The Soviet Family: Impact of the Regime
TITLE
Assess the impact that the Soviet regime had on families.
ESSAY
The impact of the Soviet regime on families was complex and evolved over time, influenced by changing political circumstances and economic needs. The initial Bolshevik approach under Lenin was marked by a push to dismantle traditional family structures, viewing them as remnants of bourgeois society. Policies such as easier divorces and abortions reflected a desire to break away from conventional family norms and empower women.
The 1926 Family Code marked a significant shift in Soviet policies towards families, granting women in common-law marriages equal rights and initiating measures to improve gender equality. In Muslim regions, where patriarchal and feudal structures still prevailed, the communists sought to challenge traditional practices and elevate the status of women through legal reforms and mass political mobilization.
Under Stalin, certain aspects of the earlier reforms were reversed or modified. The push for traditional family values was partly driven by concerns over population decline and the looming threat of war. Policies were introduced to promote larger families, such as tax incentives and restrictions on divorce and abortion. While many rights established in the 1926 Code were retained, there was a shift towards reinforcing traditional family structures and encouraging women to focus on childbearing and domestic duties.
Despite these changes, women in the Soviet Union saw improvements in their social and economic status. The state promoted equal access to education and employment for both genders, leading to a significant increase in the number of women in professions traditionally dominated by men. Women were encouraged to participate in economic activities and formed a substantial portion of the industrial workforce by the late 1930s.
Despite the emphasis on family values and traditional gender roles, the Stalinist state maintained a commitment to gender equality in principle. Women's rights were enshrined in law, and the state provided welfare benefits and support for working mothers. However, gender inequalities persisted in certain areas, such as access to higher administrative positions and the burden of household chores falling disproportionately on women.
Overall, the Soviet regime had a profound impact on families, reshaping traditional gender roles and promoting women's participation in various spheres of life. While there were contradictions and inconsistencies in policies over time, the communist belief in gender equality set the Soviet Union apart from other authoritarian regimes of the time, such as Nazi Germany.
SUBJECT
HISTORY
PAPER
A LEVEL
NOTES
Assess the impact that the Soviet regime had on families.
Lenin had been anti-family, seeing it as a bourgeois construct and allowing easier divorces and abortions. In 1926, a new Family Code consolidated earlier rights, and gave women in ‘common law’ marriages the same rights as those in registered marriages.
In Muslim regions, where feudal forms of social structure remained, women were a subject class. The communists raised the minimum age of marriage in these regions to 16 (it was 18 in the European parts of Soviet Russia), and polygamy and bride money were banned. They also organised mass political activity, known as the khudzhum, to mobilise women to oppose traditional practices. At the same time, education was provided equally for both males and females. State nurseries and workplace crèches and canteens were provided to enable mothers to work outside the home.
However, under Stalin some of these reforms and benefits were reduced or removed. Fear of war was growing following Hitler’s rise to power in Germany in 1933, and Soviet population growth was in decline. For these reasons, from 1935 Stalin decided on policies to promote ‘traditional’ family values in order to increase the Soviet population.
Although most of the rights established by the 1926 Code remained intact, a new family law was introduced in 1936. This made divorce more difficult, with a rising fee for each divorce, and restricted abortion to those required for medical reasons only. In addition, in order to encourage bigger families and so raise the birth rate, tax exemptions were given to families with large numbers of children. From 1944, only registered marriages were recognised, children born outside marriage were no longer allowed to inherit property from their father, and divorce became even more difficult and expensive.
During the Second World War, medals were awarded to mothers with large families and unmarried people were taxed more heavily. However, women benefited from new welfare reforms introduced under Stalin – a free health service, accident insurance at work, the expansion of kindergartens for working mothers with children, and paid holidays for many workers. Equal educational provision continued. Nonetheless, the provision of sufficient and adequate housing continued to be a problem.
In employment, women had traditionally been found mainly in agriculture, textiles, and services. Their position improved considerably under the Bolsheviks, and even more so under Stalin’s rule. Women were actively encouraged to play their part in the economic development of Soviet Russia, and all employment was thrown open to women, who had the same rights as men. By 1939, a third of all engineers and 79% of doctors were women. In 1928, the number of women listed as ‘workers–employees’ had been 2,795,000. By 1939, this had risen to just over 13 million. By 1933, women made up 33% of the industrial workforce, rising to 43% by 1940. Despite the emphasis on family life during the 1930s, women of all ages continued to work.
There were many women ‘hero-workers’ in the Stakhanovite movement, though in a smaller proportion than men; by 1936, a quarter of all female trade unionists were classified as workers who had exceeded their production targets. However, access to the higher administrative posts was unequal and the patriarchal tradition was still widespread in society, leaving many working women with the bulk of household chores.
Despite these realities, the attitude of the Stalinist state to women was very different from that in Nazi Germany. Communists believed in total equality between the sexes in education, employment, and the law.