Communist Upbringing Under Stalin: the Political Socialization And
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COMMUNIST UPBRINGING UNDER STALIN: THE POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION AND MILITARIZATION OF SOVIET YOUTH, 1934-1941 By Seth Bernstein A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto © Copyright by Seth Bernstein, 2013 Communist Upbringing under Stalin: The Political Socialization and Militarization of Soviet Youth, 1934-1941 Seth Bernstein Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Toronto 2013 Abstract: In 1935 the Communist Youth League (Komsomol) embraced a policy called “communist upbringing” that changed the purpose of Soviet official youth culture. Founded in 1918, the Komsomol had been an organization of cultural proletarianization and economic mobilization. After the turmoil of Stalin’s revolution from above, Soviet leaders declared that the country had entered the period of socialism. Under the new conditions of socialism, including the threat of war with the capitalist world, “communist upbringing” transformed the youth league into an organization of mass socialization meant to mold youth in the shape of the regime. The key goals of “communist upbringing” were to broaden the influence of Soviet political culture and to enforce a code of “cultured” behavior among youth. Youth leaders transformed the Komsomol from a league of young male workers into an organization that included more than a quarter of Soviet youth by 1941, incorporating more adolescents, women, and non-workers. Employing recreation, reward and disciplinary practices that blurred into repression, mass socialization in the Komsomol attempted to create a cohort of “Soviet” youth— sober, orderly, physically strong and politically loyal to Stalin’s regime. The transformation of youth culture under Stalin reflected a general shift in Stalinist social policies in the mid-1930s. Historians have argued whether this turn was a conservative ii retreat from Bolshevik ideals or the use of apolitical modern state practices in the service of socialism. This dissertation shows that while youth leaders were intensely interested in modern state practices, they made these practices into central elements of Soviet socialism. Through the Komsomol, youth became a resource for the state to guide along the uncertain and dangerous road to the future of communism. Reacting to domestic and international crises, Stalinist leaders created a system of state socialization for youth that would last until the fall of the Soviet Union. iii Acknowledgements This dissertation has been the product of an intellectual and physical journey that has been aided by many friends, colleagues and mentors. I cannot thank everyone who contributed as deeply as they deserve but I will try to give credit to those who influenced this dissertation the most. Before anyone else, I express my deepest appreciation for Lynne Viola, who molded me as a historian and went beyond what anyone could have possibly expected in supporting my work. I could not ask for a better adviser. I counted on my committee members Doris Bergen and Thomas Lahusen for moral support and fresh perspectives. Finally, Alison Smith made my work better by consistently pinpointing its key contributions and weaknesses. I had the advantage of knowing a wonderful kollektiv at the University of Toronto. I should single out Lilia Topouzova, who is my committee twin, good-natured competitor and friend. Among the many others who provided insight and collegiality include: Deb Barton, Auri Berg, Max Bergholz, Katherine Eady, Mayhill Fowler, Sveta Frunchak, Susan Grant, Anna Hajkova, Stacy Hushion, Misha Kogan, Vojin Majstorovic, Alex Melnyk and (last only in alphabetical order) Zbig Wojnowski. My time on research was made exponentially better by the presence of my colleagues. I will separate out Brandon Miller, my partner in youth research, and Anne O’Donnell, who introduced me to the Historical Library’s cinnamon rolls. Others who have traveled down the road and back again with me include: Natalie Belsky, Kristy Ironside, Jared McBride, Marcy McCullaugh, Tracy McDonald, Morag McIvor, Dan Newman, Bridig O’Keeffe, Ben Sawyer, Kelly Kolar Sawyer, Yulia Skubytska, Malcolm Spencer, Chris Stolarski and Jeremiah Wishon. iv At various times I reached out to scholars whom I only knew through their work and was overwhelmed by their enthusiastic support. David Shearer’s knowledge of Stalinist police changed my understanding of what is surprising and significant about the history of Stalin’s Komsomol. Sean Guillory shared his experience with me both at the dissertation’s outset and near its end. My analysis of the militarization of Soviet youth culture was influenced by David Stone and his reading of my work. The expertise of Arch Getty allowed me to sort out the high politics of purging in the Komsomol. Sergei Zhuravlev had excellent advice about archives as my nauchnyi rukovoditel' in Moscow. Sergei Kapterev’s enthusiasm and knowledge of Soviet film made this dissertation a more vibrant work. Discussions with Matt Lenoe helped me clarify what was important in my work as I was wrapping up archival research. I also benefited from the suggestions of Matthias Neumann, Karen Petrone, Nonna Tarkhova, Isabel Tirado, Mike Westren and Ben Whisenhunt. I enjoyed the help of knowledgeable archivists in Moscow, Kyiv, Petrozavodsk and Riazan’. Three people deserve special recognition. Galina Tokareva was generous in sharing her knowledge, experiences and tea at Reading Room 3 of RGASPI (the Komsomol archive). Elena Pozdniak of the State Archive of Riazan’ Province, whom I worked with during my first archival experience in Russia, is a steadfast supporter and friend. This dissertation was sponsored by a number of organizations, without whom conducting research would not have been possible. I received a University of Toronto Doctoral Grant for each of my years as a graduate student. The Petro Jacyk Graduate Scholarship in Ukrainian Studies supported my research in Ukraine. My major research trip in 2010-11 was supported by a fellowship from the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). Lastly, I received a v Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which provided generous funding for my graduate studies. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my friends and family, particularly my parents James Bernstein and Lynn Franklin. I am sure that they never thought that Russian classes as a teenager would lead to my spending most of my twenties in the former Soviet Union physically or mentally. Nonetheless, I have benefited from their constant support and pride in my work. vi Table of Contents: Title Page i Abstract: ii Table of Contents vii List of Tables ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: A Militant Union of Communist Youth: Origins and Development, 1918-1934 22 Chapter 2: Cultural Revolution from Above: The Development of “Communist Upbringing” 62 Chapter 3: Class Dismissed? Class Categories and Membership Discipline in the Komsomol, 1934-1936 118 Chapter 4: “Lifestyle Cannot Be Separate from Politics”: Terror, Degeneracy and the Culture of Activism in the Komsomol, 1936-1937 148 Chapter 5: Rehabilitating Youth: The End of the Terror in the Komsomol 193 Chapter 6: Shaping a Mass Youth Organization: Political Education, Promotion and Staffing in the Komsomol 238 vii Chapter 7: Saving Youth for the State: Surveillance and Monitoring of Transgression in the Komsomol, 1939-1940 271 Chapter 8: From Militant to Militarized: Paramilitary Training for Youth, 1937-1941 304 Conclusion 347 Bibliography 354 viii List of Tables: Table 1. Komsomol Youth as Approximate Percentage of Youth 4 Table 1.1 Komsomol Membership by Social Origin and Occupation, 1923-1927 37 Table 1.2: Quarterly Komsomol Membership 1930 – 1933 47 Table 2.1: Women in Komsomol Membership, 1924-1936 105 Table 3.1. Decisions of Appeals to Ukrainian Komsomol by Social Origin, 1934-1936 140 Table 3.2. Decisions of Appeals to Ukrainian Komsomol by Reason for Expulsion, 1934-1936 141 Table 3.3. Expulsions from the Komsomol, 1933-1936 145 Table 4.1: Average Age of Komsomol Membership 164 Table 4.2: Secretaries of Rural Komsomol District Committees, September 1935 164 Table 4.3 Expulsion of Komsomol Members Age Twenty-Four and Older 170 Table 4.4 Expulsions from Komsomol by Quarter, 1936-1937 190 Table 5.1 Komsomol Admissions to the Communist Party July 1937-September 1938 212 Table 5.2 Komsomol Admissions, 1937-1939 221 Table 5.3: Expulsions from the Komsomol by Quarter, 1938-1939 235 Table 6.1 Komsomol Provincial Secretaries and Municipal Committees 259 ix Table 6.2 Delegates to District and City Komsomol Conferences, 1938 and 1940 260 Table 6.3: Komsomol Budget, 1939-1940 268 Table 7.1 Expulsions from the Komsomol, 1940 288 Table 8.1 Ski Test Minimums for GTO 340 x Introduction On February 24, 1940, Nina Kosterina received a special honor. Born in 1921, she joined the Communist Youth League (Komsomol) in 1936 at age fifteen. Through the Komsomol, Kosterina volunteered as a counselor in a Young Pioneer group at her school and remained active in the league after she enrolled at the Moscow Institute of Geology. As she put it, the “climax and reward” for her activism came when she was appointed company commander of her youth group during a militarized march on Red Army Day. Upon receiving orders, her company marched from Moscow to Skhodnia, on the outskirts of Moscow’s Khimki suburb, to Nakhabino, another suburb—a total distance of at least thirty kilometers. The march was a major trial, a “test of the defense preparedness of the Komsomol” meant to simulate mobilization at the start of a real war. As she had in other aspects of her life, Kosterina excelled here too; her company’s actions were “a complete success” and she received a personal citation from her youth group. Kosterina treated the march with great significance. In her diary entry for that day she concluded, “If war comes, I am ready for it.”1 Kosterina was one of millions of young people whom the Komsomol molded in the 1930s.