Proquest Dissertations
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Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' THE BODY SOVIET: HEALTH, HYGIENE,AND THE PATH TO A NEW LIFE IN THE 1920S DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Tricia Starks, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation: Committee: Approved by Professor David Hofhnann, Adviser ^ Professor Eve Levin Adviser History Graduate Program Professor Leila Rupp UMI Number 9971643 Copyright 2000 by Starks, Tricia Ann All rights reserved. _ __ta, UMI UMI Microform9971643 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Artwr, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Tricia Stalks 2000 ABSTRACT In 1917 the Russian Revolution released torrents of new ideas and hopes for the creation of an entirely new society. Government agencies, the communist youth league, and even worker volunteers envisioned a grand future and attempted to institute various social programs to bring their ideas to fruition. Central to all the utopian dreams was a reformulation of the daily life of the Soviet citizen. One aspect of these programs was hygiene education which took on many forms. Pamphlets and posters trumpeted a new, hygienic way of life while lectures in workers' clubs, special “celebrate hygiene” weeks, and factory campaigns hailed the positive effects of fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. Agitational courts held mock trials for people exhibiting “holdover” behaviors — the illiterate, the drunkard, the slob, the libertine and the spitter. New health institutions educated the populace to a life deemed more healthful and rational. More than just a utopian impulse, the creation of a healthier population coincided with the needs of a modem state to be strong militarily and industrially. Healthier soldiers and sober, strong workers increased the Soviet state’s might. Additionally, a scientific, rational way of life appealed to Bolshevik theorist and they hoped, would lead to a more stable and compliant population. This dissertation focuses on hygiene education and sheds light on the Soviet state’s interaction with its citizenry, challenging old assumptions of the imposition of governmental programs on a passive population. Health cells and volunteer inspectors. revealed public support for these reforms. The imposition of health reforms came not just from government officials but also quasi-govemmental groups with members who often had little to no training. Additionally, the study of Soviet health programs reveals many commonalitites with public health programs in the United States, Britain and other European countries. Instead of finding the insular development often assumed of Russia, commonalities with the West are evident, especially in the use of science and progress to legitimate state intervention. I l l Dedicated to my parents IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work has been inspired and supported by many people. The bulk of the research for the dissertation occurred during research trips funded by a Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Research Fellowship, a research grant from The Kennan Center for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and travel funding provided by The Ohio State University’s Slavic Center. While in Russia I was assisted by many able scholars including the extremely knowledgeable and helpful Natalia Lvovna Pushkareva who introduced me to others in Russia working on both Soviet history and gender studies. I also thank her family who have made me feel at home at their kitchen table and always made my computer work. I met with many lovely women at archives and libraries, but I am especially indebted to the perenially cheerful and interested Svetlana Nikolaevna Artamonova of the Graphics Department of the Russian State Library for her help in locating, reproducing, and interpreting the images used in this dissertation. Here at Ohio State dozens of wonderful people have helped me on this project. To Leila Rupp for her support and example. Eve Levin for her encouragement and spirit, and David Hoffman for his suggestions and dry humor I wish to convey special thanks. While Allan Wildman did not get to see the completed dissertation, he guided me in my early years of graduate school and gushed enthusiastically over the project when I first presented it to him. I wrote many of the passages in this dissertation in dialogue with his memory. A special thanks to my humorous colleagues in the Russian Tea Room and notably Jen Anderson, Pam Pennock, Aaron Retish, Bill Risch, Matt Romaniello, Kate Heilman, Mark Spicka and Barb Terzian, for their ready friendship, Oscar-time enthusiasm, and help in both teaching and scholarship. I cannot forget the many thanks I owe Robin Cammarota for her friendship, patience, and help with my medical questions. Most importantly to Mike Pierce, fw editing, reading, offerring advice, listening, laughing, feeding the cats, walking the dog and generally keeping me sane throughout the past eight years, thank you. I would not have finished without your love and stubborn support. VI VITA December 2,1969........................................ Bom - Kansas City, Missouri 1991 ...............................................- ........... B.A. Russian Area Studies, University of Missouri 1994............................................................ M.A. History, The Ohio State University 1994-1995.................................................. Editorial Assistant, The Russian Review 1992 -1998................................................. Graduate Associate, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History (Russian) Minor Fields: Women’s History World History vu TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. v Vita.................................................................................................................................. vil List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix Chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Building the Body Soviet: Strictures for Bodily Care and Cleanliness ..............32 Chapter 3: Home Is Where Health Begins: Housekeeping, Women, and Society ...............86 Chapter 4: A Healthy Mother Russia: Maternity and pro-Natalist initiatives.................... 146 Chapter S: Belaboring Leisure: Healthy Leisure and the Dangers of the City................... 183 Chapter 6: Conclusion.....................................................................................................222 Bibliography...................................................................................................................228 vm LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1.1 “8 hours for rest “ ..........................................................................................................19 1.2 “All physculturalists to the front lines of the Lenin shockworkers!” ............................20 1.3 “Get into the cultured habit - Change underwear and go to the bania,“ ........................ 21 1.4 Cover to L. M. Vasilevskii’s Pioneer Hygiene ............................................................22 1.5 “Be neat and don’t just lay, clean your teeth, every day!” ..............................................23 1.6 Cover to Dr. I. V. Sazbln’s The Truth about Smoking ................................................24 1.7 “Quit your smokinM It’s paper-wrapped poison! ” ........................................................25 1.8 “Drive out the drunkard from the thicket of workers!” ................................................. 26 1.9 “Down with religious holidays! ” ..................................................................................27