University combines the communists of the Departments of Party History, Political
Economy, the Theory of Scientific Communism, Philosophy, Teaching Practice, and Psychology.
social sciences or even the humanities.1
In the larger general educational institutions, such as Moscow State University, there are All-University Departments of the Social Sciences, part of the Philosophy Faculty. These departments are involved in teaching those students who specialise in such disciplines. However
all other faculties, whether of the humanities or natural sciences, have their own social science departments. These departments conduct compulsory courses and examinations for the students of those faculties and apparently are responsible to some degree for the ideological control of their faculties. Their work is coordinated by an All-University Scientific-
2
Methodological Centre. They are in no way controlled by
1 It should also be noted that there are, in the more social-science oriented institutions, other departments for what one might call "pure" phil osophy, economics and history. Presumably in these rather more "technical" instruction is given.
2 The Kishinev Polytechnical Institute has a
Council of the Departments of the Social Sciences, presumably similar to the Scientific-Methodological Centre at Moscow State University. It coordinates the academic, research and indoctrination work
of social science teachers. The council has 29 members and is headed by the rector. Also as members are the party committee secretary, the
komsomol secretary, the pro-rector for academic work, the heads of the departments, and leading researchers and teachers. The council gives recommendations to the rectorate and controls their fulfilment. Vestnik vysshei shkoly, 6/64, p . 8 .
the All-University social science departments, which are not even involved in the Scientific-Methodological Centre. I spoke about the departments to a senior member of an All-University department at Moscow University and
expressed surprise that his department had no control over faculty departments. He repeated that this was the case and that their only contacts were at occasional methodological seminars, to which he appeared to attach little importance. Therefore it would seem that the faculty departments are the more important in terms of ideological control,
something which must increase the importance of faculty
party buros, since presumably they have direct responsibility for the departments' activities.
The Departments of the Social Sciences formally speaking are a normal part of the structure of a tertiary institution. However, although formally they are subject to the same degree and type of control as any other
department, PPO's appear to pay them particular attention. A secretary of the Semipalatinsk gorkom wrote in 1965:
The departments of the social disciplines play a special role in ideological work with the young. Directing their work, we in the gorkom recognise precisely how they are a support for the party organisations of tertiary institutions.^
Kommunist lays particular stress on the role of the PPO*s in the strengthening of the personnel of Departments of the Social Sciences.^ Partiinaia zhizn' similarly singles out courses in the social sciences when speaking of the need for PPO's to ensure that course content is lively and
2
true to life. At Rostov University the work of the Departments of the Social Sciences is described as being under the direct control of the party committee, which
together with the rectorate conducts systematic conferences
3
of social science teachers.
1 Korn., 5/60, p. 80. 2 P .zh., 1/58, p . 17.
3 Chekhorin, E.M. and G.N. Filonov: Partiinoe rukovodstvo narodnym obrazovaniem i nauchnym uchrezhdeniiam, Izd. "Mysl,n, Moscow, 1967, p p . 39-40. At Moscow University it was on the initiative of the party committee that the texts of lectures in the social sciences were examined and found wanting. P.zh., 1/68, p. 49. In 1964 Partiinaia zhizn' described how the party committee of the Moscow Teachers' College organised a conference of teachers of the social sciences in order to prevent the overlapping of course content. P.zh., 21/64, p. 54. The Departments of the Social Sciences should not be confused with purely party research and study organisations. Some educational PPO's have their own organisations for social
research. For example, the party committee of the Moscow Technical College has a special group for sociological research, established to analyse the content and effectiveness of ideological indoctrination work and to give recommendations for its improvement. Work in this group is presumably part-time. Korn., 10/71, p. 60.
Primary and secondary schools do not have
Departments of the Social Sciences. However teachers of Russian language and literature, history and social
studies (obshchestvovedenie) in schools occupy a similar position to the teachers of the social sciences in the higher-level institutions.'*' The interest of school PPO's in the teaching of these subjects can be seen in the report in a 1962 issue of Kommunist Sovetskoi Latvii. When a
secondary school PPO had an open .party meeting to consider why students had such materialistic views of communism, it was decided that it was due to shortcomings in the teaching of language, literature and history. The practice was
therefore introducted of teachers, communist and non- 2
communist, checking each other's teaching.
This concern with Russian language, literature and culture is of such significance for the general value system of the child that it can hardly be seen in terms simply of academic work. Similarly the teaching of
atheism is a matter of social concern far beyond the bounds
1 In the non-Russian republics the teaching of Russian language, literature and culture is considered a fundamental part of the non-
Russian's education and one of enormous political significance. Kommunist Uzbekistana, 8/68,
p. 68. See also the report in The Times (London) on the teaching of Russian language in Georgia, 8/6/76.
Kom. Sov. Latvii, 8/62, p. 62. It is interesting that the secretaries of school PPO's appear
usually to be teachers in these areas. See p. 423.
of academic work. Thus educational PPO's are responsible for the attitudes towards religion held by students. In 1954 the PPO of the Stavropol Language Institute was criticised for not noticing that one of the students was religious.^
Indeed educational PPO's are responsible for
forming the correct values in students in all areas of life. In 1969 Kommunist Uzbekistana declared that the party
organisations of tertiary educational institutions were not sufficiently concerned with the aesthetic development of students and that they needed to be more interested in
2
what students were reading and watching. In 1961 a school PPO was criticised for doing too little to improve the
aesthetic education of students in the area of dancing and 3
similar pursuits. The secretary of the party organisation of a Kazakh school was praised for his enthusiasm over the aesthetic education of students, teaching them the beauty
4 of nature and art.
PPO's are expected to be interested in the physical as well as aesthetic development of students. The PPO of a school worked together with the director to
1 P.zh., 15/54, p. 19.
2 Kom. Uzbekistana, 10/69, p. 51. 3 P.2/2., 7/61, p . 50 .
P.zh.Kaz., 5/66, p. 49. 4
improve the sport situation in the school.^ In 1970 a party meeting of the PPO of the Digi-Dzikhash Technical College decided on the need for physical education for
2
students in their spare time.
Two reports describe two more unusual areas of PPO concern with the social values and conduct of students. Kommunist Estonii reports that a struggle has been undertaken by the PPO of the Tallin Teachers' College against alcoholism
3
among students, while the party organisation of a Kazakh school was criticised in Partiinaia zhizn' Kazakhstana for doing nothing when teachers arranged the marriage of an underaged girl student!^
Later in this chapter we will examine the practice of giving rank-and-file party members party tasks as a
method of inculcating in them the special status and responsibilities of party membership. Similar reasoning lies behind the practice of assigning students to various types of "social work". The work is designed to impress on students the responsibilities each individual has towards
society and to foster in students the "collective spirit".
1 P.zh., 6/56, p. 60. The Moscow Technical College for Mechanical Technology has a party commission for sport. P.zh., 5/68, p. 59. 2 P.zh., 10/70, p. 59.
3 Kommunist Estonii, 3/73, p. 46. 4 P.zh.Kaz., 8/60, p. 33.
Is usually takes the form of construction and agricultural work. The best known example is probably the work of
students in the Virgin Lands during the Khrushchev era.^ There are more mundane cases. For example, in the
Novosibirsk Engineering and Construction Institute the
komsomol committee, under the supervision of the party committee and rectorate, organises construction brigades
2
to work on collective and state farms.
There are other forms of student "social work".
The komsomol organisation of the Moscow Technical College
organises the sending of student agitation brigades to collective farms and military units. The young lecturers
1 For example, in 1958 the secretary of the PPO of Perm State University was proud to announce that he had been able to send 600 students to the Virgin Lands. P.zh., 1/58, p . 18 .
2 Vestnik vysshei shkoly, 8/71, p. 58. In
"For the Good of the Cause" Solzhenitsyn describes the efforts of komsomol students, inspired by a teacher attached to the komsomol
by the party buro, in the building of their
new school buildings. Solzhenitsyn, A: Stories and Prose Poems, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1973, p. 49. The emphasis in recent years has been on the Student Construction Brigades. The brigades are organised by university trade union and student committees and are made up of students who work at various construction
jobs throughout the Soviet Union during the summer vacation. Although the work is considered as
contributing towards the fulfilment of one's socialist obligations, it is paid, how well I do not know, and so could be a quite useful supplement to students' incomes.
receive their preparation in the school for propagandists within the Department of Scientific Communism.'*' We also
find that students often act as druzhiniki, civilians who
2
patrol the streets "maintaining peace and public order".
I will conclude this section with some brief summary and further discussion of the means available to educational PPO's in indoctrination work among students.
Kommunist listed the more commonplace forms of indoctrination work in 1960. The list included personal conversations, the use of propagandists, the giving of
3 lectures, and question-and-answer evenings.
The use of propagandists, agitators and lecturers is one of the most widespread forms of indoctrination work and that providing the most usual means for teachers to fulfil their "social work" obligations. The work can take a number of forms. For example, in 1957 there was some debate in the Soviet press about this matter. In one issue of Kommunist in that year the secretary of the party buro
1 Korn., 10/71, p. 60.
2 Iuldashev, Kh. and others: Partorganizatsiia uchebnogo zavediniia, iz opyta raboty partiinykh organizatsii shkoly, tekhnikuma i instituta, Combined Publishing House of the Uzbek Central Committee, Tashkent, 1968, p. 25.
of the Finance-Economics Institute in Kazan wrote that every study group in the institute had an indoctrination
"tutor" permanently attached to it. He told the students about current affairs and party decisions, involved himself in their everyday lives, took part in komsomol meetings, etc. The director of the Kazan Aviation Institute reacted to this negatively. Apparently rather disturbed at the thought of having party-directed indoctrination "tutors" present virtually permanently in all study groups, he
declared that such a practice is unnecessary. He declared that the PPO needs to raise, not reduce the independence of students and that he was attempting to give students a
greater say in their every-day affairs. Kommunist supported the director, although stressing that the degree of student independence was already sufficient and that it only needed to be more fully developed."^
School PPO's are able to make use of parents in
2
their indoctrination activities. In 1972 the party buro of a Kazakh school recommended that the Academic Council
prepare and conduct a conference of parents with the theme "The role of the family in the international education of
1 Korn., 7/57, p p . 122-123. A similar debate occurred in Partiinaia zhizn ' early the next year. This time the journal took a middle view, declaring that it was necessary to look at each individual case. P.zh.,
1/58, pp. 16-17.
2 In Chapter 3 we will also see the use made of parents in maintaining class discipline.
children".^ School party organisations also invite
2
parents to open party meetings.
Soviet schools have parents' committees apparently resembling the Parents' and Citizens' Committees of
Australian schools. These committees are expected to help the PPO's with their indoctrination work. The parents'
committee of one Uzbek school is headed by an old communist, the chairman of a makhalinskii committee. On the initiative of the committee there was established a parents' university
"which helps in the character training (vospitanie) of children by working through their parents".
In 1966 the PPO of a Krasnoamursk school and the local raikom found themselves in trouble over attempts to put relations with parents on a highly formal basis. The dispute had been foreshadowed in the previous year by a
letter to Pavtiinaia zhizn ' from a parent of a school child complaining that he had received a letter from the school demanding that he come to a meeting of communist parents. He claimed that there were already sufficient means for the mobilisation of parents - parents' committees, fathers' and mothers' councils, etc., and that an incorrect distinction
1 P.zh.Kaz., 9/72, p. 37.
2 Kom.Sov. Latvii, 7/70, p. 79.
3 Iuldashev, op. cit., pp. 9-10. The rnakhalinskii committee is a local admin
istrative organisation staffed usually on a voluntary basis, often by retired
He had complained about the matter at the meeting, which was attended by a raikom secretary, and to his own PPO (in the raiispolkom), but had received no satisfaction. No
reaction was evident from Partiinaia zhizn1 on this occasion. However there was a negative reaction to a later letter from a parent of a child at a Kuibyshev school, complaining about the formation of an artificial party
organisation made up of communist parents. The organisation had a party buro of 15 people and party groups with group leaders and deputies in each class. The letter writer claimed that the organisation was contrary to the Party Rules, in that its members were already in the PPO's of the institutions where they worked full-time. However the party buro was supported by a raikom instructor in its view that no breaking of Party Rules was involved.
A later issue of the journal announced that the
raikom had claimed to have got around the problem by
renaming the organisation "the Council of communists in the School's micro-raion". Partiinaia zhizn’ expressed
dissatisfaction with this, hoping that the matter would be resolved in fact, not just in name. Eventually it was reported that the raikom had recognised its mistake and
abolished the organisation.^
One wonders what the background to these cases was. It would appear that previously, presumably during the
time of Khrushchev's rule, such organisations had been allowed, since in both cases raikomy supported them. However the
reports give no idea of the tasks of the organisations and I have found no mention of them in earlier years, although interestingly I have seen one report since of a school party organisation having meetings of communist parents.
2
This time the practice was not criticised.
The planning of ideological and social training is one of the most important tasks of educational PPO's. In recent times the stress has been on long-term planning, plans that last for the full period of an individual student's course. In 1969 Kommunist Uzbekistana criticised the party organisations of tertiary institutions in Tashkent for working out yearly plans that have the same activities year after
year. The article claims that these should be replaced by 3 plans covering the whole period of a student's course.
The process is described well in the case of the Tallin Teachers' College. The programme for the long-term plan was originally devised by the party buro secretary. The draft programme was then examined in meetings of the Depart ment of Marxism-Leninism, the party buro and the party aktiv.
1 2
3
P .zh., 2/66, p. 66; 11/66, p. 78; 17/66, p. 78. Kom.Sov.Latvii, 7/70, p. 79.
Many changes were made as a result of these examinations and of the consideration of directives of higher authorities and the experience of other institutions throughout the country. The general institute plan was then confirmed in a combined session of the Academic Council and the party buro. The faculty plans were confirmed in combined meetings of faculty councils and party buros, while the study group plans were confirmed in meetings of the buros of departmental komsomol
organisations. The institute's council and party buro were to take control of fulfilment, hearing reports (otchety) from the deans and party buro secretaries of the faculties.
Similarly faculty party organisations were to hear reports from department heads. Also faculty heads, deans, party buro secretaries, pro-rectors for academic and scientific sections and the rector, as well as the komsomol and trade union
leadership, were entitled to personally check fulfilment.^
There have been basically three types of control discussed in this section. Firstly, there was ideological control in the narrowest sense of the term, ensuring that individuals do not express unacceptable views on the basic principles of Soviet ideology. The importance of such control for the maintenance of legitimacy needs no more explanation. Secondly, there was control of intellectual attitudes, but in areas that have no direct relevance to
the basic principles of the Soviet ideology. Such control is important for legitimacy because the Soviet ideology
claims to be relvant for all areas of life. Finally,
there was control of social values in the broad sense. The aim here is to ensure that social life in the Soviet Union is seen to be organised on a just, friendly basis, that the quality of life is at a high level.^ This type of control also contributes to legitimacy. The party seeks to show that the society it is building is a happy one
without serious social problems.