy, the Society of Old Bolsheviks, and the Institute of Red

Professors were dissolved.
24 V. P. Potemkin, Stat'i i rechi po voprosamnaradnogo obrazovaniia (Moscow,
1947), 110. History was not alone in propagatingthese themes and topics. Literature,
music, film-indeed, the entire cultural-artistic establishment-were pressed into serv-
ing Party and state after the adoption of "SocialistRealism"in 1934. More than ever
before the intelligentsia was now expected to mold minds. Comparethe new emphasis
with V. N. Shul'gin'sstatement of 1926:"Weare not calledon to educate a Russianchild,
a child of the Russian state, but a world citizen, an internationalist.... We do not train
our children to defend the fatherland, but for world-wideideals." Quoted in Anweiler,
Geschichte der Schule und Piidagogik, 239.
25 Adam B. Ulam, Stalin: The Man and His Era (New York, 1973),340. The History
of the CommunistParty of the Soviet Union (Bolshevik):Short Course(Moscow,1939),
inspired and partly written by Stalin, became the standardreference work and ideologi-
cal guide for the teaching and writing of history until shortly after Stalin's death.
27 Ibid., 95.
28 Ibid. For a general survey of primary and secondaryeducation in the 1930'sand
1940's, see I. and N. Lazarevitch, L'Ecole sovietique: enseignementsprimaire et sec-
ondaire (Paris, 1954).
29 M. A. Zinoviev, Soviet Methods of Teaching History, 95-96.
30 E. N. Medynsky, Public Education in the USSR (Moscow, 1952), 54-55.
31 Ibid., 65-66.
33 Cf. William K. Medlin,"The Teaching of History in the Soviet Schools:A Study
in Methods," in George Z. F. Bereday and Jaan Pennar (eds.), The Politics of Soviet
Education (New York, 1960), 100-16.
35 For an outline and descriptionof the curriculaof the 1950's,see E. N. Medynsky,
Prosveshcheniev SSSR (Moscow,1955),84ff.Cf.U.S. Departmentof Health, Education,
and Welfare,Officeof Education,Education in the USSR (Washington,1958),68-73 and
77-78. For a synopsis of the transition period see S. V. Utechin, "CurrentProblems of
Soviet Secondary Education,"Soviet Survey, 12 (February 1957), 10-16.
36 N. S. Khrushchev, The Crimesof the Stalin Era (New York, 1962)and XX s"ezd
KommunisticheskoiPartii SovetskogoSoiuza; stenograficheskiiotchet (2 vols.; Moscow,
1956),I, 81-86, 111-18. Khrushchev"recommended"that a revised history of the Party,
based on facts, be written to replace Stalin's Short Course.Ibid., 114. Cf. Pundeff (ed.),
History in the USSR, 206-26.
37 XX s"ezd KommunisticheskoiPartii, I, 325.
38 Ibid., 618-26.
39 George Z. F. Bereday,WilliamW. Brickman,and GeraldRead (eds.), The Chang-
ing Soviet School (Boston, 1960), 88-89. The problem of "stable" texts and syllabi is
discussed in Alexander G. Korol, Soviet Education for Science and Technology(Cam-
bridge, 1957), 68-75.
40 See Sovetskie knigi, no. 147 (1959), for the lower grade history texts.
41 See Shteppa, Russian Historians and the Soviet State, 362ff; Mazour, Modern
Russian Historiography,242-45; and the contributionsof Bertram D. Wolfe, Leonard
Schapiro, and S. V. Utechin in John Keep, (ed.), ContemporaryHistory in the Soviet
Mirror. On the relationship of history to politics after 1956 see Heer, Politics and
History in the Soviet Union. In March 1957 the Central Committee sought to curb
potentially serious deviations by castigating the editors of the journal Voprosyistorii
for permitting "theoreticaland methodologicalmistakes which show a tendency toward
departure from the Leninistprinciplesof party-mindedness(partiinost)in scholarship."
Pundeff, History in the USSR, 233.

42 N. S. Khrushchev in George S. Counts, Khrushchevand the Central Committee
Speak on Education (Pittsburgh, 1959), 39.
43 Ibid., 22-66. The Council of Ministers issued specific instructions in December
1958. See M. S. Zinov (comp.),Dokumenty i materialypo perestroikeshkoly (Moscow,
1960), 86-102 and passim. The law added another year of compulsory education and
expanded special adult education. The reforms were to eliminate the chasm between
manual and intellectual work. The introductionof practicalwork (beginningwith grade
V) added hundreds of hours to the curriculum.Various aspects of this "polytechnical"
education are discussed in S. G. Shapovalenko (ed.), Polytechnical Education in the
USSR (Paris, 1963). For various interpretations of the reforms see Oskar Anweiler
(facilitation of the transition to communism), "Die Reform des sowjetischen Bil-
dungswesens," Osteuropa,IX (February-March1959),128;Nigel Grant (restorationof
the dignity of labor and better trained manpower),Soviet Education (Baltimore, 1962),
102; Anweiler and Klaus Meyer (improvements in productivity and the standard of
living), Die sowjetische Bildungspolitik seit 1917:Dokumente und Texte (Heidelberg,
1962), 102;Fred M. Hechinger, The Big Red School House (GardenCity, 1959), 181-95.
On the formation of the administrative-technological-managerialelite since the 1930's
and the implications of that development, see Merle Fainsod, How Russia is Ruled
(Cambridge,1953), 104-106 and passim. The Party may also have wished to prescribe
"therapeuticwork"to disabuse the country'syouth of anti-socialistnotions and behav-
ior.
44 Counts, Khrushchev and the Central CommitteeSpeak on Education, 6.
45 Ibid., 25.
46 CurrentDigest of the Soviet Press, XI (October14, 1959),37. See N. G. Dairi and
I. I. Samoilov, "PolytechnicalEducationas Illustratedin History and GeographyTeach-
ing," in Shapovalenko,PolytechnicalEducation in the USSR, chap.XV. On the political
-ideological dimensions see Anweiler, "Schule und Erziehung beim 'Ubergang zum
Kommunismus',"Osteuropa,XII (April-May 1962),285-93;and Nicholas DeWitt, Edu-
cation and Professional Employmentin the USSR (Washington,1961). For brief de-
scriptions of the new history courses for the upper grades see Bereday et al. (eds.), The
Changing Soviet School, 89, 199-200;and Deana Levin, Soviet Education Today (New
York, 1963), 166-69.
47 Current Digest of the Soviet Press, XI (October14, 1959), 14-15.
48 For the decree of October8, 1959,see Pundeff(ed.),Historyin the USSR, 252-55;
Anweiler, "Zwischenbilanzder sowjetischen Schulreform,"Osteuropa,XI (April-May
1961), 299; and DeWitt, Education and Professional Employment,584-85, 589-91.
49 Current Digest of the Soviet Press, XI (October28, 1959), 33.
50 Ibid., XI (November4, 1959),24. For a recent statement on the tasks of history,
see Voprosyistorii KPSS, 5 (1973), 7-23.
51 Ina Schlesinger, "SovietEducation, 1957-67,"School and Society,XCV (Novem-
ber 24, 1967), 446. The training of primary grade history teachers is discussed briefly
in Douglas Grant (ed.), The Humanities in Soviet Higher Education (Toronto, 1960),
24-27.
52 Current Digest of the Soviet Press, XIII (August 23, 1961), 9.
53 Alfred B. Evans, "PoliticalSocialization:Trendsin the Content of Soviet Educa-
tion" (unpublisheddoctoraldissertation, University of Wisconsin,Madison, 1972), 118,
147. For a recent analysis of the trend toward conservatism,see Zvi Gitelman,"Beyond
Leninism:Political Developmentin Eastern Europe,"Newsletteron ComparativeStud-
ies of Communism, V (May 1972), 18-43.
54 Cited by Bertram D. Wolfe in John Keep (ed.), ContemporaryHistory in the
Soviet Mirror, 43.
55 Alex Inkeles, Public Opinion in Soviet Russia: A Study in Mass Persuasian
(Cambridge,1950), 320 and passim.
56 N. S. Khrushchev, Forty Years of the Great OctoberSocialist Revolution (Mos-

cow, 1957),33. The reformsof November 1958 reiterated that the transition to commu-
nism was linked to the creation of a new human type. See Pravda, November 16, 1958.
57 For discussions among Soviet historians regarding the state of their discipline
see Alexander Gerschenkron,"Franco Venturi on Russian Populism: A Review Arti-
cle," American Historical Review, LXXVIII(October1973),969-86. Gerschenkronde-
plored the lack of objectivityand impartiality in Soviet scholarship.In his view, Lenin's
"unholy"legacy resulted in the "perversionof both scholarshipand art" because of the
intrusion of party-mindedness.Ibid., 980-81.
58 A. I. Pashkov, "ObservationsConcerningthe Social Sciences in the USSR," in
K. V. Ostrovitjanov (ed.), Social Sciences in the USSR (The Hague, 1965), 5.
59 "History and Politics in the Soviet Union," in Black (ed.), Rewriting Russian
History, 11.
60 Hans Rogger, "Politics, Ideology and History in the USSR: The Search for
Coexistence," Soviet Studies, XVI (January 1965),271.
61 "Soviet Marxism and Absolutism,"Slavic Review, XXX (December 1971), 869.
62 Allan Kassof, "TheAdministeredSociety:Totalitarianismwithout Terror,"in F.
J. Fleron (ed.), Communist Studies and the Social Sciences (Chicago, 1969), 168.
63 E.g., Pundeff (ed.), History in the USSR, vii; Rogger, "Politics, Ideology and
History," 253-55; and Heer, Politics and Historyin the Soviet Union, 130, 185.To Heer,
defining "tolerablelimits of political diversity, dissent, and opposition"is the regime's
central dilemma.


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"Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who

ALL SOCIETIES, whether simple or complex, use education to

Mr. GAWOREK,who received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,

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History plays a crucial role in Soviet education. One should not

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isting conditions--physical destruction, social and political dislocation

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internationalism."44While Khrushchev's reforms emphasized the

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expected to "serve a better future ... which is communism."so

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