The untold story of Obshchestvennitsa in the 1930s

Europe - Asia Studies

Volumn 48, Issue 4, 1996, Pages 569-586

  Buckley, Mary ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 0040273168     PISSN: 09668136     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09668139608412368     Document Type: Article

References (96)

1. See Carl J. Friedrich & Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy, 2nd ed. (New York, Praeger 1965). These authors acknowledge 'islands of separateness' in which resistance plays a part. But the assumption that individuals are isolated 'atoms' precludes collective forms of behaviour. See pp. 280-339.
2. See, for instance, J. Arch Getty, Origins of the Great Purges: The Soviet Communist Party Reconsidered, 1933-1938, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985) and Lewis H. Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity in the USSR, 1935-1941 (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988).
3. See, for instance, J. Arch Getty, Origins of the Great Purges: The Soviet Communist Party Reconsidered, 1933-1938, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985) and Lewis H. Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity in the USSR, 1935-1941 (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988).
4. Obshchestvennitsa, 1936, 9-10 (December), p. 12.
5. Soveshchanie zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov tyazheloi promyshlennosti: stenograficheskii otchet, 10-12 maya 1936 goda (Moscow: Partizdat TsK VKP (b), 1936); K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov legkoi promyshlennosti, vypusk 1, Yanvar' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937); Ibid., vypusk 2, Fevral' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937). Vsesoyuznoe Soveshchanie zhen komandnogo i nachal'stvuyushchego sostava RKKA: stenograficheskii otchet, 20-23 Dekabrya 1936 (Moscow; gosudarstvennoe voennoe izdatel'stvo narkomata oborony SSSR, 1937); Kul'turnyi rezerv: zheny ITR Yaroslavskogo rezinkombinata k pervomu vsesoyuznomu soveshchaniyu (Yaroslavl': Izdanie byuro ITS rezino-asbestovogo kombinata, 1936).
6. Soveshchanie zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov tyazheloi promyshlennosti: stenograficheskii otchet, 10-12 maya 1936 goda (Moscow: Partizdat TsK VKP (b), 1936); K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov legkoi promyshlennosti, vypusk 1, Yanvar' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937); Ibid., vypusk 2, Fevral' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937). Vsesoyuznoe Soveshchanie zhen komandnogo i nachal'stvuyushchego sostava RKKA: stenograficheskii otchet, 20-23 Dekabrya 1936 (Moscow; gosudarstvennoe voennoe izdatel'stvo narkomata oborony SSSR, 1937); Kul'turnyi rezerv: zheny ITR Yaroslavskogo rezinkombinata k pervomu vsesoyuznomu soveshchaniyu (Yaroslavl': Izdanie byuro ITS rezino-asbestovogo kombinata, 1936).
7. Soveshchanie zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov tyazheloi promyshlennosti: stenograficheskii otchet, 10-12 maya 1936 goda (Moscow: Partizdat TsK VKP (b), 1936); K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov legkoi promyshlennosti, vypusk 1, Yanvar' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937); Ibid., vypusk 2, Fevral' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937). Vsesoyuznoe Soveshchanie zhen komandnogo i nachal'stvuyushchego sostava RKKA: stenograficheskii otchet, 20-23 Dekabrya 1936 (Moscow; gosudarstvennoe voennoe izdatel'stvo narkomata oborony SSSR, 1937); Kul'turnyi rezerv: zheny ITR Yaroslavskogo rezinkombinata k pervomu vsesoyuznomu soveshchaniyu (Yaroslavl': Izdanie byuro ITS rezino-asbestovogo kombinata, 1936).
8. Soveshchanie zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov tyazheloi promyshlennosti: stenograficheskii otchet, 10-12 maya 1936 goda (Moscow: Partizdat TsK VKP (b), 1936); K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov legkoi promyshlennosti, vypusk 1, Yanvar' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937); Ibid., vypusk 2, Fevral' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937). Vsesoyuznoe Soveshchanie zhen komandnogo i nachal'stvuyushchego sostava RKKA: stenograficheskii otchet, 20-23 Dekabrya 1936 (Moscow; gosudarstvennoe voennoe izdatel'stvo narkomata oborony SSSR, 1937); Kul'turnyi rezerv: zheny ITR Yaroslavskogo rezinkombinata k pervomu vsesoyuznomu soveshchaniyu (Yaroslavl': Izdanie byuro ITS rezino-asbestovogo kombinata, 1936).
9. Soveshchanie zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov tyazheloi promyshlennosti: stenograficheskii otchet, 10-12 maya 1936 goda (Moscow: Partizdat TsK VKP (b), 1936); K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov legkoi promyshlennosti, vypusk 1, Yanvar' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937); Ibid., vypusk 2, Fevral' 1937 (Izdanie gazety Legkaya Promyshlennost', 1937). Vsesoyuznoe Soveshchanie zhen komandnogo i nachal'stvuyushchego sostava RKKA: stenograficheskii otchet, 20-23 Dekabrya 1936 (Moscow; gosudarstvennoe voennoe izdatel'stvo narkomata oborony SSSR, 1937); Kul'turnyi rezerv: zheny ITR Yaroslavskogo rezinkombinata k pervomu vsesoyuznomu soveshchaniyu (Yaroslavl': Izdanie byuro ITS rezino-asbestovogo kombinata, 1936).
10. GARF, f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 63, 64, 65 and 66. These mainly cover the years 1936 and 1937.
11. See, for example, GARF, f. 7 689, op. 7, d. 146 with materials for 1939.
12. For example, by September 1937, obshchestvennitsy were working in executive committees 'in 200 to 300 districts of the Union'. Among other activities, they were involved in dealing with citizens' complaints to the soviets. See GARF, f. 3 316, op. 30, d. 916, 11. 1-3. More specific figures are given for Aeroflot, which in 1939 had 4 000 obshchestvennitsy. See Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 2 (February), p. 17. Other numerical references on numbers in specific factories are provided, where relevant, in the text below.
13. See Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity, pp. 238-239; Francesco Benvenuti, Fuoco sui sabotatori! Stachanovismo e organizazzione industriale in URSS 1934-1938 (Rome, Saggi storici, 1988), pp. 135-138; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', Soviet Industrialisation Project Series, no. 30, CREES discussion paper, pp. 20-21. Mary Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union (Hemel Hempstead; Harvester/Wheatsheaf, 1989), pp. 115-117. Further work on the wives' movement is currently being done by Robert Maier. See his 'Sovety zhen as a substitute for trade unions', paper presented at ICCEES V World Congress, Warsaw, 6-11 August 1995.
14. See Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity, pp. 238-239; Francesco Benvenuti, Fuoco sui sabotatori! Stachanovismo e organizazzione industriale in URSS 1934-1938 (Rome, Saggi storici, 1988), pp. 135-138; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', Soviet Industrialisation Project Series, no. 30, CREES discussion paper, pp. 20-21. Mary Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union (Hemel Hempstead; Harvester/Wheatsheaf, 1989), pp. 115-117. Further work on the wives' movement is currently being done by Robert Maier. See his 'Sovety zhen as a substitute for trade unions', paper presented at ICCEES V World Congress, Warsaw, 6-11 August 1995.
15. See Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity, pp. 238-239; Francesco Benvenuti, Fuoco sui sabotatori! Stachanovismo e organizazzione industriale in URSS 1934-1938 (Rome, Saggi storici, 1988), pp. 135-138; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', Soviet Industrialisation Project Series, no. 30, CREES discussion paper, pp. 20-21. Mary Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union (Hemel Hempstead; Harvester/Wheatsheaf, 1989), pp. 115-117. Further work on the wives' movement is currently being done by Robert Maier. See his 'Sovety zhen as a substitute for trade unions', paper presented at ICCEES V World Congress, Warsaw, 6-11 August 1995.
16. See Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity, pp. 238-239; Francesco Benvenuti, Fuoco sui sabotatori! Stachanovismo e organizazzione industriale in URSS 1934-1938 (Rome, Saggi storici, 1988), pp. 135-138; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', Soviet Industrialisation Project Series, no. 30, CREES discussion paper, pp. 20-21. Mary Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union (Hemel Hempstead; Harvester/Wheatsheaf, 1989), pp. 115-117. Further work on the wives' movement is currently being done by Robert Maier. See his 'Sovety zhen as a substitute for trade unions', paper presented at ICCEES V World Congress, Warsaw, 6-11 August 1995.
17. See Siegelbaum, Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity, pp. 238-239; Francesco Benvenuti, Fuoco sui sabotatori! Stachanovismo e organizazzione industriale in URSS 1934-1938 (Rome, Saggi storici, 1988), pp. 135-138; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', Soviet Industrialisation Project Series, no. 30, CREES discussion paper, pp. 20-21. Mary Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union (Hemel Hempstead; Harvester/Wheatsheaf, 1989), pp. 115-117. Further work on the wives' movement is currently being done by Robert Maier. See his 'Sovety zhen as a substitute for trade unions', paper presented at ICCEES V World Congress, Warsaw, 6-11 August 1995.
18. Evidence suggests that early leaders of the wives' movement were themselves subject to purge as their names suddenly dropped out of reporting in Obshchestvennitsa, replaced by new ones.
19. Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union, p. 113.
20. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu zhen khozyaistvennikov i inzhenerno-tekhnikcheskikh rabotnikov legkoi promyshlennosti, vypusk 1, p. 14.
21. Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union, p. 117.
22. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 1, p. 14.
23. Udarnitsa Urala, 1936, 1, p. 8.
24. Zhenshchina - bol'shaya sila, pervoe kraevoe soveshchanie zhen stakhanovtsev severnogo kraya, 15-17 aprelya 1936 goda: stenograficheskii otchet (Sevkraigiz, Ogiz, 1936), p. 7.
25. Rossiiskii tsentr khraneniva i izucheniva dokumentov noveishei istorii (RTsKhIDNI), f. 85, op. 29, d. 151, 1. 4.
26. Ibid., 1. 5.
27. Ibid.
28. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 2 (February), p. 18.
29. Ibid.
30. Buckley, Women and Ideology in the Soviet Union, pp. 63-64.
31. Obshchestvennitsa, 1936, 9-10 (December), p. 14.
32. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 1, p. 18.
33. Obshchestvennitsa, 1936, 1 (August), p. 10.
34. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 1, p. 22.
35. Ibid.
36. Vsesoyuznoe Soveshchanie zhen komandnogo i nachal'stvuyushchego sostava RKKA, p. 15.
37. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 8 (August), p. 20.
38. GARF, f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 63, 1. 22. Dated 16 November 1936.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid. 1. 2. Dated 20 November 1937. See also 1. 1 of 3 December 1937.
42. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 7 (July), p. 6.
43. Ibid., p. 7.
44. Ibid. In cases like this, where obshchestvennitsy performed heavy manual work, no mention is made in primary sources of whether or not they received payment. Intuitively one feels they should have had remuneration but consistency with other tasks performed by the wives would require the contrary. Robert Maier, in conversation in Warsaw, suspected that in some cases payment was made, but at rates lower than normally given. Further research is needed to clarify this point.
45. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 11 (November), p. 13.
46. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 1, p. 27.
47. Udarnitsa Urala, 1936, 7 (September), p. 18.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 8 (August), p. 21.
51. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 2 (February), p. 17.
52. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 8 (August), pp. 24-25.
53. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 11 (November), pp. 10-12.
54. Obshchestvennitsa, 1937, 4 (February), pp. 21-23.
55. Udarnitsa Urala, 1937, 7 (April), p. 10.
56. Ibid.
57. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 1, p. 28.
58. Ibid., p. 29.
59. Udarnitsa Urala, 1937, 7 (April), p. 10.
60. Ibid.
61. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 2, p. 20.
62. Ibid., p. 28.
63. Ibid., p. 30.
64. Ibid., p. 50.
65. Ibid.
66. GARF, f. 7689, op. 7, d. 146, 1. 7ob. This is from TsK svinovodcheskikh sovkhozov, Stenogramma soveshchaniya zhen inzhenerno-tekhnicheskikh rabotnikov ot 14 yanvarya 1939.
67. GARF, f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 63, 1. 102, October 1937.
68. Ibid.
69. Ibid.
70. Ibid., 1. 126. Not dated but almost certainly 1937.
71. Ibid.
72. Ibid.
73. Ibid.
74. Ibid. 1. 127. Not dated but almost certainly 1937.
75. Ibid., 1. 132. Not dated but almost certainly 1937.
76. Ibid.
77. Ibid. 1. 133. Not dated but almost certainly 1937.
78. Obshchestvennitsa, 1939, 2 (February), p. 17.
79. Ibid.
80. GARF, f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 64, 1. 242. Dated 1936.
81. GARF, f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 63, 1. 85. For information about distribution of the one million rubles, see f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 66 which covers correspondence from 14 July to 25 December 1936.
82. Ibid., 1. 7.
83. Ibid. 1. 21.
84. K Vsesoyuznomu Soveshchaniyu ..., vypusk 2, p. 51.
85. GARF, f. 5 548, op. 16, d. 64, 1. 61. Dated 16 April 1936.
86. Ibid.
87. Ibid.
88. Ibid.
89. Ibid. 1. 62.
90. Ibid.
91. Benvenuti. Fuoco sui sabotatori!, p. 135; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', p. 20.
92. Benvenuti. Fuoco sui sabotatori!, p. 135; Benvenuti, 'Stakhanovism and Stalinism, 1934-8', p. 20.
93. Ibid. See also Maier, 'Sovety zhen as a substitute for trade unions'.
94. Irina V. Kashkina, Dvizhenie zhen-obshchestvennits, 1934-1942 gody (candidate degree dissertation abstract, Moscow State University, 1988).
95. GARF, f. 7 689, op. 7, d. 146, 1. 7ob. Dated 1939.
96. Ibid. 1. 16ob.