No More Learning

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. "
Write a paper on the Russian Church before the Revolution explain-
ing the criticism made in the above quotation.
4. Make a map showing the expansion of the Soviet Union from July,
1939, to July, 1940. Refer to Stembridge, An Atlas of the US. S. R.
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 27
5. Let one group of pupils read Hindus, Humanity Uprooted, and another
group read Hindus, Mother Russia. On the basis of their reading, dis-
cuss the conditions in Soviet Russia just after the Revolution and in
the early 1940's.
6. Make a Time Chart showing important events in Russia, Western
Europe, China, and Japan from 1900 to July, 1942.
(Refer to Time Chart at end of this section and use Becker's Modern
History. )
7. The Soviet Union differed socially, economically and politically in
1936 from the Soviet Union in 1924, when the second Constitution was
adopted. Write a paper showing how the 1936 Constitution reflects
these changes. (Use the Constitution for reference. )
8. Make a map showing transportation facilities in Russia in 1914 and
in 1940 (Refer to the maps of Denoyer-Geppert, and to Stembridge,
An Atlas of the U. S. S. R. )
9. "War shows up the inefficiency of a Government. "
Prepare to discuss and compare the efficiency of the Russian Government
in 1914 during World War I with that of the Soviet Government in this
war regarding: transportation, industrial production, care of the army,
feeding the population, standard of living of the people.
10. "It is wrong to say that Lenin made the Russian Revolution. You don't
make a revolution; it occurs. . . . Lenin said that circumstances cannot
be created, but his life proved that a leader can direct. " (Walter
Duranty, USSR). Read the life of Lenin and report to the class on -how
far this statement is true in your opinion.
? 1. On a map show where the farthest line of German advance was in
1942, and where the approximate line of battle between the Red Army
and Nazi Army is today.
12. "Joseph Stalin, first Soviet Commissar of Nationalities, symbolized the
new importance of minorities. "
Read the life of Stalin, and write a paper showing how his life sym-
bolizes the old and the new history of Russia.
(Refer to Ludwig, Life of Stalin, and Williams, The Soviets, pp. 93-102. )
13. Have various members of the class look up the following people and
report to class in ten-minute talks: Trotsky; Nadezhda K. Krupskaya
(Lenin's widow); Marshal Timoshenko; Molotov; Plotnikova; Marshal
Zhukov; Ilya Ehrenburg; Marshal Voroshilov; Litvinov; Andrei A.
Gromyko; Peter Kapitsa.
(For information, use Vernadsky, History of Russia; and write for
free bulletins from the Embassy of the U. S. S. R. , Washington, D. C. )
14. Write a paper comparing Stalin and Peter the Great in their aims
and achievements for Russia.
15. Suggest to the class that they fill kits for Russian Relief. These kits
are sent to the civilians returning to the reoccupied areas. Details about
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? 28
MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
the kits and the list of articles to be included in the kits may be pro-
cured from Russian War Relief. (See Appendix for address. )
16. Walter Duranty in the New York Times magazine section for July jo,
1944, asks: "Is the Russian Revolution over, or at least is it settling
down, as other revolutionary movements have done, to something more
mellow and conservative? "
Think over this question, in the light of your study of the Soviet
Union, and prepare to discuss it in class.
Time Chart of Principal Events in Connection With Study of the
Soviet Union
August, 1914
1915-1916
March i2, 1917
March 15,
>>9>>7
November
7. >>9>7
March, 191
8
1918-1919
'9>9
1918-1920
1921-1922
1921-1928
December,
1922
January, 1
9*4
January 21
. >>9*4
1928
1928"'93*
November,
'933
September,
<<934
'933-1937
November,
1936
December,
<<93<<
i936->938
1938-194*
Entrance of Tsarist Russia into World War I.
Frequent defeat of Russian army and increasing
discontent of people.
Revolution (known as "February Revolution," since
Russia used old calendar); abdication of Tsar Nicho-
las II; control by Moderates.
Formation of Provisional Government.
Bolshevik Revolution (according to the calendar used
then, it was October. )
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.
Exclusion of Soviets from Versailles Conference.
Founding of Communist International (called "Third
International" or "Commintern. ")
Civil War in Russia and Allied intervention.
Widespread famine in European Russia.
New Economic Policy.
Formation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics by
Russian, Ukrainian, Byelo-Russian and Trans-Cau-
casian Republics.
Adoption of first Constitution of U. S. S. R. as whole.
Death of Lenin. Beginning of leadership of Stalin,
as Secretary of Communist Party.
Signing by Soviet Union of Kellogg-Briand Pact.
First Five-Year Plan.
? ? Recognition of U. S. S. R. by U. S. A.
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
*9
Time Chart of Principal Events in Connection With Study of the
Soviet Union (Cont'd)
September, 1938
August, 1939
September, 1939
October, 1939
November, 1939-
March, 1940
June-August, 1940
April, 1941
June 22, 1941
July 12, 1941
December, 1941
January 1, 1942
1941-1942
May and June, 1942
January, 1943
May, 1943
October, 1943
November, 1943
By September 15,
>944
Munich Agreement between England, France, Italy,
and Germany, ignoring Soviet Union.
Soviet-German Treaty of Non-Aggression.
Outbreak of World War II with invasion of Poland
by Germany.
Soviet occupation of eastern Poland.
Soviet-Finnish War. Acquisition by Soviet Union of
Hango and Karelian Isthmus.
Soviet acquisition of Baltic States, Bessarabia and
Northern Bukovina.
Neutrality Pact between Soviet Union and Japan.
Nazi Invasion of U. S. S. R.
Anglo-Soviet Military Alliance.
Soviet-Polish Declaration of Friendship and Mutual
Assistance.
Soviet Union signatory to United Nations Agreement.
Failure of campaigns against Moscow, Leningrad, and
Stalingrad; assumption by Stalin of positions of Com-
missar of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the
Red Army.
Molotov's visit to London and Washington: Anglo-
Soviet 20-Year Mutual Assistance Treaty; American-
Soviet Lend-Lease Agreement.
Surrender of German forces at Stalingrad; beginning
of great Red Army offensive.
Official dissolution of Comintern.
Conference at Moscow (Hull, Eden and Molotov).
Conference at Teheran in Iran (Churchill, Roosevelt,
and Stalin).
Reoccupation by Red Army of practically all Soviet
Europe except about half of the Baltic States. Drive
into Poland to gates of Warsaw and across Rumania
to Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Hungary. Rumania,
Finland, and Bulgaria make peace with Soviet Russia
and its allies.
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? 3o MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
IV. Soviet Life Today
A. Government
1. Organization of the Central Government
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a federated state of
sixteen Union Republics and smaller national groups whose
rights and powers are listed in the Constitution of 1936, an
important document in the history of world governments. The
Central Government, with power derived from the Soviets
(Councils or Committees) of Working People's Deputies, has an
elaborate structure.
The Supreme Soviet is the highest legislative authority in the
U. S. S. R. This parliamentary body consists of the Soviet of the
Union, elected representatives of the people as a whole, and of
the Soviet of Nationalities, elected representatives of the na-
tional groups. Laws are passed by majority vote of both houses;
enumerated powers are exercised jointly; and all other branches
of the federal government are responsible to this Supreme Soviet.
The Presidium (Executive Committee), elected by the Supreme
Soviet, carries on the functions of that body between sessions.
This small group of forty-two members wields great power,
since it is a continuous body.
Executive and administrative powers are largely vested in the
Council of People's Commissars. This group, which corresponds
to the cabinet of Great Britain, is appointed by the Supreme
Soviet and consists of some forty-three commissariats or depart-
ments. It is accountable to the Supreme Soviet and, between
sessions of that body, to the Presidium.
Although, on occasion, judicial matters are dealt with directly
by the Supreme Soviet or Presidium, the administration of
justice is vested primarily in the Supreme Court and a Chief
Prosecutor or State Attorney. In common with other branches,
this organ of government is elected by and is responsible to the
Supreme Soviet.
In 1941, Stalin, who before this had held no official position
as head of the state, was named Premier and Commissar for
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 31
Defense. A special State Defense Council, an inner war cabinet,
was also set up.
A distinctive characteristic of the government is the fact that
it has more directly delegated economic powers than do the gov-
ernments of most nations. Since "all power belongs to the work-
ing people of town and country," "the socialist ownership of the
means and instruments of production" is guaranteed. (Consti-
tution, Art. 3 and 4).
2. Organization of Government in the Republics
In the organization of the Soviet Union the nationality groups
are classified into the following categories: Union Republics,
with a high degree of self-government; Autonomous Republics,
in a less advanced stage of self-government; Autonomous Re-
gions, with limited self-government; and National Districts
(Areas), the least developed or smaller groups. The govern-
mental structure of these units is similar to that of the Central
Government, except that their Soviets are unicameral.
Final authority in both regional and local governments lies
in the Soviets of Working People's Deputies, elected "on the
basis of universal, direct and equal suffrage by secret ballot. "
(Constitution, Art. 134). The whole structure may be likened to
a pyramid whose base is formed by the local Soviets; above these
stand those of the townships, regions, provinces, territories, re-
publics, and finally the Supreme Soviet of the U. S. S. R. The
local councils, whether large or small, have numerous economic
and social responsibilities, as well as political duties. Since
sessions are short and members are busy in their regular
occupations, each Soviet elects an Executive Committee to carry
on its functions between meetings.
Each Union Republic and each Autonomous Republic has its
own constitution, governing units, and language; each Region
and District also has self-government and may in time become
at least an Autonomous Republic. Although certain powers are
surrendered to the Central Government, each nationality main-
tains its own customs and institutions. In February, 1944, Union
Republics were granted the right to send diplomats to foreign
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