The theory of the merging of peoples into a single Soviet people. Soviet nation: myth or reality

During the course of socialist construction in the USSR, the socialist nations achieved great prosperity.

The long-established division of the country into industrial and raw materials areas has disappeared. Large industrial centers have grown up in all republics. A national intelligentsia was created, coming from among workers and peasants.
Relations of friendship and close cooperation in the field of economics and culture developed between the Soviet republics, and there was an intensive process of exchange of technical and scientific experience. Representatives from all republics participated in the development natural resources country, and the construction of new industrial centers. Work was carried out jointly to develop virgin lands.
The policy of the Communist Party, aimed at eliminating differences in the level of development of nations, led to an intensification of the process of their political, economic and cultural rapprochement.
This rapprochement has reached such a high degree that common features and qualities have appeared in every nation and nationality. The most important of these features is a political system common to all nations and nationalities. It is headed Communist Party Soviet Union.
Another feature is the commonality of economic life. In a single Soviet economics, the economies of individual republics and regions are organically interconnected. The country's economy is developing according to a unified national plan in the interests of workers of all nations and nationalities. Each republic in its development uses not only local natural resources, but also the wealth of the entire country.
Has been developed social community Soviet nations and nationalities. In all republics, the same type of social structure has been created and the process of erasing the boundaries between classes and groups of society is underway. A single socialist culture, international in content, arose in the USSR. It has absorbed the best features and achievements of the culture of all peoples of the country. The dominant ideology Soviet citizens became Marxism-Leninism - the worldview of the working class. The rapprochement of nations based on the same type of economy and social structure, having a common worldview - Marxism-Leninism and one goal - building communism, led to the emergence of common features in the spiritual appearance and psychology of all working people of the USSR.
Soviet people have such moral qualities, as a conscientious attitude to work, social initiative, collectivism, internationalism.
A new historical community has emerged in the Soviet Union - Soviet people, which is a union of all workers of the USSR, characterized by social, ideological and political unity.

According to the old official version, in the USSR there were 15 nations formed into union republics and, accordingly, having the right to self-determination up to and including secession, as well as a certain number of nationalities formed into autonomous republics, autonomous regions, national districts, etc., which do not have such rights. And then the transformation of the 15 republics of the USSR into 15 independent (very conditionally independent, as today’s events show) states, if sad, is nevertheless relatively justified. However, if this thesis was true in the first decades of the existence of the USSR, then by the 80s the real situation had changed significantly.

In general, there are two main interpretations of the term “nation”. One, characteristic of the German tradition at one time and used by Hitler, assumed that a “nation” was a unity of “blood, descent and culture.” Another definition was typical both for the French-American tradition and for the traditional Soviet social science of the Stalinist format; here, “nation” was understood as a historical community of people, which included a community of territorial-geographical, historical-cultural-linguistic, and state-political, and economic.

From this point of view, a nation is a relatively late historical formation, which, in general, is no more than five hundred years old. Nations appear when a national market emerges, that is, the economic unity of the country takes shape and a more or less unified socio-economic way of life is established.

And if we proceed from this understanding (and speaking about the theses of Soviet social science we must proceed from its methodology), there is no escape from the fact that each of the union republics within the USSR, of course, did not represent “the unity of people united historical territory, a special language, a special culture, a special economy.” Even from a purely ethnic point of view, the large number of interethnic and interethnic marriages in the USSR significantly blurred the lines between old nations and ethnic groups, forming not only a new national, but also a new ethnic fusion.

Illegality of the formation of new states on the territory former USSR was always obvious to those who looked at the issue not from the point of view of the propaganda cliches of those years, but from a legal point of view. The difference between the Novoogaryovsky process (the project of creating a Union of Sovereign States instead of the USSR. For the first time, the signing of the union treaty was disrupted in connection with the so-called “August putsch” and the Belovezhskaya agreements was that the Novoogaryovsky process tried to justify the division of the USSR with the appearance of law, and the Belovezhsky agreements They openly contradicted him, rightly so.

It must be recognized that today in the world multi-ethnic nations prevail over mono-ethnic ones, therefore the civilized understanding of a nation today is associated, for the most part, not with ethnicity, but with citizenship and historical community.

If we talk about the USSR, then, according to experts, already at least during the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, the identification of the majority of people living in the country with one territory, one state entity, with a common history for all, a single language of interethnic communication and a single economy began to take shape, and by the 1970-80s it had basically developed. Later, Soviet social science called this established community the “multinational Soviet people,” and this definition laid the conceptual basis for division along national lines.

However, some experts believe that a new “Soviet nation” was actually born in the country - not in the sense of “the nation of Soviet power,” but in the sense of a nation that forms the people of the country called the USSR. In the USA, the existence of the American nation is also recognized, but no one calls, for example, African Americans a nation, and in other cases the nation “American” as a concept always dominates, relatively speaking, the old nations, whose representatives created the country in its current form and have melted down over the centuries into a new supranational community.

Soviet social science introduced and used the rather controversial category of “Soviet people,” which was defined as a “new historical community.” It was assumed that it consisted of the named number of nations and nationalities. Actually, Soviet social science could never clearly, structurally explain how this “new community” differs from such an “old” community as a nation. More precisely, it did not try to do this. However, according to experts, it captured the main thing: the formation in the space of the USSR of what is usually called “political”, that is, not ethnic nation. But in this case, Soviet social scientists should have declared that the old nations were atrophying and dying. However, they did not dare to do this, since in this case it would turn out that socialism seemed to have destroyed national entities, while it was proclaimed that socialism ensures their flourishing, which was true, if we talk about the USSR, regarding the reality of the first decades of Soviet power, when nations had the opportunity to develop widely, but by the 1970s this real flourishing had already led to a process of fusion, although not complete, into a single allied nation.

What were the “Soviet people” really? A territorial-geographical, linguistic-cultural-historical community (in fact, in every “socialist Soviet nation” at least two-thirds considered Russian their native language), a state-political and economic community. That is, from this point of view, it was not an abstract “new community”, but a real new nation, although it should be recognized that the process of its formation was not completely completed.

The essentially correct principle of the right of nations to self-determination in conjunction with the virtual mythology of fifteen nations and a certain number of nationalities in the space of the USSR against the background of the socio-political and economic cataclysm born of the degradation of the late Soviet elite in 1970-80 and the aggravation of the contradictions of the then stage caused by this degradation socialism in the USSR (social relations overtook the productive forces), for many became the motivation and justification for the division of the country.

However, according to a number of experts, the division of the USSR was not the implementation of the principle of recognition of the right of nations to self-determination, but its complete disregard, since the right of this new political union “Soviet” nation to own its own national state was ignored. The interests of this real nation were infringed. Following the dismemberment of a single political Soviet nation, today there is a destruction of the self-identification of the contender for the role of its successor - the “Russian protonation”.

Meanwhile, according to the theory of a “single political Soviet nation,” recognition of a given nation’s right to self-determination, that is, to have its own national united state within the borders of the USSR, both in the past and today could solve the problem of a “divided people” and ensure normal development of the country, since even today the interests of the Soviet national unity in the space of the former USSR objectively diverge from the interests of the modern “first estates” that divided the once united country, the interests of the ethnocratic regimes established in some territories of the USSR, trampling on any internationally recognized norms, the “national interests” of states that are interested in single state did not exist on the territory of the USSR and did not turn into a technotronic superpower of the 21st century. However, today even many of those who would like this are often afraid to talk about it publicly and officially, fearing reproaches for striving for “restoration of the empire” and “violating the rights of other nations”, “commitment to Stalinism and great power”.

Number
Soviet people
Einars Graudiņš Georgiy Gachev Rudolf Livshits Dmitry Sukharev Zhores Alferov Vsevolod Emelin
2002 (according to the Russian Census):
2010 (according to the Russian Census):

Settlement area
Union State:
Union republics:	Ukrainian SSR Byelorussian SSR Uzbek SSR Kazakh SSR Georgian SSR Azerbaijan SSR Lithuanian SSR Moldavian SSR Latvian SSR Kirghiz SSR Tajik SSR Armenian SSR Turkmen SSR Estonian SSR

Language
Language of interethnic communication:

Worldview
Official ideology:

The Soviet people are a new historical, social and international community of people that arose in the USSR on the basis of victory, in the moral, political and spiritual appearance of which such common features as socialist patriotism and high socio-political and labor activity, intransigence towards exploiters and oppression were fixed , national and racial prejudices, class solidarity with workers of all countries. The Soviet people are one of the transitional communities to the future world, universal community in the conditions of the victory of communism. The experience of the formation and development of the Soviet people as a social-class and international community is an invaluable asset of humanity, illuminating the path to unity and communist brotherhood

During the Civil War

Entire families went to the Red Army and partisan detachments. Near Vladikavkaz, for example, a detachment of 18 people fought - members of the family of the Ingush Dalgiev Kerim-Sultan from the village of Dolakova...:63

By the end of 1920, the main forces of the interventionists and White Guards were defeated. V.I. Lenin said on February 6, 1920 that in the struggle against international capital it was possible to win a victory that the world had never seen. Correct national policy Soviet power ensured active participation in the war against the interventionists of all peoples of the country, led by the Russian working class. The Russian people and the Red Army provided fraternal assistance to the peoples of Russia in liberating them from the interventionists and White Guards. The Russian people and the Red Army came to the aid of the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian peoples and together with them liberated Transcaucasia from the interventionists and White Guards. The Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR and the Georgian SSR were formed. The fight continued only Central Asia and in the Far East. :82

The Central Committee of the RCP(b) and the Soviet government sent a plenipotentiary commission to help the workers of Central Asia. M.V. Frunze and V.V. Kuibyshev headed the Turkestan Front, whose troops helped the peoples of Turkestan clear the territory of the republic from enemies. As a result of the people's revolution that began in August 1920, the people's Bukhara and Khorezm Soviet republics, recognized by the Soviet government as sovereign states, were created in Bukhara, as in Khiva. :82-83

The People's Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic and the Primorye partisans at the end of October 1922 completely liberated the Far East from interventionists and White Guards. :83

The Bolshevik Party sent to the front best forces: in 1918 there were up to 30 thousand communists in the Red Army, in 1919-120 thousand, and in 1920-300 thousand, that is, half of the entire party. The communists showed unparalleled steadfastness and heroism, captivating millions of non-party people with their example. The party rallied the working class and the working peasantry into an unbreakable alliance, which played a decisive role in achieving victory over the enemy. :85

The Soviet people showed massive heroism and dedication. For military exploits during the war highest award Republic - the Order of the Red Banner - awarded to 14 thousand soldiers and commanders, 36 military units and formations. :85

The struggle against Russian counter-revolution and world imperialism was “deeply international in nature.” Thousands of soldiers from many countries fought heroically in the ranks of the Red Army, and the workers of England, France and other countries participating in the intervention protested against the policies of their governments, went on strike, refused to load weapons for the White Guard armies, and organized committees under the slogan “Hands off Soviet Russia.” :85

The Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War

Socialism gave the Soviet people powerful forces, which during the war surpassed the forces of Nazi Germany and its allies and led to a world-historical victory. This victory was achieved thanks to the indestructible socio-political and ideological unity of the Soviet people, thanks to the fraternal friendship of all the peoples of the USSR, and their devotion to the socialist system. :7

To break the spirit of the Soviet people, the Nazis established a regime of bloody terror in the occupied areas. More than one million Soviet citizens were brutally tortured or driven into fascist slavery. :582 The main form of resistance to the enemy was the mass partisan movement, the armed struggle of the people. Party organizations created a huge partisan army. During the war years, about a million armed partisans operated behind enemy lines. These were workers, peasants, and intellectuals. Women were a great force, the number of whom in individual detachments reached 10-25% of the total number of partisans. Representatives of many nationalities of the Soviet Union participated in the partisan movement and underground activities in the occupied territory. For example, Russians, Belarusians, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Estonians, Moldovans, Tatars, Bashkirs, Jews, Adygeans, Mordvins, Chuvash, Mari and others fought in the partisan detachments of the Krasnodar Territory. The composition of partisans and underground fighters in other regions, territories and republics was just as multinational. This clearly demonstrated the fighting community of the peoples of the socialist power. :584

During the years of occupation, the Nazis tried to poison the consciousness of Soviet people with the poison of fascist propaganda. The majority remained loyal to the Soviet government and the Communist Party, but some, especially those from the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois strata of the western regions of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic republics, to some extent succumbed to the influence of the enemy. The most common and effective form of work in the villages of the liberated areas were meetings and conferences of residents, at which issues were discussed about returning the land taken from them to the peasants, about bourgeois nationalists as the worst enemies of the people, about events at the fronts, international situation. Party and Soviet workers, as well as peasants, made presentations. :445

Heroes of the Soviet Union - representatives of all 15 republics

Representatives of all the peoples of the USSR fought on the fronts of the Patriotic War in the ranks of the Red Army. There were also national formations: Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Latvian, Estonian and others, operating in a common formation with all formations. :578

The massive heroism of soldiers, officers and generals is evidenced by the awarding of orders. In total, 5 million 300 thousand orders of the Soviet Union were awarded, including the Order of Lenin 8.8 thousand, the Red Banner - 238 thousand, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree - 324 thousand, 2nd degree - 951 thousand. , Red Star - 2 million 811 thousand, etc. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, officers and generals were awarded not one, but many orders. Representatives of one hundred nations and nationalities became heroes of the Soviet Union: 7998 Russians, 2021 Ukrainians, 299 Belarusians, 161 Tatars, 107 Jews, 96 Kazakhs, 90 Georgians, 89 Armenians, 67 Uzbeks, 63 Mordvins, 45 Chuvash, 43 Azerbaijanis, 38 Bashkirs, 31 Ossetians, 16 Turkmen, 15 Lithuanians, 15 Tajiks, 12 Kyrgyz, 12 Latvians, 10 Komi, 10 Udmurts, 9 Estonians, 8 Karelians, 8 Kalmyks, 6 Adygeis, 6 Kabardians, 4 Abkhaz, 2 Moldavians, 2 Yakuts, 1 Tuvan and other. Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union there are 73 women: military pilots, nurses, partisans, underground workers, etc.: 573

Cold War. 1953 - 1985

The period of "Perestroika". 1985 - 1991

According to the point of view of the chairman of the executive committee of the Congress of Citizens of the USSR, candidate of philosophical sciences Tatyana Mikhailovna Khabarova, after 1991 “the Soviet people have not gone away, they continue to exist, and a great future belongs to them, they only need to be brought out of the state of shock into which they are immersed thanks to information -psychological warfare." After the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War over Nazi Germany, a new “cruel extermination, sabotage psycho-information war ... a real third world war” began. The main weapons in this war are deception, imitation, the ability to pretend to be something that you really are not. “We suffered a severe defeat in this war, which resulted in occupation.”

The consequence of this occupation was the formation of a triad: firstly, over the past 20 years, a regime that is completely illegitimate in its origin has been operating, which successfully imitates legitimate power; secondly, at the same time, the criminal community imitates the bourgeoisie, being in reality only the so-called “transit owners,” successfully selling natural and intellectual resources abroad; thirdly, there is also an imitation of resistance to the regime in the form of a pseudo-communist movement, one of the main figures of which is the chairman.

The origins of pseudo-communism, according to the scientist, should be sought in, when under N.S. Khrushchev those who were rightly convicted of aiding the enemy in the Great Patriotic War were rehabilitated and their rights were fully restored. It was these individuals who subsequently joined the ranks of the intelligentsia and party-bureaucratic elite, who committed sabotage against the Soviet state. Today, the main rhetoric of pseudo-communists, according to T. M. Khabarova, comes down to the following theses:

As a result, the main enemy should be considered not so much the occupation regime as the pseudo-communist movement, which, firstly, does not allow the people to organize for a real struggle, secondly, paints a distorted picture of reality and, thirdly, offers dead-end options for action, for example “ endless trips to the polls.”

T. M. Khabarova argues that the ideology of Soviet patriotism has been developed since the time of the Great Patriotic War, and today it is presented as the “ideology of modern Soviet patriotism,” the main elements of which are the following:

Views of bourgeois politicians

Similar thoughts were expressed in a number of interviews by a member of the general council of the bourgeois party “United Russia”, candidate of economic sciences Evgeniy Alekseevich Fedorov:

“In 1991, there was a defeat of one side against the other. The Soviet Union lost the war because the enemy studied us well and used the operation of promoting his agent Gorbachev, who in six years managed to create a mechanism for liquidating the country. The way was cleared for Gorbachev. The special services also had military compromising material on him about his relatives, which got through the Gestapo to the Americans. They guided him from his youth.”

The war was initially directed “against the Soviet people, of which the Russian people were then a part.” “created an artificial, supposedly national conflict between regions, which did not exist in principle at all, and those who lived in the Soviet Union understand that this could not have happened by definition.”

As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the Americans created a new state - "", which is doomed to pay "tribute" to the winner - the USA. According to E. A. Fedorov, at first the winners ruled the new state directly, and “Kozyrev and Gaidar were simply figures covering the American government, which worked in Moscow through a system of advisers.” Subsequently, since 1996, “American advisers” created a special oligarchic mechanism (“seven bankers”), through which they controlled the bureaucratic apparatus of the controlled state. Finally, thanks to the awareness of the fictitiousness of his rule, he elected V.V. Putin as his successor, who “outlined his position as a national leader - the leader of the national liberation movement.” New President began to restore the country’s sovereignty, however, “he did not change the system of American influence on Russia, but removed the excesses of external control.” The politician admits:

“America is the master of the situation in Russia: political, economic, strategic, ideological - and not Putin, not the Kremlin, not Medvedev, not United Russia.” This is a performance in which these are the artists, and the directors are there. This is a consequence of the lack of sovereignty since 1991. Some people succumb to this direction due to manipulation, while others understand that this is force and you can’t fight against force.”

The industry is 95% owned by foreign offshore companies. The information space and the media are not under control to the Russian state due to the absence of two factors that existed in the Soviet Union - national ideology and a censorship body.

Origins similar defeat E. A. Fedorov sees in the geographical and national factors that determined a special type of power system:

“The Americans have found our weak point - the vertical of power. The Russian system of power, due to its national composition, geographical and northern location, and geography in general, combines real power, unlike Europe, with public power. This is due to the bureaucratic nature of Russian historical statehood. They've been poking at this weak spot for the last 200 or 300 years. And then they launched several hundred people like Gorbachev. He reached the very top, led the country, and through his lever they liquidated the country.”

In addition, the bourgeois politician is far from a negative assessment of American policy:

“Americans do not carry any evil in their decisions. They don’t have Russia’s task of making anything worse. Just as Moscow had no goal to worsen the situation in Poland during the Soviet Union... These are simply the grown-up games of nations. Just like adult games of people. This is, if you like, an ambitious competition of nations that is thousands of years old. And the forms of this competition are as follows. Nobody says why countries spend money on weapons? Because they are obliged to do this due to competition with other countries. This is how they spend money on politics.<…>This system, the way it’s structured, is a thousand years old.”

Another bourgeois politician, Candidate of Legal Sciences Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, also made a number of statements about the Soviet people and their fate. Yes, in an interview Russian to the Izvestia newspaper he recognized the importance of the Soviet people in World War II:

“If not for the role of the Red Army, if not for the colossal sacrifice that the Soviet people made on the altar of war, Europe would have been different. There would not be a modern, prosperous, prosperous, rich, well-developing Europe - this is absolutely obvious.”

Also at a meeting with Russian citizens - pensioners and veterans - he highly appreciated the Soviet model of community of people and expressed regret that such a community no longer exists:

“We very often criticize, for example, some previous orders. Everyone does it: both young people and middle-aged and older people. But there are undeniable values that, it seems to me, should be timeless. A single community was created in our country - the Soviet people. Some people talked about it with enthusiasm, others made fun of it, but nevertheless this model worked, we were all friends and communicated. This is absolutely the correct attitude.<…>Unfortunately, due to known reasons, this model failed. This is the saddest thing you can imagine... It seems to me that we should not be ashamed to return those ideas that will be of a unifying nature.”

However, in the interview European D. A. Medvedev stated to the Euronews news channel that the Soviet people existed only in theory:

“In Soviet times, let me remind you, even the following term was used: “a single community - the Soviet people.” In many ways these turned out to be theoretical constructs.”

Special look

A comparison of people of the Soviet and current eras, expressed by science fiction writer E. I. Parnov (1935 - 2009) in the last interview during his lifetime:

“I don’t believe at all in the death of the great Russian people, the great country. I didn't like the regime that existed. I did not join the party, but it was my government, my country, and I tried to serve it without groveling. I existed as best I could, somewhere I did useful things, somewhere I was tortured, destroyed, somewhere I was raised - they gave me an order... True, neither the Union nor the magazines congratulated me on my 70th anniversary. And only Literaturka gave a note with a portrait. Anything happened... I was proud of the Soviet Union. It was a great experiment, and to destroy it like this... It could still exist and exist. They began to tear apart the country that could have been the standard of the future world. And just as literature and science were shredded, so were politicians - insignificant people, puppets.<…>The consumer society has arrived - money has come to the fore. And the fact that even scientists have slipped into charlatanism for the sake of money speaks volumes. Doctors who used to be free will now not take a single step without money, university professors have begun to take bribes... What to expect next when no one in the country talks about such things as feelings self-esteem, conscience, - there are no such concepts. How can you exist without this!<…>The history of Russia shows that the pendulum begins to swing when something takes it out of balance. extreme point, V in this case- crisis. Everyone already understands that something needs to be done. It will go in the other direction for sure - there is no other way out. Great country, great people with great culture If he can’t die, there will be a way out.”

National composition

The Soviet Union was one of the most multinational states in the world, it was inhabited by over a hundred large and small nations, different in origin, language and culture. According to research by Dr. geographical sciences, Deputy Director of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences S. Brook, two interrelated trends are revealed in the development of the peoples of the USSR: on the one hand, there has been a rapid and comprehensive development of each nation and national culture, and on the other, an increasing rapprochement of all socialist nations.

Since the study of national processes was of paramount importance for social and cultural construction in the USSR, the Soviet population censuses included the determination of the national and linguistic composition among the main tasks. In the post-war censuses of 1959, 1970 and 1979, the definition of nationality was recorded from the words of the respondents. The nationality of the children was determined by the parents. If mother and father belonged different nationalities, and it was difficult for them to determine the nationality of the child, they were recommended to make a choice in favor of the nationality of the mother.

A comparison of censuses showed significant changes in the number of peoples and in the ratio between nationalities:

in the first decades of Soviet power, consolidation processes took place - small ethnic groups united into larger nations: “...So, in the early 1920s, about 20 such groups united into two nationalities - Altaians and Khakassians.” By the end of the 1970s, it became obvious that such processes had ceased to play a significant role;
Before the Second World War, fluctuations in fertility and population growth rates in the republics were small. Only after 1950 did differentiation begin in the fertility levels of the population of the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia (with the exception of Georgia), on the one hand, and the remaining republics, on the other. As of the early 1980s, the birth rate in the Central Asian republics was no less than 2 times higher than the birth rate in the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, BSSR and the Baltic republics, and also one and a half times higher than in the other republics (see Table 1) ;
the total population growth of the USSR from 1959 to 1979 was 25.7%, population growth different nationalities ranges from approximately 10 to 100%. Less than 10% growth was observed among Estonians, Latvians and Shors. The number of Mordovians, Karelians, Jews, Poles and Finns, on the contrary, decreased;
the highest rates of average annual growth are characteristic of the peoples of the Central Asian republics - from 3.0 to 3.5% per year. The growth rates of Russians and other peoples are also “higher than those of most peoples living in developed countries”;
however, the rate of average annual growth for the period from 1970 to 1979 decreased slightly compared to 1959: for the country as a whole, this figure for the reduction in average annual growth rate was 31.3%;
the overall share has decreased Slavic peoples in the country's population: 77.1% in 1959, 74.6% in 1970, 72.8% in 1979 (Table 1).

Table 1. Proportion of peoples in the population of the USSR (in%)

The factors for such changes are as follows:

unequal birth rates;
population migration;
processes of dissolution in a foreign environment.

The processes of mixing of different ethical groups are accelerated in conditions of close economic and cultural ties, which is most noticeable in cities where interethnic marriages and transition from one language to another. “As a result, the population dynamics of some peoples of the Volga region and European North...as well as Jews and Poles. They mix especially actively, mainly with neighboring ethnic groups.” As a result, in some union republics the proportion of indigenous peoples increased (the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania), in others, on the contrary, it decreased (Table 2).

Table 2. Proportion of peoples in the population of the Union republics in 1979 (in%)

	Indigenous people	Russians	Ukrainians	The largest of the other nations
	82,6	-	2,7	3.6 - Tatars
Ukrainian SSR	73,6	21,1	-	1.3 - Jews
Byelorussian SSR	79,4	11,9	2,4	4.2 - Poles
Uzbek SSR	68,7	10,8	0,7	4.2 - Tatars
Kazakh SSR	36,0	40,8	6,1	2.1 - Tatars
Georgian SSR	68,8	7,4	0,9	9.0 - Armenians
Azerbaijan SSR	78,1	7,9	-	7.9 - Armenians
Lithuanian SSR	80,0	8.9	0,9	7.3 - Poles
Moldavian SSR	63,9	12,8	14,2	3.5 - Gagauz
Latvian SSR	53,7	32,8	2,7	4.5 - Belarusians
Kirghiz SSR	47,9	25,9	3,1	12.1 - Uzbeks
Tajik SSR	58,8	10,4	0,9	22.9 - Uzbeks
Armenian SSR	89,7	2,3	-	5.3 - Azerbaijanis
Turkmen SSR	68,4	12,6	1,3	8.5 - Uzbeks
Estonian SSR	64,7	27,9	2,5	1.6 - Belarusians

Russians are an important component in the population of the republics. According to a study of population dynamics in the Union republics conducted by S. Brook, in all republics, with the exception of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Transcaucasia, the share of Russians has increased. Only in the RSFSR the proportion of Russians decreased. The 1979 census also showed that in recent years There was almost no influx of Russians into the Transcaucasian republics.

Language

According to Doctor of Philological Sciences Magomet Izmailovich Isaev, “The Soviet government inherited from tsarism an extremely neglected and confused “linguistic economy.” Of the 130 peoples of our country, only 20 had a more or less developed written language. Most peoples were completely illiterate, and nothing was known about the existence of many of them.”

Only Russians, Georgians and Armenians had developed literary languages. Representatives of other peoples, to one degree or another, used Cyrillic, Latin, Arabic, Old Uighur-Mongolian and Hebrew writing.

“However, it should be noted that this writing was practically inaccessible to the people, although it was used outstanding writers past..."

The percentage of illiteracy among “literate” and nonliterate peoples was very high. If we add to this the backwardness of the Russian Empire in the sphere of economics and culture, as well as economic devastation in the first years after the October Revolution, then resolving the language problem seemed “extremely difficult.”

To build socialism, it was necessary to solve two main problems:

As a result of “hard organizational work” in the 1920s, a number of peoples switched to the Latin alphabet, and new literary languages were created for 50 peoples of the Soviet Union. According to the scientist, “Latinization” brought unconditional benefits for peoples who did not have writing - it contributed to the development of literacy, the emergence of written literary tradition" There was an idea of Latinization and the Russian language: “...In the early 20s, the intelligentsia lived with thoughts of a worldwide revolution, with which the Latin alphabet was associated.” However, already in the 30s, almost all alphabets were translated into Cyrillic: “In 1937-1940, the peoples of Central Asia, the Volga region, the North Caucasus, and Azerbaijan switched from the Latin alphabet to the Russian script; the Armenians and Georgians retained their alphabets, which had centuries-old traditions. The peoples of the Baltic states have been using the Latin alphabet for a long time.”

The total number of languages of the peoples of the USSR is approximately 128-132. It is difficult to determine a more precise number for the following reasons:

In the process of bringing the peoples of the USSR closer together, the Russian language played an important role, which became the language of interethnic communication. According to the 1979 census, 62.1% of the non-Russian population of the Soviet Union speaks Russian fluently.

Moral and psychological traits

Doctor of Philosophy Ibragim Melikov argues that the historical reality - the Soviet people - reflected not the political and economic, but the human component of the socialist system: “The Soviet people are, strictly speaking, the Soviet people.” According to the scientist, there are four main distinctive feature of the Soviet people, making it a unique phenomenon in history:

“Ideology, romanticism and morality were the basis of the Soviet character, which ensured the stability of Soviet society and victory in the Great Patriotic War.”

Lifestyle

Culture

The culture of the Soviet people, which was, according to Dr. historical sciences V. Sherstobitov, socialist in content and national in form, reached a high level of development: more than 40 nationalities acquired their own written language during Soviet rule (according to philologist M.I. Isaev, 50 nations), developed developed literary languages; Teaching in USSR schools was conducted in 57 languages; the culture of the Soviet people absorbed everything valuable and progressive that was in every national culture, and friendship festivals, exchange of tours of theater groups and other cultural events contributed to the mutual development of positive things between peoples artistic experience.

The wide scope of creative activity of Soviet workers is indicative: in just 10 years (1970-1980) the number of innovators and inventors in the country doubled and reached 9.6 million. Another 25 million Soviet people participate in amateur artistic activities, many thousands are members of creative associations. “Being one of the manifestations of human social activity, amateur creativity expands the interests and horizons of workers, helps to identify individual inclinations and abilities, the formation of new spiritual needs, and above all - the need for creative self-realization and creative communication, which are a decisive factor in the development of culture, in formation of personality."

Upbringing and education

In the first months after the October Revolution, decisive measures were taken to create the necessary preconditions for the cultural revolution: firstly, the material base of culture (publishing houses, libraries, museums, theaters) was nationalized, and secondly, measures were taken to eliminate illiteracy. In December 1919, the Decree “On the Elimination of Illiteracy among the Population of the RSFSR” was adopted, and in July 1920, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for the Elimination of Illiteracy was created. Education in schools and universities became free, children of workers and peasants received significant benefits, and the non-Russian population received the opportunity to study in their native language.

Literature and art

Traditions and holidays

An important role in overcoming religious remnants belongs to Soviet holidays, rituals, and traditions, which with all their content affirm the moral and ethical values of the socialist way of life - humanism, respect for the working person, a truly atheistic worldview.

Soviet rituals were formed in the process of the class struggle of the proletariat as the fighting and labor traditions of the working class accumulated. The first general proletarian, and subsequently public holiday became May 1, which was declared a holiday by the decision of the founding congress back in 1889 international solidarity workers. The anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, Victory Day on May 9, also received the status of national holidays. The key to the steadfastness and strength of socialist ideology and morality is the immense respect and love of the Soviet people for the legacy of V.I. Lenin, which was expressed in the celebration by the working people anniversary dates, dedicated to the memory of the founder of the Soviet state.

The feeling of collectivism, comradely mutual assistance in production teams acquired in work activity gave rise to holidays and rituals glorifying the working man: initiation into the working class, the holiday of labor glory, the holiday of the Hammer and Sickle, the first bell, and many others.

An important role in the education of younger generations, in the formation of a worldview free from religious and other prejudices, is played by civil and everyday holidays associated with events personal life a person - by his birth, acquiring civil status - receiving a passport, seeing off to the Soviet Army, getting married. Soviet family and everyday rituals, incorporating the best of folk traditions, firmly entered the life of Soviet people and became an integral part of socialist spiritual culture.

Physical education and sports

Science and technology

Atheism and religion

A visit by Soviet citizens to the Lviv Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. 1980s.

However, often religious organizations acted as a fierce enemy of the world's first socialist state, an active preacher of nationalist ideas. Thus, Metropolitan of the Uniate Church A. Sheptytsky called for faithful service to the Nazi occupiers, with whom the spiritual shepherds actively collaborated. A number of documentary materials also testify to the role of the Uniate clergy in the creation of the SS division “Galicia” in Western Ukraine. For example, in 1943, Uniate chaplain Vasil Laba swore in the recruits of this division. The close cooperation of the Greek Catholic clergy with the Nazi occupiers and gangs of Ukrainian bourgeois nationalists finally compromised the Uniate Church, exposing its anti-people essence. As a result, in March 1946 in Lvov, the Council of the Uniate clergy decided to liquidate the Brest Church Union and transfer all parishes to the Russian Orthodox Church. Two years later, in 1948, the Greek Catholic priest, writer and publicist Gabriel Kostelnik, who took an active part in the 1946 council, was killed by a “Vatican agent.” In 1949, the Ukrainian Soviet writer Yaroslav Galan, who debunked fascism, Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism, Catholicism and Uniatism, also died at the hands of Uniate-OUN extremists.

A large role in the process of Soviet people’s departure from religion was played by examples of former clergy who resigned their ranks and decisively broke with religious views and those who have taken the path of revaluation of illusory values. Thus, the former archpriest of the Orthodox Church A.K. Samostyak became the head of the department of Kabardino-Balkarian local history museum, and the former Jehovah's Witness G.K. Gnidtse was a foreman at the Nikolaev Cement Mining Plant.

Achievements

Hyman George Rickover, US Navy Admiral, stated in 1960:

“The seriousness of the challenge posed to us by the Soviet Union is not that it is stronger than us militarily, but that it threatens us with its educational system.”

Unsolved problems

Party populism

Information war

In his open letter to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Dean Reed noted the following:

“It is true that the Soviet Union has its injustices and shortcomings, but everything in the world is relative. In principle and in practice, your society strives to create a truly healthy and just society. The principles on which your society is built are healthy, pure and fair, while the principles on which our society is built are cruel, selfish and unjust. Obviously, there may be mistakes and some injustices in life, but there is no doubt that a society built on fair principles has more prospects of achieving a fair society than a society built on injustice and exploitation of man by man. My country's society and government are behind the times because their only goal is to maintain the status quo throughout the world. It is your country that strives to take progressive steps in the name of humanity, and if in some ways it is imperfect and sometimes stumbles, then we should not condemn the entire system for these shortcomings, but should applaud it for its courage and desire to pave new paths.”

Interethnic relations

National politics

According to Doctor of Philosophy Konstantin Petrovich Matveev, during the existence of the Soviet Union, “many contradictory and pressing issues V interethnic relations, in the development of nations and nationalities." The scientist finds one of the reasons for this state of affairs in the “deep discrepancy” between V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin on the issue of the nature of the USSR:

“Lenin, as is known, defended the principle of a federation of equal republics against the Stalinist principle of “autonomization,” which presupposed the entry of republics into the RSFSR as the main one, “first among equals,” only on the basis of some autonomy, very limited independence.”

And despite the concession that J.V. Stalin made on this issue, loyalty to Lenin’s behests turned out to be formal. Another reason is Stalin's theory on the national question:

“According to his concept, a nation is a community of people who have a common territory, a common literary language, a common economic market, and a common culture. But, let’s say, there is no common territory, no single market - let’s say, thousands of Koreans live in Uzbekistan - should we consider them a nation or not?”

55 million people, that is, a fifth of the population of the Soviet state lived outside their republics or did not have national-territorial entities at all, which did not mean they did not have their own national interests. However, only those nations and nationalities that had their own republics, autonomous regions and districts had the right to send their deputies, for example, to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. K. P. Matveev cites several consequences of neglecting such problems of national policy:

Upbringing and education

Religion

Notes

Belonuchkin G. Goskomstat counted 27 thousand people of Soviet nationality in Russia // SCILLA. - June 26, 2012
Sherstobitov V. The Soviet people are a new historical community of people // Knowledge is power. - 1972. - No. 8. P. 4.
Soviet people // Scientific communism: Dictionary. - 4th ed., add. - M.: Politizdat, 1983. P. 278.
Sherstobitov V. The Soviet people are a new historical community of people // Knowledge is power. - 1972. - No. 8. P. 5.

Building communism; arose in the USSR as a result of socialist transformations and the emergence of a lasting socio-political. and ideological unity of all classes and strata, nations and nationalities. S. N. represents a multinational workers of city and countryside, united by a socialist community. building, Marxist-Leninist ideology, communist. ideals of the working class, principles of internationalism. U S. n. unified supreme bodies state authorities and state management of the USSR, the Constitution of the USSR for all owls people have union citizenship. Common language of international communication in the USSR is rus. language, which is an expression of the role played rus. people in the fraternal family of peoples of the USSR.

In the education of S. science. the most important role belongs to CPSU- parties, international in its ideology, politics, composition and structure. By uniting the most conscious people in its ranks. part of the friendships. classes and groups, nations and nationalities, CPSU expresses the vital interests of the entire social sciences, cements the community owls people in all walks of life.

Material and spiritual community owls people received a comprehensive understanding under the conditions of mature socialism. Increasing social homogeneity owls society, its socio-political. unity, the development of the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat into a common people. led to an even greater strengthening of the alliance and friendship of all classes and social groups, nations and nationalities of the USSR, whose representatives have more and more all-Soviet, international features. In the conditions of mature socialism and the construction of communism, the international movement intensified. economical community, the all-Union economy has reached a high level - an integral national economy. , including adv. economy of all republics and developing according to a single state plan in the interests of the entire country and each republic.

Based on economic and socio-political. socialist communities nations and nationalities, their spiritual community is growing, further rapprochement is taking place national crops Strengthening international damn in national culture and character does not mean that the national is allegedly being sacrificed to the international, but that the national itself is changing and being enriched. The greatest result revolutionary the reorganization of society was the birth of a new spiritual and psychological. appearance owls people who, while maintaining their national features mainly have internationalist features. National community is organic. unity with the higher, international. community, and representatives of any nation and nationality of the USSR consider themselves first of all owls people, which was found in the emergence of feelings of common nationality. pride owls person. S. N. as a new social and international. community became the most important factor further progress of developed socialism in the USSR and a prototype of future broader international. communities of people.

Marx K., Engels F., German, Op., T. 3; them, About Poland, in the same place, T. 4; Lenin V.I., To the Jewish workers, PSS, T. 10; him, The situation and tasks of the socialist. International, ibid. T. 26; his, Theses for the II Congress of Communist. International, ibid. T. 41; Materials of the XXIV Congress CPSU, M., 1971; Materials of the XXV Congress CPSU, M., 1976; Materials of the XXVI Congress CPSU, M., 1981; Roads of Friendship, M., 1972; The Soviet people are the builders of communism, T. 1-2, Frunze, 1977; Development of the Soviet people - a new historical community, M., 1980.

Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .

SOVIET PEOPLE- SOVIET PEOPLE, new story, social and international a community of people formed in the USSR as a result of socialism. transformations and rapprochement of working classes and strata, nations and nationalities having a common homeland and territory, united, based on... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

- ... Wikipedia

A new historical, social and international community of people with a common territory, economy, socialist culture, a union state of the people and a common goal of building communism; originated in the USSR in... ...

Soviet people- a new historical, social and international community of people that arose in the USSR on the basis of the victory of socialism, the overcoming of class and national antagonisms, the rapprochement of various classes, social groups, nations and nationalities as a result... ... Scientific communism: Dictionary

1) in the broad sense of the word, the entire population is defined. countries. 2) Term used to designate various forms ethnic communities (tribe, nationality, nation). In the process of development, socialist. society in the USSR, a new historical... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

PEOPLE, people, m. 1. Population united by belonging to one state; residents of the country. "The Red Army is the armed Soviet people." Voroshilov. “Persons who encroach on public, socialist property are enemies... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Contents 1 Main positive traits Soviet person ... Wikipedia

people- , a, m. == Happy nations Soviet country. pathet. Kupina, 51. == Truly free peoples. pathet. About the peoples of the Soviet Union. ◘ Within the framework of the community of truly free peoples, the complete victory of socialism is ensured. Moles of the XXII Congress... ... Explanatory dictionary of the language of the Council of Deputies

1) in the broad sense of the word, the entire population of a certain country. 2) In historical materialism, N., the masses, a social community, including at various stages of history those layers and classes that, by their objective position... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Adj., used. often Morphology: adv. in Soviet 1. Soviet was called something that was based on the management of the Soviets as bodies state power. Soviet power. | Soviet state. | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. |… … Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

a new historical, social and international community of people with a single territory, an economy, a single socialist. content and diverse in nationality. features of culture, a federal state of the people and a common goal - building communism; arose in the USSR as a result of socialist transformations and the emergence of a lasting socio-political. and ideological unity of all classes and strata, nations and nationalities. S. N. represents a multinational a collective of urban and rural workers, united by a socialist community. building, Marxist-Leninist ideology, communist. ideals of the working class, principles of internationalism. U S. n. unified supreme state bodies. authorities and government management of the USSR, the Constitution of the USSR for all Soviets. people established a single union citizenship. Common language of international communication in the USSR is Russian. language, which is an expression of the role played by Russian. people in the fraternal family of peoples of the USSR.

In the education of S. science. The most important role belongs to the CPSU - the party, the international. in its ideology, politics, composition and structure. By uniting the most conscious people in its ranks. part of the friendships. classes and groups, nations and nationalities, the CPSU expresses the vital interests of the entire Social sciences, cements the community of the Soviets. people in all walks of life.

Material and spiritual community of owls. people received comprehensive development under the conditions of mature socialism. Strengthening the social homogeneity of the owls. society, its socio-political. unity, the development of the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat into a common people. state led to an even greater strengthening of the union and friendship of all classes and social groups, nations and nationalities of the USSR, whose representatives have more and more all-Soviet, international features. In the conditions of mature socialism and the construction of communism, the international movement intensified. economical community, the all-Union economy has reached a high level - an integral national economy. complex, including people. x-in all republics and developing under a single state. plan in the interests of the entire country and each republic.

Based on economic and socio-political. socialist communities nations and nationalities, their spiritual community is growing, there is a further rapprochement of nationalities. crops Strengthening international damn in national culture and character does not mean that the national is allegedly being sacrificed to the international, but that the very concept of the national is changing and being enriched. The greatest result of the revolution. the reorganization of society was the birth of a new spiritual and psychological. appearance of owls people, who, while maintaining their national. features, mainly have internationalist features. National community is organic. unity with the higher, international. community, and representatives of any nation and nationality of the USSR consider themselves, first of all, Sov. people, which was expressed in the emergence of a feeling of common nationalism. pride of owls person. S. N. as a new social and international. community became the most important factor in the further progress of developed socialism in the USSR and the prototype of future broader international. communities of people. See also Friendship of Peoples, Nation, National question.

Great definition

Incomplete definition ↓

a new historical, social and international community of people that arose in the USSR on the basis of the victory of socialism, the overcoming of class and national antagonisms, the bringing together of various classes, social groups, nations and nationalities as a result of the construction of a developed socialist society and the establishment of the closest, indestructible unity of all classes and social strata , all nations and nationalities, harmonious relations between them. This is a socialist union, a kind of social fusion of all the working people of our country who have common homeland- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, common worldview - Marxism-Leninism, common goal - communism. Formation of a historically new social and international community - S. science. means that the general traits of behavior, character, and worldview of Soviet people, independent of social and national differences, are gradually acquiring decisive importance among us. The economic basis of S. science. constitute public socialist ownership of the means of production and planned national economy nationwide. The economy of the USSR is a single, highly developed national economic complex, which represents a solid material basis for the further strengthening of the social and international unity of the Social Sciences. S. N. characterized by uniformity social structure developed socialist society and its steadily increasing social homogeneity. The political basis of S. science. is a single Soviet socialist multinational state of the entire people - a socialist Fatherland common to representatives of all Soviet nations and nationalities. The state-legal form is the Soviet union federation - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which personifies the state unity of the Socialist Republic. Formation of S. science - a long, complex and multifaceted process, including two main stages: the transition period from capitalism to socialism, within which the most important prerequisites and foundations of a new historical community are created, and the period of building developed socialism, when the direct formation of this community occurs. At various stages of the development of Soviet society, the concept of social science. had different content. Before the victory of socialism, it reflected mainly the state unification of the working people of our country within the framework of Soviet power and on the basis of its principles, based primarily on the political consciousness of advanced workers led by communists. The victory of socialism created the basis for the unity of the entire society, because now behind this concept stood a society of working people, consisting only of the same type of socialist classes and nations. In conditions of developed socialism we are talking about social science. as a historically new community of people. This reflects a qualitatively new level of unity and cohesion of Soviet society, when all higher value common features of Soviet people, regardless of their social and national affiliation. S. N. is a historically new type of community of people, because, firstly, it is a community by its nature socialist, generated new formation, which arose as a natural result of the socialist transformation of all classes and nations, all sides public life on the principles of collectivism and internationalism inherent in socialism. Secondly, S. n. - a community broader than a separate class or nation, i.e., an interclass and interethnic (multinational, international) community. Thirdly, S. n. characterized by a depth, stability and strength of social (interclass, interethnic and interpersonal) ties unprecedented in history, determined by the unity of the fundamental goals and interests of the classes, nations and people included in this community. Fourthly, the education of S. science. - it's high quality new stage on the path to realizing the communist ideal of a single humanity, knowing neither class nor national differences. S. N. - this is an organic unity and harmonious combination of the general, national, international and special, specifically class, national with the leading role of the all-Soviet, international. Therefore, it is incorrect to consider the formation of this community as the disappearance of classes and the achievement of complete social homogeneity of society or as the merging of nations and the formation of a “single Soviet nation.” When discussing the draft Constitution of the USSR, it was pointed out that the understanding of social science was erroneous. as a single Soviet nation. The most important and most general pattern of development of S. science. is to further strengthen its monolithic social and international unity. This is based on the steadily progressing processes of bringing together all classes and social groups of Soviet society, strengthening its social homogeneity (see Erasing social class differences, Socio-political and ideological unity of society) and the internationalization of all aspects of the life of Soviet nations and nationalities (see National relations under socialism, Friendship of Peoples). The internationalization of all aspects of the life of Soviet nations and nationalities is a natural progressive process, arising primarily from material conditions building socialism and communism in a multinational country. The huge volume of tasks being solved in the process of building socialism and especially communism, the rapid growth of productive forces, which are increasingly outgrowing the boundaries of individual national regions, the unprecedented scale of the objects under construction, the socialist division of labor and other factors determine the objective need to deepen and expand cooperation and mutual assistance of all Soviet nations and nationalities, combining their creative efforts, material and labor resources in solving national problems. Increased mobility of the population leads to an increase in its multinationality in all Soviet national republics and regions. Devotion to the cause of communism, Soviet patriotism and socialist internationalism, high labor and socio-political activity, socialist collectivism and comradely mutual assistance, intransigence to exploitation and oppression, to national and racial hostility, to enemies of peace, friendship and freedom of peoples, class solidarity with the working people of all countries - this is not a complete list of the most important common features spiritual appearance Soviet people. Soviet people are not alien to the feeling national pride. But this feeling is not limited to the narrow framework of their nation; it is much wider and deeper, because it includes, first of all, a feeling of love and pride for the common multinational socialist Motherland. The formation of a classless structure of Soviet society and the implementation of the national policy of the CPSU leads to the further strengthening of the unity and cohesion of the Social Sciences. Using the example of S. n. patterns and ways of gradually erasing class and national differences are visible. The path to a united classless and nationless communist humanity lies not through the mechanical discarding of class and national forms of social life, but through the full use of their potential, through the full disclosure and synthesis of top level all that is best and progressive that is inherent in every class, every nation. This process has nothing to do with either social leveling or denationalization of public life, as it is often portrayed in the distorting mirror of bourgeois and revisionist propaganda. S. N. - one of the transitional communities to the future world, universal community in the conditions of the victory of communism.