University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History History, Department of 11-2019 Rearing the Collective: The Evolution of Social Values and Practices in Soviet Schools, 1953 – 1968 Svetlana Rasmussen University of Nebraska - Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, European History Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, and the Social History Commons Rasmussen, Svetlana, "Rearing the Collective: The Evolution of Social Values and Practices in Soviet Schools, 1953 – 1968" (2019). Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History. 93. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss/93 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. REARING THE COLLECTIVE: THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL VALUES AND PRACTICES IN SOVIET SCHOOLS, 1953 – 1968 by Svetlana A. Rasmussen A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: History Under the Supervision of Professor Ann Kleimola and Professor Aleidine Moeller Lincoln, Nebraska March, 2019 REARING THE COLLECTIVE: THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL VALUES AND PRACTICES IN SOVIET SCHOOLS, 1953 – 1968 Svetlana Alexandrovna Rasmussen, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2019 Adviser: Ann Kleimola and Aleidine Moeller This study examines the functioning of the Soviet school system and how the generation of Soviet children born from 1945 to 1952 internalized Soviet ideology in the school setting. The study argues that the knowledge, skill sets, and social networks Soviet schools provided the postwar generation were forged in the school collectives in the complex negotiation of suretyship relationships. Ideological and administrative agendas of the regional, city and district departments of education forced teachers and students to establish and maintain the relationships of poruka or mutual responsibility for the obligation imposed from above. The study focuses on the administrative, teaching, and learning cultures of the primary and secondary schools in the Perm region between 1953 and 1968 as reflected in the school and city, district, and regional education committees’ procedural records from the four Perm Krai archives. Analysis of these materials suggests that while the Soviet school curriculum intended to inculcate students with the proper values, the principles and practices of school administration and the culture of the Soviet collective undermined positive ideals with cynicism and permissiveness. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing about communities and collectives I cannot help but feel that this dissertation would not happen without the collective networks I am a part of. Dissertation writing might be a lonely enterprise, but none of this would have been possible without the generous help and support of the archival staff, teachers, advisers, colleagues, friends, and family. While all members of a school collective were equally important to its preservation, it is to my teachers that I am especially grateful since they gave me the gift of the words I am using to write this dissertation. To all the teachers at school 77 in Perm, RSFSR, Soviet Union, and then Russia and especially my teachers of English Margarita Grigorievna Turova, Nadezhda Stepanovna Naumova, Rosa Nail’evna Sadykova, Lidia Viktorovna Rusakova, Svetlana Afanasievna Valetko, and Olga Borisovna Ovchinnikova I owe the linguistic ability to pave my way to the US and finding my home here. My history teacher Galina Nikolaevna Korman was the one who opened the wonders of understanding history to me. Olga Vladimirovna Ukhlova was the school principal and Svetlana Ivanovna Sivkova supervised all the English teachers and led the school through many troubles and tribulations of transitioning into the post-Soviet era. All of them shared much advice and collegial support in the years between my graduation and when I moved back to the US in 2010. Rimma Borisovna Tomasova was a great mentor, colleague, and friend was always happy to open her home and heart to a poor philology student. All of them and Galina Ionovna Popova, my class teacher and also a teacher of English will stay in my heart always. You know what we shared together beyond the iv classroom, the teachers’ room, and the library room and I hope I am worthy of the effort you all put into me. Perm State University instructors and professors helped me build up my English proficiency and competence that I use now so often working my way between two cultures. To Tatiana Mikhailovna Permiakova, Olga Nikolaevna Gorshkova, Olga Leonidovna Antineskul, and all the people I had the privilege to learn from I am forever grateful. Lincoln, Nebraska proved to be a wonderful home away from home and I am grateful to all the communities I found, especially the Aqua class community at the University Rec center and the Lincoln International Folk Dance group. Several History graduate student cohorts gave me the peer advice and support throughout various stages in my program. Holly Kizewski, Sean Scanlon, and Andrea Nichols read, commented, and made me accountable for writing this dissertation at its various stages. Thank you all for keeping me on task. The Department of History and Department of Classics and Religious studies staff and administrators Barbara Starks, Megan Brown, Sandra Pershing, Roberta Barreda, and Barb Bullington made me welcome and were always open for assistance. In the course of my graduate studies I benefited greatly from teaching and advice of and all the professors I’ve worked with as a teaching assistant. Professor Amy Burnett share a lot of valuable teaching advice and Professor Stephen Burnett gave me many opportunities to guest- lecture and never declined a request for a letter of recommendation. I am grateful for all this assistance. v University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of Graduate Studies stuff and specialists were always very helpful when I navigated the world of dissertation paperwork. All the multiple training sessions and workshops I attended helped me advance toward completion. Doctoral Programs Coordinator Hollie Swanson was extremely supportive in my final year of the program. Academic Success Coordinator and Associate Registrar Dr. Eva Bachman saw me grow in the program and always extended a helping hand of support. Thank you for all the work with graduate students. My research lead me into four archives and several libraries in the United States and Russia. The generous travel grant from the Department of History at UNL made the research trip to Russia possible. I am grateful to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Love Library front desk staff and Interlibrary Loan staff for giving me access to a great many rare sources. The city library at Vereshchagino provided me with scans of the 1950s local newspaper articles through the e-mail. Nikolai Delidov and the Lekomtsev family made my trip to Kudymkar possible I am grateful for their hospitality even as all of them had to handle daytime jobs and take care of an extensive garden. I learned a lot about Kudymkar and the Komi-Permian District. I would like to thank Nadezhda Petrovna Ovchinnikova at the Komi Permian Archive for great advice and dedication of the archivist. The staff at the four Perm Krai archives made my research fruitful. While there were no reading rooms at the Perm City Archive the archivists allowed me to work at their office. I am grateful to Igor Isaakovich Freiman for his dedication, politeness, and resolve to do the best for the researcher. At the Perm Krai State Archive of Recent History Tatiana Vladimirovna Burnysheva and Arina Gennadievna Vasil’eva supported my research and were committed to get me all the materials even as the archive was being flooded because vi of untimely roof repairs. I am grateful for the opportunity they gave me to bring the primary sources to light. My history faculty advisers and mentors James D. Le Sueur, Gerald Steinacher, Miluše Šaškova-Pierce, Jeannette Eileen Jones and Alexander Vazansky, Parks Coble, and Aliedine Moeller, supported me throughout the rocky history of this project. The unwavering support and previous research of my adviser, Professor Ann Kleimola made this project possible. Thank you very much for your dedication and thoroughness. My extended American and Russian families, the Vorontsov family, my brother Seva (Vsevolod) as well as my immediate family, Chris and Val, were by my side through thick and thin. Belonging with you is the greatest gift in the world. As I was preparing for my defense, my father, Александр Анатольевич Леготкин, died in Perm after a stroke. I dedicate this dissertation to his memory and the memory of my mother, Людмила Сергеевна Леготкина, my first strict and demanding teacher. From all of you I learned to hear and respect the voices of the past and I hope to bring the knowledge I gained into the future. vii KEY TERMS class teacher. A teacher appointed to supervise the activities and educational progress of a school class (15-45 students) through secondary school (grades 5-7/8/10/11). In primary school (grades 1-4) a class teacher taught all subjects, except physical education and/or music, art, and foreign language where applicable. In secondary school a class teacher usually taught one of the subjects. collective. A small group (under 50 people) studying, working, or spending leisure time together. The name comes from the French meaning an organization of workers who divide the profits of their activity evenly or in proportion to each person’s contribution. The Soviet collective held together through the principle of shared responsibility of each member for all other members (suretyship or poruka).