Transformation of Sociopolitical Views of Rural Children of Russia in 1917-1920s (Based on the Materials of Pedological Surveys)

The article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Project No. 18-09-00184 "Social Revolution in Soviet Russia: Prerequisites, Stages, Results") The article deals with the study of peasant children's world view that was formed under the influence of the new ideology in the first decade of the Soviet Union. The source of the analysis is the data of a pedological survey conducted by N.A. Rybnikov, A.M. Gelmont, V.N. Shulgin, and others in the second half of the 1920s. The survey methods of data collection included questionnaires on economic and political values. Several thousands of children from different regions of the Soviet Union were selected for the questionnaire sample. In the article, the pedological survey is analyzed as a historical source for the first time. The author provides a consistent analysis of the peasant children's views on the changes in property relations, land laws, tax immunity, legal relationship (voting right, democratic norms of self-government), everyday life, children's ideals. An important feature of the surveys was that they were conducted in connection with the 10th anniversary of the Soviet government and were perceived as a result of the development of the country and the education system. Polls about the political development of Russia revealed a good acquaintance of students with the Soviet ideological attitudes. They knew the political leaders of the country, called them as ideals (V.I. Lenin, N.K. Krupskaya, M.I. Kalinin, and others). The schoolchildren called the October revolution of 1917 as a starting point for a new stage of the country's development; although they also noted that it was combined with the events of the February revolution. Studies of pedologists show the rural schoolchildren's predominant interest in economic issues, especially those of land use. According to the rural schoolchildren, land as a result of the revolution became the property of the peasants. The revolution was also associated with the liberation of the peasants (the events converged with the abolition of serfdom). The author also describes the changes in the school practice of 1917-20s, which enabled transformations of children's ideals and values. The author concludes that the peasant children, born in 1910-17, acquired new values, yet kept the basic peasants' archetypes in their mind. The peasant children's world view was based on the 'Land and Liberty' ideals. This combination of conceptions and values became a fundamental foundation for the Soviet people's world view in the 1930s-1940s.

Keywords

Authors

References