Everyday Stalinism I
Central Administration of Statistics
The archival materials in this collection, now held at the Russian State Archives of Economics (RGAE), were compiled by the Central Administration of Statistics of the USSR (TsSU), founded in 1917. Its main tasks were gathering statistical information and setting up inquiries. The TsSU underwent many changes and was later named TsUNKhU (Central Administration of Economics and Social Statistics) operating under the Commission for State Planning, the Gosplan. The documents remained classified until 1993.
Surveys
In 1936 and 1938 the TsUNKhU, in cooperation with the VLKSM (the All-Union Lenin Young Communist League - an organization responsible for the political education of young people in the USSR), set up a special survey into the cultural and political interest and way of life of young workers and students (1936) and kolkhozniki (1938).
The questionnaires clearly reflect the Soviet ideology of the 1920s and 1930s. The forms contain questions concerning, among other things, participation in socialist political work, party membership, membership of the Stakhanov-movement (named after Alexey Stakhanov - a miner who delved twenty times a day’s norm of coal in one day) and participation in the GTO program (Ready for Labor and Defense - a semi-military popular movement). The questionnaire, however, is divers and also provides information regarding matters of education, attendance of cultural and public events, use of libraries, possession of books, knowledge of foreign languages, memberships of sport societies and recreational activities (did they have radios, skis, musical instruments, etc.) A special section deals with questions on popular and political literature including classical works of Marxism-Leninism as well as books by M. Gorky, A.Serafimovitch, D. Furmanov, N. Ostrovskii, L. Tolstoy, H. de Balzac, I. Turgenev etc.
Labor Statistics
The documents produced by the Labor Statistics Department, a special department within the TsSU, form the core of the collection. The documents contain information on every aspect of labor of interest to the soviet government: efficiency, disciplinary fines, monthly salaries, the division of workers among the different branches of Soviet industry, women in different professions and membership of the "udarniki movement" (a doctrine stimulating workers to produce beyond their daily quotes). The documents also contain data on unemployment and the salary funds movements in capitalist countries in 1932. In addition to statistics on labor, the documents contain information on the living conditions of the soviet people, such as housing, clothing, food consumption, medical care, recreational habits, expenditure etc.
Historical value
The documents of the collection provide insight into the development of the socialist society and the impact of the socialist economy on various social and ethnic groups in the Soviet Union. Most of them were brought up and formed by the Soviet political system. The statistical and analytical data cover various cities and regions (Moscow, Leningrad, Ukraine, Ural, and Republic of Germans in the Volga region and many others). The surveys (questionnaires) were addressed to various professionals and ethnic groups – industrial workers, engineers, employers, kolkhozniki and students.
Russian State Archives of Economics
The RGAE is one of the largest archives within the Russian Federation. It used to be known till 1992 as the Central State Archive of People’s Economy (Tsentral’nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv narodnogo khoziastva, TsGANKh) and is the principal repository for documents on political, economic and administrative matters, containing materials from 1917 onwards. The archive contains the fonds of the narkomaty (people’s commissariat), ministries and state committees such as the State Committee on Statistics (Goskomstat), planning agencies such as Gosplan, and other central governmental agencies, which managed, planned and financed the national economy in the USSR.
Many of the formerly restricted fonds and parts of fonds have been declassified in recent years, including most of the records of Gosplan, the State Committee on Statistics (Goskomstat), and military industrial institutions. In many fonds of more recent origin, secret sections remain classified. RGAE contains 2021 fonds, with more than 4 million files. These documents provide a full picture of the Soviet State during its 70 year long history The collection includes the following types of documents:
• TsSU and the TsUNKhU bulletins containing the results of investigations into the income and expenditure of the soviet population (1926-1928, 1932, 1934-1939).
• Reports and secret memorandums of the TsUNKhU to the Central Committee of the Communist Party and government concerning the budgets and salaries of factory workers (1932-1935).
• Instructions on how to compose questionnaires for the surveys into the lifestyle and interests of students, young workers and kolkhozniki (1936,1938).
• Filled-in questionnaires (1936,1938).
• Registration forms completed by day-laborers containing information on salary etc. (March 1935).
Central Administration of Statistics
The archival materials in this collection, now held at the Russian State Archives of Economics (RGAE), were compiled by the Central Administration of Statistics of the USSR (TsSU), founded in 1917. Its main tasks were gathering statistical information and setting up inquiries. The TsSU underwent many changes and was later named TsUNKhU (Central Administration of Economics and Social Statistics) operating under the Commission for State Planning, the Gosplan. The documents remained classified until 1993.
Surveys
In 1936 and 1938 the TsUNKhU, in cooperation with the VLKSM (the All-Union Lenin Young Communist League - an organization responsible for the political education of young people in the USSR), set up a special survey into the cultural and political interest and way of life of young workers and students (1936) and kolkhozniki (1938).
The questionnaires clearly reflect the Soviet ideology of the 1920s and 1930s. The forms contain questions concerning, among other things, participation in socialist political work, party membership, membership of the Stakhanov-movement (named after Alexey Stakhanov - a miner who delved twenty times a day’s norm of coal in one day) and participation in the GTO program (Ready for Labor and Defense - a semi-military popular movement). The questionnaire, however, is divers and also provides information regarding matters of education, attendance of cultural and public events, use of libraries, possession of books, knowledge of foreign languages, memberships of sport societies and recreational activities (did they have radios, skis, musical instruments, etc.) A special section deals with questions on popular and political literature including classical works of Marxism-Leninism as well as books by M. Gorky, A.Serafimovitch, D. Furmanov, N. Ostrovskii, L. Tolstoy, H. de Balzac, I. Turgenev etc.
Labor Statistics
The documents produced by the Labor Statistics Department, a special department within the TsSU, form the core of the collection. The documents contain information on every aspect of labor of interest to the soviet government: efficiency, disciplinary fines, monthly salaries, the division of workers among the different branches of Soviet industry, women in different professions and membership of the "udarniki movement" (a doctrine stimulating workers to produce beyond their daily quotes). The documents also contain data on unemployment and the salary funds movements in capitalist countries in 1932. In addition to statistics on labor, the documents contain information on the living conditions of the soviet people, such as housing, clothing, food consumption, medical care, recreational habits, expenditure etc.
Historical value
The documents of the collection provide insight into the development of the socialist society and the impact of the socialist economy on various social and ethnic groups in the Soviet Union. Most of them were brought up and formed by the Soviet political system. The statistical and analytical data cover various cities and regions (Moscow, Leningrad, Ukraine, Ural, and Republic of Germans in the Volga region and many others). The surveys (questionnaires) were addressed to various professionals and ethnic groups – industrial workers, engineers, employers, kolkhozniki and students.
Russian State Archives of Economics
The RGAE is one of the largest archives within the Russian Federation. It used to be known till 1992 as the Central State Archive of People’s Economy (Tsentral’nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv narodnogo khoziastva, TsGANKh) and is the principal repository for documents on political, economic and administrative matters, containing materials from 1917 onwards. The archive contains the fonds of the narkomaty (people’s commissariat), ministries and state committees such as the State Committee on Statistics (Goskomstat), planning agencies such as Gosplan, and other central governmental agencies, which managed, planned and financed the national economy in the USSR.
Many of the formerly restricted fonds and parts of fonds have been declassified in recent years, including most of the records of Gosplan, the State Committee on Statistics (Goskomstat), and military industrial institutions. In many fonds of more recent origin, secret sections remain classified. RGAE contains 2021 fonds, with more than 4 million files. These documents provide a full picture of the Soviet State during its 70 year long history The collection includes the following types of documents:
• TsSU and the TsUNKhU bulletins containing the results of investigations into the income and expenditure of the soviet population (1926-1928, 1932, 1934-1939).
• Reports and secret memorandums of the TsUNKhU to the Central Committee of the Communist Party and government concerning the budgets and salaries of factory workers (1932-1935).
• Instructions on how to compose questionnaires for the surveys into the lifestyle and interests of students, young workers and kolkhozniki (1936,1938).
• Filled-in questionnaires (1936,1938).
• Registration forms completed by day-laborers containing information on salary etc. (March 1935).
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