May, 1944; the Jews-- Tenth
Anniversary
Jewish Autonomous Region.
Soviet Union - 1944 - Meet the Soviet Russians
org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 15
II. Peoples and Population
A. Composition and Distribution
The peoples of the U. S. S. R. present a complex pattern of cul-
tural progress and ethnic strains. Within the Soviet Union are
some 189 national groups, of which about fifty comprise 995%
of the total population of approximately 202,000,000. (Popula-
tion statistics given are based on estimates made in 1941 and in-
clude persons in regions annexed in 1939 and 1940. ) Predomi-
nant ethnic strains are the Slavs (about 151,000,000), the Turco-
Tatars (about 21,000,000), the Japhetic groups (about 6,000,000),
the Jews (about 5,200,000), and the Finno-Ugrians (about 4,-
600,000). Scattered over the vast expanse of the world's largest
land mass in one political unit, these nationalities have been
organized into political subdivisions, each bearing the name of
its major racial stock. There are sixteen Union Republics, and
within these are Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Regions,
and National Districts. All these groups are permitted many
privileges and rights as a part of the minority policy of the
Soviet Union.
The Slavs form the chief ethnic strain and number about
three-fourths of the total population. The Great Russians, the
largest Slavic unit, live chiefly within the Russian Soviet Fed-
erated Socialist Republic (Russia proper). This is the most
heavily populated of the Union Republics, covering an area of
6,322,350 square miles from western Soviet Europe across Siberia
to the Pacific, and holding an estimated total of 114,000,000
persons. This Slavic group first pushed Tsarist power to the
Trans-Caucasus, to Central Asia, and to the Pacific, assimilating
and conquering the minorities they encountered. Pan-Slavism,
the movement to unite all Slavs whether in western Russia,
eastern Europe, or the Balkans, was pursued tirelessly by the
Great Russians, who advanced steadily for over three centuries,
spreading over areas at an estimated daily rate of about sixty
square miles. Carrying the Greek Orthodox faith and Tsarist
tyranny with them, this people established a huge empire whose
nationality policy was based upon oppression of all minority
groups.
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? 16 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
Today, in contrast to this repression, the U. S. S. R. encourages
nationalities to follow their own customs and to maintain their
own institutions; thus the peoples of the Soviet Union present
many interesting traits and varying degrees of cultural develop-
ment. Illustrative of this are the minorities of the Russian
Union Republic, which contains the greatest number of political
subdivisions of any Republic in the U. S. S. R. The Komi (mean-
ing "We, the people") live in the northwest. Surrounded by
mountains and influenced by the cold climate, this nationality
has progressed rapidly under the Soviets. In the Volga basin are
six Autonomous Republics, the Mordovian, Chuvash, Mari,
Tatar, Bashkir, and Udmurt. The hospitable Bashkirs, the Chu-
vash, who although of Turkic origin use many Finnish words,
and the Mordovians have all developed their own unique cul-
tures. The Tatars of Kazan, skilled leather workers, Moslem in
belief and custom, are considered the most advanced of the
descendants of the Asiatic hordes which swept into Russia from
the East, under Tamerlane and Genghis Khan.
Other widely scattered groups in the Russian Republic range
from the horse-breeding Kalmyks of the southern Caucasus and
the metal-working mountaineers of Daghestan, to the backward
tribe of Chukchis (meaning "rich in reindeer") in the far north-
east of Siberia and the highly developed Jewish Autonomous
Region of the southeast. Some additional minorities are the
vigorous Yakuts of the largest Autonomous Republic of the
U. S. S. R. , the Oirots, who closely resemble the American Indian,
and, near Lake Baikal, the Buriat-Mongolians, whose priests
follow many ideas common to Buddhism.
Next to the Russian Republic on the west, from north to
south, are seven republics. The Karelo-Finnish, predominantly
of Finno-Ugrian stock, and from whose ballads in the Kalevala
Longfellow took his rhythm for Hiawatha, and the Moldavian
are two examples of progress from the status of an Autonomous
Republic to that of a Union Republic. Estonia and Latvia,
whose peoples are mainly Lutheran, and Lithuania, chiefly
Catholic, are the three Baltic Republics so essential to Soviet
defense. South of these are the Ukrainians and Byelo-Russians,
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 17
the second and third largest Soviet groups, respectively. The
former, occupying the richest soil in the Soviet Union, are highly
cultured; the latter are commonly known as White Russians,
but should not be confused with the emigrants of the Revolu-
tion.
The most complex racial pattern is in the Caucasus and Trans-
Caucasus region. Georgia, the birthplace of Stalin, who is the
symbol of the new importance of minority groups, is rich in his-
tory. Its people, Christianized in 345, were oppressed by many
rulers, but resisted all kinds of autocracy. The Georgian S. S. R.
contains, among other groups, the Abkhazians, in whose region
is a small Negro unit, and the Khevsurs, thought to be descend-
ants of a lost band of Crusaders. Armenia, the scene of historic
invasions, and Azerbaidzhan, the "Land of Fire," are two other
Union Republics where progress in recent years has been re-
markable.
In the southern part of Soviet Central Asia, the region between
the Caspian Sea and the Sinkiang province of China, lie five
Union Republics, all examples of Soviet progress in conquering
the desert and in decreasing the backwardness of peoples. The
biggest is the Kazakh S. S. R. , now a wartime industrial center,
with coal mines, tractor stations, and large copper deposits. The
Uzbek S. S. R. , the most advanced and wealthy district of the
area, derives much of its wealth from cotton growing. Its ancient
cities of Samarkand and Bokhara are excellent examples of
Moslem architecture; they are still famous in this desert land
of Central Asia.
South of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are Turkmenia, noted
for its carpets, the Tadzhik S. S. R. , whose Moslem peoples are
closely related to the Iranians, and the Kirgiz S. S. R. , develop-
ing today as a silk, cotton, and livestock center. For those seek-
ing the picturesque or the unusual, for those interested in archae-
ology or anthropology, or for those studying customs or history,
the U. S. S. R. presents the most complex yet freely developed pat-
tern of cultures in the world.
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? i8
MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
Statistics on Union Republics1
POPULATION
PREDOMINANT
(ESTIMATED
AREA (IN
ETHNIC
AS OF
SQUARE
REPUBLIC
STRAIN
JULY, 1941)
MILES)
CAPITAL
Russia
Slav
114. 337428
6,322,350
Moscow
Ukraine
Slav
42,272,943
202,540
Kiev
Byelo-Russia
Slav
10,525,511
89,300
Minsk
Uzbekistan
Turco-Tatar
6,601,619
146,000
Tashkent
Kazakhstan
Turco-Tatar
6,458,175
1,059,700
Alma-Ata
Georgia
Japhetic
3,722,252
26,875
Tbilisi
Azerbaidzhan
Turco-Tatar
3. 372. 794
33,200
Baku
Lithuania
Baltic
3,134,070
22,8oO
Vilna
Moldavia
Rumanian
2,321,225
13,680
Kishinev
Latvia
Baltic
1,950,502
24,700
Riga
Tadzhikstan
Iranian
1,560,540
55. 545
? ? Stalinabad
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS lg
ments of population will be somewhat determined by future
economic planning.
References on Peoples and Population:
Lamont, C, "The Peoples of the Soviet Union," Soviet Russia Today,
June, 1944, pp. 16-17, 3>>-
Lamont, C, "The Union Republics and Subdivisions," Soviet Russia
Today, July, 1944, pp. 10, 26-27.
Lorimer, F. , "Recent Population Trends in the Soviet Union," American
Sociological Review, June, 1944, pp. 219-222.
Mikhailov, N. , Land of the Soviets, pp. 77-325.
Williams, A. R. , The Soviets, pp. 8-35.
Some Suggested Activities on Peoples and Population:
1. The U. S. S. R. contains some "189 peoples, speaking 150 languages
and adhering to 40 religions. " Study carefully the series of pictures on
the peoples of the U. S. S. R. in set 1 of the U. S. S. R. : A Pictorial Review,
numbers 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15. (This may be rented through the
National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. ) Note especially,
in each picture, the physical characteristics of the people, their dress,
and the main points of interest in the background. Choose two of the
nationality groups for a more detailed study. Write a composition con-
trasting and comparing these two groups, especially as to their physical
characteristics, dress, customs, and occupations. Consult the following
for information: Davies and Steiger, Soviet Asia; Mikhailov, Land of
the Soviets; Williams, The Soviets.
2. The Caucasus Mountains, "the stony girdle of the globe," have many
colorful, resourceful, and hospitable peoples, with amazing customs and
traditions. Prepare an oral topic about the peoples of the Caucasus,
on one of the following: history, customs, legends, dress, occupations,
physical characteristics. Consult the following for information: "Family
of Nations: the Soviet Union," pp. 14-18; Mikhailov, Land of the
Soviets, pp. 236-279; Williams, The Soviets, pp. 8-19.
3. Map Study of the Peoples of the Soviet Union: On a map of the
U. S. S. R. place the sixteen Union Republics. In each republic place a
symbol which indicates an outstanding item about the major nationality
unit of that republic. You may use freehand sketches or pictures. Con-
sult these references: Wall Map of the U. S. S. R. ; Mikhailov, Land of the
Soviets; Williams, The Soviets, pp. 8-19 (and see map at end of book. )
4. Imagine that you are a magazine correspondent and that you have
been assigned to visit one of the republics of the Soviet Union. Write
an article describing the interesting and unusual items about the
nationality group which is the predominant one in the republic ol
your choice. Consult Davies and Steiger, Soviet Asia, and Mikhailov,
Land of the Soviets.
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? so MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
5. The Influence of Geography on People's Lives: Choose a nationality
group in one of the following regions of the U. S. S. R. : Arctic, Ukraine,
Crimea, Caucasus, Central Asia, Far East. Prepare an oral topic on the
ways in which the geographical surroundings have influenced the lives
and habits of the group you have chosen. These oral topics will be
used as a basis for class discussion, comparing and contrasting the in-
fluence of geography upon the lives of the peoples of the Soviet Union
and of the United States. Consult: Davies and Steiger, Soviet Asia;
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets; Williams, The Soviets.
6. Make arrangements for showing the films "Armenia" and "Kazakhstan. "
Preview the films and call the attention of the class to the following
items about each film: industry, agriculture, buildings, scenery, dress.
After the films have been shown, conduct a class discussion comparing
and contrasting Armenia and Kazakhstan.
7. "Russia is not a country; it is a world. " Choose a nationality group
of the U. S. S. R. and prepare a combination pictorial and written dis-
play for the bulletin board. Consult other pupils who are working
on this activity and form a committee to arrange the bulletin board
displays. Suggestions for topics: the Komi--Junior Red Cross Journal.
May, 1944; the Jews-- Tenth Anniversary Jewish Autonomous Region.
May, 1944 (American-Birobidjan Committee, New York); the Uzbeks,
Yakuts, Armenians, Estonians--Family of Nations: the Soviet Union.
III. History
A. Pre-Revolutionary
1. Outstanding Characteristics
There were four outstanding features of the history of this
large country before the Revolution. First, the overwhelming
majority of the people were peasants, poor and ignorant, as con-
trasted with a small group of rich land-owning nobles. There
was a small number of poverty-stricken industrial workers in
St. Petersburg (now Leningrad), Moscow, and other urban cen-
ters. Secondly, the Tsarist regime, which was in part made pos-
sible by the peasant character of the people, was autocratic and
harsh, corrupt and inefficient. A third characteristic of this
regime was the "Russification" of the various national and
minority groups in the country. There was no opportunity for
Jews, Armenians, Poles, or any other groups to develop their
own cultural heritage. Instead, each group was forced to speak
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 2i
the Russian language, conform to the established state Church,
and in every way relinquish its own cultural institutions. A
fourth feature of the Tsarist regime was the power of the Greek
Orthodox Church, the state religion, which in itself was a
large land-owning body, holding great power over the minds
and lives of the illiterate and superstitious masses. In addition
to being a powerful land-holding institution, the Church was
corrupt, an ally of the government in autocratic policies.
2. Opposing Elements
Before the Revolution of 1917, there were attempts made by
various groups to improve conditions. The intellectuals and
writers, such as Tolstoy, Dostoievsky, and others, denounced the
autocratic policies of the Tsar, and exposed the poverty of the
masses. Following the defeat of Russia by Japan in the war of
1904-05, a Revolution was attempted, with strikes among the
various groups of industrial workers. Councils, or Soviets as they
were called, were organized among the workers. This movement
resulted in forcing the Tsar to permit the election of a national
assembly, the Duma. Though not representing the masses, the
Duma was a partial check on the power of the Tsar. However,
two Dumas were dissolved by him, and the third was composed
of conservative nationalist groups. Severe punishment and exile
of revolutionary groups followed the 1905 disturbances. The
peasants, as well as the labor groups, revolted in several parts
of Russia, but were suppressed with great cruelty.
B. Revolutionary Period
1. Revolution of 1917 and World War I
Prior to the October Revolution of 1917, the government was
taken over in the February Revolution by the liberal, republi-
can elements, mostly middle-class. Kerensky was the most prom-
inent leader of this group. The radical party known as the Bol-
sheviks, however, was not satisfied, and won over the workers
for the establishment of a government of the proletariat. Lenin,
who had been in exile since 1907, returned in April, 1917, and,
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? 22 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
under his leadership, the Bolsheviks took control of the gov-
ernment about six months later.
The October revolution was in part the outgrowth of the un-
rest of the people since 1905 and before, and in part the result
of World War I, when Russia was allied with Great Britain
and France. Due to the inefficient and corrupt govern-
ment, the people were starving, and the army, composed
largely of peasants, was poorly clad, ill-fed and inadequately
equipped. This, coupled with the defeat of Russia by the
Germans, led to revolt and mutiny in the army, strikes in Moscow
and Petrograd, and the setting up of a new Soviet regime. A
separate peace, containing severe terms against Russia, was made
with Germany by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
2. Civil War and Allied Intervention
The first Soviet Constitution was written in 1918. However,
from 1918 to 1920, there was Civil War in Russia, complicated
by the intervention of the Allies, who aided the anti-Bolshevik
groups (called the "White Russians"). Added to this were the
evil social and economic conditions resulting from the war, in
which more than two and a half million Russian people had
been killed. From 1918 to 1920, the country was put on an
economic basis of so-called "war communism," which caused
great hardship and discontent. The treatment of the anti-
Bolsheviks was harsh and often unjust, many being executed, and
many fleeing to other countries. The extreme measures taken
by the Bolsheviks to put an end to Civil War caused a revul-
sion of feeling among the western nations. This was increased
by the stress laid on world revolution as the aim of the Bolshe-
viks, symbolized in the person of Trotsky.
C. Post-Revolution and the New Russia
In 1922 a federal state was formed, called the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, with the Russian, Ukrainian, Byelo-
Russian, and Trans-Caucasian Soviet Republics. This was
gradually enlarged so that today there are sixteen republics,
besides other autonomous regions and districts. From 1921 to
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 2j
1928 the government tried to get the country on a more secure
economic basis by a policy called the New Economic Policy, in
which state ownership of all natural resources and large
industries was combined with the encouragement of small pri-
vate consumer enterprises. This policy was abandoned in 1928,
when conditions had improved. The second Constitution was
drawn up in 1924. Nation-wide economic planning was adopted
with three Five-Year Plans, beginning in 1928. In 1936 the new
Constitution was adopted, which proclaims the aims of the
Soviet Union and its achievements since 1917.
During the years 1936 to 1938, a "Fifth Column" was dis-
covered in the Soviet Union. In ridding the country of these
traitors, the government resorted to widespread trials and purges.
The western countries reacted strongly against the U. S. S. R. be-
cause of the harsh treatment of these people.
D. Territorial Expansion, 1939-40
From 1939 to 1940, Russia strengthened her western borders,
forming a buffer belt against threatened German attack. After
Poland had been invaded by Nazi troops in 1939, the Red Army
moved in on the eastern part of Poland, reoccupying western
Byelo-Russia and the western Ukraine, both under Polish
rule since 1921. The Baltic states, having signed mutual assist-
ance pacts in October, 1939, with the Soviet Government, en-
tered the Soviet Union in July, 1940. At the same time, Rumania
returned Bessarabia and ceded part of Bukovina to the U. S. S. R.
As a result of the Soviet-Finnish War from November, 1939, to
March, 1940, the U. S. S. R. was given the right to lease the naval
and air base of Hango from Finland, and 16,000 square miles
of land were ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union. This land
included the Karelian Isthmus and Viipuri, a belt to the west
and north of Lake Ladoga, and other territory to the north.
E. The U. S. S. R. in World War II
On June 22, 1941, the Nazi army invaded the U. S. S. R. and
a war all along a 2,600-mile front was begun. From the Arctic
to the Black Sea the Soviets were obliged to fight. Hitler mis-
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? 2) MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
takenly thought that conquest of the U. S. S. R. would be quick
and comparatively easy. He did not realize how well prepared
the Soviet Union was from an industrial, agricultural, and mili-
tary viewpoint. Nor did Hitler anticipate the loyalty to the
U. S. S. R. of the various national and minority groups in the
Soviet Union. He had planned to win them to his side and use
them in dismembering the U. S. S. R. Instead of a quick victory,
however, the Nazi army was met with strong resistance, though
at first it succeeded in pushing back the Red Army.
During the first six months of the German drive, the Baltic
States were occupied by Hitler's forces; Leningrad was besieged
and cut off from the rest of the Soviet world; Moscow was almost
encircled, and most of the government officials moved to
Kuibyshev farther east. In the south, Odessa on the Black Sea
was captured, Kiev and most of the Ukraine were conquered.
The Nazis were elated with their success, but the first winter of
1941-1942 showed them that victory was not theirs. Although
the Russians were well equipped for the long cold winter, they
endured much, but nothing compared to the Germans, thinly
clad, poorly shod, and suffering constant casualties from frost-bite
and freezing. The Red Army not only held the German line, but
broke the siege of Moscow, also recapturing Rostov-on-Don,
near the Sea of Azov.
In the spring of 1942, the Germans launched a second offen-
sive, this time striking for the rich oil fields of the Caucasus.
They succeeded in retaking Rostov-on-Don, and captured Sevas-
topol on the Crimean Peninsula. During the late summer and
fall of 1942, they began an attack on the city of Stalingrad on
the Volga River, one of the important keys to Moscow in the
north and to Baku, the oil center in the south. The siege of
this city will go down in history as one of the great epics of the
war. The Soviets, realizing the importance of this attack, hurled
all their strength into the struggle for this strategic point.
Civilians fought from house to house, and street to street, with
unparalleled heroism. The western world watched breathlessly
and marvelled at the resistance of the Russians. Finally, the
Soviets forced the Nazis to surrender at Stalingrad in January,
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS *g
1943. This marks the turning point in the war, and from this
time on, the Red Army began its move to the west, reconquering
much strategic territory.
The North Caucasus, the rich Donets basin, and much of the
Ukraine were recaptured by the summer of 1943. Throughout
the next year, the Red Army continued to advance westward so
that by September of 1944, it had reoccupied most of the
Ukraine and had pushed far into the Baltic states, and into
Poland beyond the Vistula River. By offensives in the north
and south the Soviet forces knocked Finland, Rumania, and
Bulgaria out of the war against the United Nations.
In May, 1941, before the invasion started, Stalin, who up to
that time had only held the office of Secretary-General of the
Communist Party, became Premier. Later, during the first part
of the war, he assumed the positions of Commissar of Defense
and Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army with the title of
Marshal.
The whole world has been surprised at the strength and success
of the Red Army. One of the secrets of its strength is the em-
phasis which is placed in Soviet Russia upon physical fitness.
Another reason for the army's success is the efficiency of the gov-
ernment in keeping up the increasing production of necessary
equipment, and supplying the armed forces with food, clothing,
and arms. The contrast with the inefficiency of the government
in the last world war, under the Tsarist regime, is very notice-
able. At that time, industry was on a very small scale, the trans-
portation system was inefficient and poor, and there was cor-
ruption in government circles. Today, the smoothness and
speed of the transportation facilities, despite many handicaps,
have helped to keep the army equipped with needed food, and
have kept the civilian population from the starvation which
it suffered in the First World War.
Western nations have also been surprised at the efficiency of
the evacuation of invaded territories. Among the agricultural
groups, brigades were formed, some to take charge of the evacua-
tion of children; others, of foodstuffs and animals. In industry,
production was kept up and increased over pre-war times, even
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? 26 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
while whole factories, machines and workers, were moved east to
places of safety. During the whole evacuation, there was no
blocking of roads by civilians fleeing in panic, as in other coun-
tries. As proof of the advance in medical science, there were no
epidemics of typhus or other diseases when the refugees poured
into new regions, as was the case in World War I.
With the reconquest of occupied territory, scientific plans are
being carried out in reconstructing the areas devastated by the
Nazi forces. Authentic reports show that the invaders not only
captured strategic military positions, but sacked and ravaged
centers of culture, and buildings containing relics of Russian
history, as well as new centers of medicine and science. Treat-
ment of civilians who did not succeed in escaping was brutal
and inhuman. These problems, as well as the care of the return-
ing army veterans, are being faced by the Soviet Government.
References on History:
Vernadsky, History of Russia, Chapters 10 through 2o.
Pratt, From Tsarist Empire to Socialism, Chapters 4 through 8.
Duranty, U. S. S. R. , pp. 11-65 and 241-280.
Strong, The Soviets Expected It.
Some Suggested Activities on History:
1. "No land, no people and no period could at first sight seem to the on-
lookers less propitious as a setting for the world's greatest experiment. "
Study this quotation from Johnson's The Soviet Power, and then think
through the history of the Tsarist regime as far as you have studied.
Be ready to give evidence of the truth of this statement to the class in
a discussion.
2. In parallel columns list the causes contributing to the Revolution of
1917, and the ways by which the Soviet Government is attempting to
remove these causes of discontent. (Refer to the Constitution of 1936,
and Williams, The Soviets. )
3. One of the officials of the Greek Orthodox Church said, after the
Revolution of 1917, "The extraordinary Byzantine glitter of our Ortho-
dox services has been our greatest curse. Our Church has striven aftei
external gorgeousness at the expense of inner virtue, after showy
splendour at the cost of spiritual perfection. It acquired pomp, power,
riches, but lost its soul.
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 15
II. Peoples and Population
A. Composition and Distribution
The peoples of the U. S. S. R. present a complex pattern of cul-
tural progress and ethnic strains. Within the Soviet Union are
some 189 national groups, of which about fifty comprise 995%
of the total population of approximately 202,000,000. (Popula-
tion statistics given are based on estimates made in 1941 and in-
clude persons in regions annexed in 1939 and 1940. ) Predomi-
nant ethnic strains are the Slavs (about 151,000,000), the Turco-
Tatars (about 21,000,000), the Japhetic groups (about 6,000,000),
the Jews (about 5,200,000), and the Finno-Ugrians (about 4,-
600,000). Scattered over the vast expanse of the world's largest
land mass in one political unit, these nationalities have been
organized into political subdivisions, each bearing the name of
its major racial stock. There are sixteen Union Republics, and
within these are Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Regions,
and National Districts. All these groups are permitted many
privileges and rights as a part of the minority policy of the
Soviet Union.
The Slavs form the chief ethnic strain and number about
three-fourths of the total population. The Great Russians, the
largest Slavic unit, live chiefly within the Russian Soviet Fed-
erated Socialist Republic (Russia proper). This is the most
heavily populated of the Union Republics, covering an area of
6,322,350 square miles from western Soviet Europe across Siberia
to the Pacific, and holding an estimated total of 114,000,000
persons. This Slavic group first pushed Tsarist power to the
Trans-Caucasus, to Central Asia, and to the Pacific, assimilating
and conquering the minorities they encountered. Pan-Slavism,
the movement to unite all Slavs whether in western Russia,
eastern Europe, or the Balkans, was pursued tirelessly by the
Great Russians, who advanced steadily for over three centuries,
spreading over areas at an estimated daily rate of about sixty
square miles. Carrying the Greek Orthodox faith and Tsarist
tyranny with them, this people established a huge empire whose
nationality policy was based upon oppression of all minority
groups.
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? 16 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
Today, in contrast to this repression, the U. S. S. R. encourages
nationalities to follow their own customs and to maintain their
own institutions; thus the peoples of the Soviet Union present
many interesting traits and varying degrees of cultural develop-
ment. Illustrative of this are the minorities of the Russian
Union Republic, which contains the greatest number of political
subdivisions of any Republic in the U. S. S. R. The Komi (mean-
ing "We, the people") live in the northwest. Surrounded by
mountains and influenced by the cold climate, this nationality
has progressed rapidly under the Soviets. In the Volga basin are
six Autonomous Republics, the Mordovian, Chuvash, Mari,
Tatar, Bashkir, and Udmurt. The hospitable Bashkirs, the Chu-
vash, who although of Turkic origin use many Finnish words,
and the Mordovians have all developed their own unique cul-
tures. The Tatars of Kazan, skilled leather workers, Moslem in
belief and custom, are considered the most advanced of the
descendants of the Asiatic hordes which swept into Russia from
the East, under Tamerlane and Genghis Khan.
Other widely scattered groups in the Russian Republic range
from the horse-breeding Kalmyks of the southern Caucasus and
the metal-working mountaineers of Daghestan, to the backward
tribe of Chukchis (meaning "rich in reindeer") in the far north-
east of Siberia and the highly developed Jewish Autonomous
Region of the southeast. Some additional minorities are the
vigorous Yakuts of the largest Autonomous Republic of the
U. S. S. R. , the Oirots, who closely resemble the American Indian,
and, near Lake Baikal, the Buriat-Mongolians, whose priests
follow many ideas common to Buddhism.
Next to the Russian Republic on the west, from north to
south, are seven republics. The Karelo-Finnish, predominantly
of Finno-Ugrian stock, and from whose ballads in the Kalevala
Longfellow took his rhythm for Hiawatha, and the Moldavian
are two examples of progress from the status of an Autonomous
Republic to that of a Union Republic. Estonia and Latvia,
whose peoples are mainly Lutheran, and Lithuania, chiefly
Catholic, are the three Baltic Republics so essential to Soviet
defense. South of these are the Ukrainians and Byelo-Russians,
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 17
the second and third largest Soviet groups, respectively. The
former, occupying the richest soil in the Soviet Union, are highly
cultured; the latter are commonly known as White Russians,
but should not be confused with the emigrants of the Revolu-
tion.
The most complex racial pattern is in the Caucasus and Trans-
Caucasus region. Georgia, the birthplace of Stalin, who is the
symbol of the new importance of minority groups, is rich in his-
tory. Its people, Christianized in 345, were oppressed by many
rulers, but resisted all kinds of autocracy. The Georgian S. S. R.
contains, among other groups, the Abkhazians, in whose region
is a small Negro unit, and the Khevsurs, thought to be descend-
ants of a lost band of Crusaders. Armenia, the scene of historic
invasions, and Azerbaidzhan, the "Land of Fire," are two other
Union Republics where progress in recent years has been re-
markable.
In the southern part of Soviet Central Asia, the region between
the Caspian Sea and the Sinkiang province of China, lie five
Union Republics, all examples of Soviet progress in conquering
the desert and in decreasing the backwardness of peoples. The
biggest is the Kazakh S. S. R. , now a wartime industrial center,
with coal mines, tractor stations, and large copper deposits. The
Uzbek S. S. R. , the most advanced and wealthy district of the
area, derives much of its wealth from cotton growing. Its ancient
cities of Samarkand and Bokhara are excellent examples of
Moslem architecture; they are still famous in this desert land
of Central Asia.
South of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are Turkmenia, noted
for its carpets, the Tadzhik S. S. R. , whose Moslem peoples are
closely related to the Iranians, and the Kirgiz S. S. R. , develop-
ing today as a silk, cotton, and livestock center. For those seek-
ing the picturesque or the unusual, for those interested in archae-
ology or anthropology, or for those studying customs or history,
the U. S. S. R. presents the most complex yet freely developed pat-
tern of cultures in the world.
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? i8
MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
Statistics on Union Republics1
POPULATION
PREDOMINANT
(ESTIMATED
AREA (IN
ETHNIC
AS OF
SQUARE
REPUBLIC
STRAIN
JULY, 1941)
MILES)
CAPITAL
Russia
Slav
114. 337428
6,322,350
Moscow
Ukraine
Slav
42,272,943
202,540
Kiev
Byelo-Russia
Slav
10,525,511
89,300
Minsk
Uzbekistan
Turco-Tatar
6,601,619
146,000
Tashkent
Kazakhstan
Turco-Tatar
6,458,175
1,059,700
Alma-Ata
Georgia
Japhetic
3,722,252
26,875
Tbilisi
Azerbaidzhan
Turco-Tatar
3. 372. 794
33,200
Baku
Lithuania
Baltic
3,134,070
22,8oO
Vilna
Moldavia
Rumanian
2,321,225
13,680
Kishinev
Latvia
Baltic
1,950,502
24,700
Riga
Tadzhikstan
Iranian
1,560,540
55. 545
? ? Stalinabad
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS lg
ments of population will be somewhat determined by future
economic planning.
References on Peoples and Population:
Lamont, C, "The Peoples of the Soviet Union," Soviet Russia Today,
June, 1944, pp. 16-17, 3>>-
Lamont, C, "The Union Republics and Subdivisions," Soviet Russia
Today, July, 1944, pp. 10, 26-27.
Lorimer, F. , "Recent Population Trends in the Soviet Union," American
Sociological Review, June, 1944, pp. 219-222.
Mikhailov, N. , Land of the Soviets, pp. 77-325.
Williams, A. R. , The Soviets, pp. 8-35.
Some Suggested Activities on Peoples and Population:
1. The U. S. S. R. contains some "189 peoples, speaking 150 languages
and adhering to 40 religions. " Study carefully the series of pictures on
the peoples of the U. S. S. R. in set 1 of the U. S. S. R. : A Pictorial Review,
numbers 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15. (This may be rented through the
National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. ) Note especially,
in each picture, the physical characteristics of the people, their dress,
and the main points of interest in the background. Choose two of the
nationality groups for a more detailed study. Write a composition con-
trasting and comparing these two groups, especially as to their physical
characteristics, dress, customs, and occupations. Consult the following
for information: Davies and Steiger, Soviet Asia; Mikhailov, Land of
the Soviets; Williams, The Soviets.
2. The Caucasus Mountains, "the stony girdle of the globe," have many
colorful, resourceful, and hospitable peoples, with amazing customs and
traditions. Prepare an oral topic about the peoples of the Caucasus,
on one of the following: history, customs, legends, dress, occupations,
physical characteristics. Consult the following for information: "Family
of Nations: the Soviet Union," pp. 14-18; Mikhailov, Land of the
Soviets, pp. 236-279; Williams, The Soviets, pp. 8-19.
3. Map Study of the Peoples of the Soviet Union: On a map of the
U. S. S. R. place the sixteen Union Republics. In each republic place a
symbol which indicates an outstanding item about the major nationality
unit of that republic. You may use freehand sketches or pictures. Con-
sult these references: Wall Map of the U. S. S. R. ; Mikhailov, Land of the
Soviets; Williams, The Soviets, pp. 8-19 (and see map at end of book. )
4. Imagine that you are a magazine correspondent and that you have
been assigned to visit one of the republics of the Soviet Union. Write
an article describing the interesting and unusual items about the
nationality group which is the predominant one in the republic ol
your choice. Consult Davies and Steiger, Soviet Asia, and Mikhailov,
Land of the Soviets.
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? so MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
5. The Influence of Geography on People's Lives: Choose a nationality
group in one of the following regions of the U. S. S. R. : Arctic, Ukraine,
Crimea, Caucasus, Central Asia, Far East. Prepare an oral topic on the
ways in which the geographical surroundings have influenced the lives
and habits of the group you have chosen. These oral topics will be
used as a basis for class discussion, comparing and contrasting the in-
fluence of geography upon the lives of the peoples of the Soviet Union
and of the United States. Consult: Davies and Steiger, Soviet Asia;
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets; Williams, The Soviets.
6. Make arrangements for showing the films "Armenia" and "Kazakhstan. "
Preview the films and call the attention of the class to the following
items about each film: industry, agriculture, buildings, scenery, dress.
After the films have been shown, conduct a class discussion comparing
and contrasting Armenia and Kazakhstan.
7. "Russia is not a country; it is a world. " Choose a nationality group
of the U. S. S. R. and prepare a combination pictorial and written dis-
play for the bulletin board. Consult other pupils who are working
on this activity and form a committee to arrange the bulletin board
displays. Suggestions for topics: the Komi--Junior Red Cross Journal.
May, 1944; the Jews-- Tenth Anniversary Jewish Autonomous Region.
May, 1944 (American-Birobidjan Committee, New York); the Uzbeks,
Yakuts, Armenians, Estonians--Family of Nations: the Soviet Union.
III. History
A. Pre-Revolutionary
1. Outstanding Characteristics
There were four outstanding features of the history of this
large country before the Revolution. First, the overwhelming
majority of the people were peasants, poor and ignorant, as con-
trasted with a small group of rich land-owning nobles. There
was a small number of poverty-stricken industrial workers in
St. Petersburg (now Leningrad), Moscow, and other urban cen-
ters. Secondly, the Tsarist regime, which was in part made pos-
sible by the peasant character of the people, was autocratic and
harsh, corrupt and inefficient. A third characteristic of this
regime was the "Russification" of the various national and
minority groups in the country. There was no opportunity for
Jews, Armenians, Poles, or any other groups to develop their
own cultural heritage. Instead, each group was forced to speak
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 2i
the Russian language, conform to the established state Church,
and in every way relinquish its own cultural institutions. A
fourth feature of the Tsarist regime was the power of the Greek
Orthodox Church, the state religion, which in itself was a
large land-owning body, holding great power over the minds
and lives of the illiterate and superstitious masses. In addition
to being a powerful land-holding institution, the Church was
corrupt, an ally of the government in autocratic policies.
2. Opposing Elements
Before the Revolution of 1917, there were attempts made by
various groups to improve conditions. The intellectuals and
writers, such as Tolstoy, Dostoievsky, and others, denounced the
autocratic policies of the Tsar, and exposed the poverty of the
masses. Following the defeat of Russia by Japan in the war of
1904-05, a Revolution was attempted, with strikes among the
various groups of industrial workers. Councils, or Soviets as they
were called, were organized among the workers. This movement
resulted in forcing the Tsar to permit the election of a national
assembly, the Duma. Though not representing the masses, the
Duma was a partial check on the power of the Tsar. However,
two Dumas were dissolved by him, and the third was composed
of conservative nationalist groups. Severe punishment and exile
of revolutionary groups followed the 1905 disturbances. The
peasants, as well as the labor groups, revolted in several parts
of Russia, but were suppressed with great cruelty.
B. Revolutionary Period
1. Revolution of 1917 and World War I
Prior to the October Revolution of 1917, the government was
taken over in the February Revolution by the liberal, republi-
can elements, mostly middle-class. Kerensky was the most prom-
inent leader of this group. The radical party known as the Bol-
sheviks, however, was not satisfied, and won over the workers
for the establishment of a government of the proletariat. Lenin,
who had been in exile since 1907, returned in April, 1917, and,
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? 22 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
under his leadership, the Bolsheviks took control of the gov-
ernment about six months later.
The October revolution was in part the outgrowth of the un-
rest of the people since 1905 and before, and in part the result
of World War I, when Russia was allied with Great Britain
and France. Due to the inefficient and corrupt govern-
ment, the people were starving, and the army, composed
largely of peasants, was poorly clad, ill-fed and inadequately
equipped. This, coupled with the defeat of Russia by the
Germans, led to revolt and mutiny in the army, strikes in Moscow
and Petrograd, and the setting up of a new Soviet regime. A
separate peace, containing severe terms against Russia, was made
with Germany by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
2. Civil War and Allied Intervention
The first Soviet Constitution was written in 1918. However,
from 1918 to 1920, there was Civil War in Russia, complicated
by the intervention of the Allies, who aided the anti-Bolshevik
groups (called the "White Russians"). Added to this were the
evil social and economic conditions resulting from the war, in
which more than two and a half million Russian people had
been killed. From 1918 to 1920, the country was put on an
economic basis of so-called "war communism," which caused
great hardship and discontent. The treatment of the anti-
Bolsheviks was harsh and often unjust, many being executed, and
many fleeing to other countries. The extreme measures taken
by the Bolsheviks to put an end to Civil War caused a revul-
sion of feeling among the western nations. This was increased
by the stress laid on world revolution as the aim of the Bolshe-
viks, symbolized in the person of Trotsky.
C. Post-Revolution and the New Russia
In 1922 a federal state was formed, called the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, with the Russian, Ukrainian, Byelo-
Russian, and Trans-Caucasian Soviet Republics. This was
gradually enlarged so that today there are sixteen republics,
besides other autonomous regions and districts. From 1921 to
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 2j
1928 the government tried to get the country on a more secure
economic basis by a policy called the New Economic Policy, in
which state ownership of all natural resources and large
industries was combined with the encouragement of small pri-
vate consumer enterprises. This policy was abandoned in 1928,
when conditions had improved. The second Constitution was
drawn up in 1924. Nation-wide economic planning was adopted
with three Five-Year Plans, beginning in 1928. In 1936 the new
Constitution was adopted, which proclaims the aims of the
Soviet Union and its achievements since 1917.
During the years 1936 to 1938, a "Fifth Column" was dis-
covered in the Soviet Union. In ridding the country of these
traitors, the government resorted to widespread trials and purges.
The western countries reacted strongly against the U. S. S. R. be-
cause of the harsh treatment of these people.
D. Territorial Expansion, 1939-40
From 1939 to 1940, Russia strengthened her western borders,
forming a buffer belt against threatened German attack. After
Poland had been invaded by Nazi troops in 1939, the Red Army
moved in on the eastern part of Poland, reoccupying western
Byelo-Russia and the western Ukraine, both under Polish
rule since 1921. The Baltic states, having signed mutual assist-
ance pacts in October, 1939, with the Soviet Government, en-
tered the Soviet Union in July, 1940. At the same time, Rumania
returned Bessarabia and ceded part of Bukovina to the U. S. S. R.
As a result of the Soviet-Finnish War from November, 1939, to
March, 1940, the U. S. S. R. was given the right to lease the naval
and air base of Hango from Finland, and 16,000 square miles
of land were ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union. This land
included the Karelian Isthmus and Viipuri, a belt to the west
and north of Lake Ladoga, and other territory to the north.
E. The U. S. S. R. in World War II
On June 22, 1941, the Nazi army invaded the U. S. S. R. and
a war all along a 2,600-mile front was begun. From the Arctic
to the Black Sea the Soviets were obliged to fight. Hitler mis-
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? 2) MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
takenly thought that conquest of the U. S. S. R. would be quick
and comparatively easy. He did not realize how well prepared
the Soviet Union was from an industrial, agricultural, and mili-
tary viewpoint. Nor did Hitler anticipate the loyalty to the
U. S. S. R. of the various national and minority groups in the
Soviet Union. He had planned to win them to his side and use
them in dismembering the U. S. S. R. Instead of a quick victory,
however, the Nazi army was met with strong resistance, though
at first it succeeded in pushing back the Red Army.
During the first six months of the German drive, the Baltic
States were occupied by Hitler's forces; Leningrad was besieged
and cut off from the rest of the Soviet world; Moscow was almost
encircled, and most of the government officials moved to
Kuibyshev farther east. In the south, Odessa on the Black Sea
was captured, Kiev and most of the Ukraine were conquered.
The Nazis were elated with their success, but the first winter of
1941-1942 showed them that victory was not theirs. Although
the Russians were well equipped for the long cold winter, they
endured much, but nothing compared to the Germans, thinly
clad, poorly shod, and suffering constant casualties from frost-bite
and freezing. The Red Army not only held the German line, but
broke the siege of Moscow, also recapturing Rostov-on-Don,
near the Sea of Azov.
In the spring of 1942, the Germans launched a second offen-
sive, this time striking for the rich oil fields of the Caucasus.
They succeeded in retaking Rostov-on-Don, and captured Sevas-
topol on the Crimean Peninsula. During the late summer and
fall of 1942, they began an attack on the city of Stalingrad on
the Volga River, one of the important keys to Moscow in the
north and to Baku, the oil center in the south. The siege of
this city will go down in history as one of the great epics of the
war. The Soviets, realizing the importance of this attack, hurled
all their strength into the struggle for this strategic point.
Civilians fought from house to house, and street to street, with
unparalleled heroism. The western world watched breathlessly
and marvelled at the resistance of the Russians. Finally, the
Soviets forced the Nazis to surrender at Stalingrad in January,
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS *g
1943. This marks the turning point in the war, and from this
time on, the Red Army began its move to the west, reconquering
much strategic territory.
The North Caucasus, the rich Donets basin, and much of the
Ukraine were recaptured by the summer of 1943. Throughout
the next year, the Red Army continued to advance westward so
that by September of 1944, it had reoccupied most of the
Ukraine and had pushed far into the Baltic states, and into
Poland beyond the Vistula River. By offensives in the north
and south the Soviet forces knocked Finland, Rumania, and
Bulgaria out of the war against the United Nations.
In May, 1941, before the invasion started, Stalin, who up to
that time had only held the office of Secretary-General of the
Communist Party, became Premier. Later, during the first part
of the war, he assumed the positions of Commissar of Defense
and Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army with the title of
Marshal.
The whole world has been surprised at the strength and success
of the Red Army. One of the secrets of its strength is the em-
phasis which is placed in Soviet Russia upon physical fitness.
Another reason for the army's success is the efficiency of the gov-
ernment in keeping up the increasing production of necessary
equipment, and supplying the armed forces with food, clothing,
and arms. The contrast with the inefficiency of the government
in the last world war, under the Tsarist regime, is very notice-
able. At that time, industry was on a very small scale, the trans-
portation system was inefficient and poor, and there was cor-
ruption in government circles. Today, the smoothness and
speed of the transportation facilities, despite many handicaps,
have helped to keep the army equipped with needed food, and
have kept the civilian population from the starvation which
it suffered in the First World War.
Western nations have also been surprised at the efficiency of
the evacuation of invaded territories. Among the agricultural
groups, brigades were formed, some to take charge of the evacua-
tion of children; others, of foodstuffs and animals. In industry,
production was kept up and increased over pre-war times, even
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? 26 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
while whole factories, machines and workers, were moved east to
places of safety. During the whole evacuation, there was no
blocking of roads by civilians fleeing in panic, as in other coun-
tries. As proof of the advance in medical science, there were no
epidemics of typhus or other diseases when the refugees poured
into new regions, as was the case in World War I.
With the reconquest of occupied territory, scientific plans are
being carried out in reconstructing the areas devastated by the
Nazi forces. Authentic reports show that the invaders not only
captured strategic military positions, but sacked and ravaged
centers of culture, and buildings containing relics of Russian
history, as well as new centers of medicine and science. Treat-
ment of civilians who did not succeed in escaping was brutal
and inhuman. These problems, as well as the care of the return-
ing army veterans, are being faced by the Soviet Government.
References on History:
Vernadsky, History of Russia, Chapters 10 through 2o.
Pratt, From Tsarist Empire to Socialism, Chapters 4 through 8.
Duranty, U. S. S. R. , pp. 11-65 and 241-280.
Strong, The Soviets Expected It.
Some Suggested Activities on History:
1. "No land, no people and no period could at first sight seem to the on-
lookers less propitious as a setting for the world's greatest experiment. "
Study this quotation from Johnson's The Soviet Power, and then think
through the history of the Tsarist regime as far as you have studied.
Be ready to give evidence of the truth of this statement to the class in
a discussion.
2. In parallel columns list the causes contributing to the Revolution of
1917, and the ways by which the Soviet Government is attempting to
remove these causes of discontent. (Refer to the Constitution of 1936,
and Williams, The Soviets. )
3. One of the officials of the Greek Orthodox Church said, after the
Revolution of 1917, "The extraordinary Byzantine glitter of our Ortho-
dox services has been our greatest curse. Our Church has striven aftei
external gorgeousness at the expense of inner virtue, after showy
splendour at the cost of spiritual perfection. It acquired pomp, power,
riches, but lost its soul.
