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The Stalinist era was primarily the 1930s and 40s. It also included the late-20s and early-50s, but the 30s and 40s were the primary decades. Stalin began to establish his control after Lenin, weakened by a assaination attempted died (1924). It took some time for him to establish full control of the Party and Government. As a result he was not fully in control until the end of the decade. Yhis was a decade of gradual recovery from the destuctive Civil War. Lenin accomplished this by the New Economic Policy (NEP), essentially reviving some market mechanisms (capitalism). As Stlalin gained control, he reversed this polict and launched the First Five Year Plan (1928-32). This amounted to a massive eci\onomic effort to expand heavy industry, limiting production of consumer goods including food and exploting the agrcultural sector to the maximum. A major expamsion of heavy industry was achieved, but there was enormous waste of resources. Abd collectivization waa a disaster. Stalin thought that mechaization and socialist organization (collectiviaztion) would incease agricultural harvests. In fact, production plumeted and brver fully recovered. A great priority was devoted to expamding the educatiinal system. Fashionable clothing and consumer goods were not a regime priority. Stalin was in total control during the 1930s, including the Second (1033-37) and Third (1938-41) Five Year Plans Stalin used the NKVD to terrorie the Soviet people. Mollions were murdered. Other millions were fed into a greatly expanded Gulag. Stlalin than igned an alliamce with Hitler (1939) that led to The NAZI invasion (1941). The Soviet people suffered horribly but eventually prevailed. It took years to recover from the War. Factories, homes, farms, and schools were destroyed. Soviet chools required uniforms, but it was not until the post-War recovery that many families were able to obtain the uniforms fpr their children. Stalin died 1953), but the Stalinist era continued until Khruschev launched the Destainization effort (1956).
The Stalinist era was primarily the 1930s and 40s, but Lenin diued (1924) and Stalin had already beguin the gain significant control. Thus we can date the Stalinis era to the late-20s. Lenin did not understand until it was too late what a powerful position General Secreatry was. Stalin began to establish his control after Lenin, weakened by a assaination attempted died (1924). It took some time for him to establish full control of the Party and Government. As a result he was not fully in control until the end of the decade. This was a decade of gradual recovery from the destuctive Civil War. Lenin accomplished this by the New Economic Policy (NEP), essentially reviving some market mechanisms (capitalism). As Stalin gained control, he reversed this policy and launched the First Five Year Plan (1928-32). Tasrist Russia had an extebdive education system, but working-class hildren hd only limited access go education. The Bolsheviks from an early point set out to expand the education system and open ccess to it for working-class children. There ws also an effort to increase educationl opporftunity for girls, both at the secondary and university level. This process continud after Stalin seized control.
The 1930s were the peak of the Stalinist era and the most deadly decade, a least for Stalin killing Soviet people. It was at this time the NKVD generted Ukranian Famine and the Great Purges. This amounted to a massive economic effort to expand heavy industry, limiting production of consumer goods including food and exploting the agrcultural sector to the maximum. The Furst Five Year Plan (1928-32) was a major expamsion of heavy industry, but there as enormous waste of resources in the Soviet economy. And collectivization waa a disaster. Stalin thought that mechaization and socialist organization (collectivivization) would incease agricultural harvests. In fact, production plumeted and never fully recovered. Living standards declined in rural area, in part due to colletiviaztionand in part due to Stalin's decision to diect availabl esources to the urbabn rpoleterit and industrialization. As a result, people stuck in the new collective farms wanted to move into the cities. This could not be allowed, because of the potebtial impact on food production. A system of internal passports prevented the peopole in the collectivefarms from leacing, essoebtially a new system of serfdom. Now individuals could get permission to leave for such purposes as education, but for the most part the collective farm workers were frozen in place and the children provided with a limited education--just like the serfs. Thus was an exception to the gernerally Soviet policy of expanding educational opportunity. We do not yet have many Soviet school portraits from yhe 1930s. We see the children mostly wearing their own clothing and not uniforms. Fashionable clothing and consumer goods were not a regime priority. Stalin was in total control during the 1930s, including the Second (1933-37) and Third (1938-41) Five Year Plans. He used the NKVD to terrorie the Soviet people. Millions were murdered. Other millions were fed into a greatly expanded Gulag. This is well documented, less well documented is what happened to the children. Niormally fathers were arrested first, but mothers often soon followed. Even family were often afraid to take in these children. They wre placed in orphanages where they received inferior images. Some were often arrested once they became adults.
As Europe moved toward war, Stalin forged an alliance with Hitler (August 1939) which made World War II possible. The NAZI-Soviet Pact led to a massive increrase of NAZI power. It was a major factor in the German defeat of the French Army (June 1940). Occupied France would prove to be a major support for the German war economy helping to launch and support the Ost Krieg. Hitler has anticipated supporting the NAZI war effort by the resoueces of the East. As the War progressed, rheresoyrces of thgeEastb barely supported the Ost Heer. Occupied Western Europe, especially France, supported the NAZI War effort. Soviet education was relatively unaffected during the first 2 were realtively unaffected and continued to go to school during the early War years of the War (1939-41). Stalin only mobilized a fraction of vast Soviet military. Thus Doviet children continued to go to school. Unlike World War I, howver, Stalin's alliance with Hitler created a situation that did not have a large French Army in the West that forced the Germans to divide their forces between an eastern and western fronts. Thus Stalin actually made the NAZI Barbarossa invasion possible (June 1941). The Soviet people suffered terribly. Some 25 million Soviets citizens perished in the War, most were civilians. An this was not just unitended casualties of military opertations -- collateral damage. A major NAZI war goal was to kill civilans and not only Jews. Slavic people were another major target as part of Generalplan Ost. This was why civilian casualties were so much higher in World War II than World War I. The Soviets also targeted civilan populations, both in the Soviet Union itself and in the countries that the Soviets occupied, especially in the early War yars (1939-41). The Red Army eventually prevailed, but not before million had been killed in the Soviet Union. The War had a huge impact on education. Our information at this time is limited. The younger children continued to go to school when possible in the unoccupied areas. although many male teachers were conscripted for mlitary serice. Soviet children no longer went to school in the occupied areas. The Germans closed the schools. The NAZIs did set up schools for ethnic Germans. In the unoccupied areas, teenagers began working in war industries or on the farm to produce food. A major factor here were rations. Workers received extra rations. The Germans occupied huge areas in the Western Soviet Union, including a great deal of the country's best agricultural land. As a result food became a huge problem for the Soviet war economy and the populatioin. At about 12 years of age, children stopped getting reasonable rations. Only if they worked in the War economy did they get survivable rations. Older teenagers were conscripted. It took years for the Soviet Union to recover fom the War. Factories, homes, farms, and schools were destroyed both as part of Soviet burned earth or NAZI military operations and burned earh policies as they retreated. The War ended (1945), but unlkike the capitalist West, the Soviets and their Eastern European Empire did not recover qwuickly. Part of the reason was the level of damage, but Germany was also massively damaged, but recoveed much faster. The major reason was the Soviet socialist economy. The German and other Western econimic miracles shocked Stalin, he has expected the Soviet socialist economy to out perform the capitalist economies of the West. As the Red Army moved West, schools were resesablished. We do not see many Soviet school children wearing uniforms in the 1940s. We do not have all that many images, but the images we have found so far show the children wearing their own clothes and not uniforms.
Soviet schools mandated uniforms, but it was not until the post-World War II recovery that many families were able to obtain the uniforms for their children. There may have been uniforms at some prestige schools, but uniforms were not common. This did not change until the 1950s when uniforms became widely worn. Stalin died (1953). The Stalinist era continued for a few more years. Stalin's henchmen remained in control and were deterrmined to remain in power and continued Stalinist policies. This continued until Khrruschev at the 20th Party Congress launched the De-Stainization process (1956). Most of the school portraits we have found date from the 1950s. We believe this a reflection of improved economic conditions. These portraits show the children wearing uniforms. We are mot sure just when the tranformatiomn to uniforms took place, but a 1953 portrait shows almost all of the children wearing uniforms. Unfortunalely, relativly few of the avilable portraits are dated. The boys wear jackets with white collars showing over the jackts. We think the white collars are collars on shirts. We note more military-styled unidorms, but we are not sure just when this was introduced or how prevalent they were. The girls all wear dresses with white pinafores. This is the earliest we have found girls wearing these white pinafores. It is not a tradition we have noticed in earlier Soviet school portraits. The Soviet Union launched the first artifical eath sattklelikte--Sputnik. A testimont to the quality of the Soviet education system. This reulted in a major American Federal effort promoting education. The Soviets at the time were producing more technicians and engineers. This was not a good sign durin the Cold War competition with its hugh-trech component. The problem for the Soviets was that their inefficent socilist economy was mot making good use of the technical experise and capabilities of all these well educated people. By the 1960s we see Soviet school uniforms with an increasinly military look.
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