Urban and Rural Differences (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Urban and Rural Differences
Overview of Stalinist changes
Despite the regime's emphasis on the urban proletarian workers, Stalinist policies from 1929 brought more extensive changes to the rural population than to urban areas. Rural areas that had been relatively untouched before collectivisation experienced systematic state control. The regime policed the countryside more closely and enforced compulsory schooling for the first time. Rising literacy rates provided more opportunities for propagandists to influence rural minds.
The irony of Stalin's policies was striking: while the regime ideologically championed urban workers, it was the rural population that experienced the most dramatic and disruptive transformations during the 1930s.
Transformation of rural life
Collectivisation fundamentally altered the countryside. Traditional certainties that had dominated rural life - religion, friendship patterns, and customary practices - were questioned and changed under state pressure. The Party established its presence everywhere, and the climate of fear induced by the Terror bred a lack of trust. Consequently, the old traditions of openness and cooperation in the countryside were strained.
The Destruction of Traditional Rural Life
The Terror and collectivisation didn't just change economic structures - they fundamentally destroyed the social fabric of rural communities that had existed for centuries. Trust, cooperation, and traditional bonds were replaced by suspicion and fear.
During the 1930s, collectivisation came to be grudgingly accepted by many. Some peasants benefited from having access to machinery like tractors. Villages often gained schools and even clinics for the first time. Nevertheless, the disparity between life in the cities and countryside never disappeared, and peasants were invariably singled out by the Party as inferior citizens. For many rural workers, especially younger ones, their aspiration was to be able to move to a city.
Rural populations also experienced considerable dislocation. Many unskilled working men - former peasants forced into the towns by collectivisation - struggled with harsh conditions. Unused to strict labour discipline, they were likely to move around from job to job, trying to avoid staying too long in one place to prevent acquiring a bad working record. Living conditions were tough, with overcrowding and strained family life. Petty crime and hard drinking proliferated, and during the Terror such individuals could be deprived of all they had for the smallest misdemeanour or unguarded word.
Urban living conditions
Life in urban communities was far from comfortable. The Great Famine of 1932-3 not only caused millions of deaths in the countryside but also caused problems in towns since cities were swamped by refugees. The rationing system, which continued until 1935, often broke down.
Kommunalka - communal dwellings or housing blocks where most urban families lived - defined urban existence. Space was allocated according to family size. Typically, two to seven families shared a hallway, kitchen and bathroom, while each family had its own room serving as living room, dining room and bedroom. There was practically no privacy in the kommunalka. People learned to whisper in case their neighbours overheard conversations that could result in denunciations to the authorities and a visit from the security police. Apartment blocks were supervised by concierges whose task was partly to spy on individuals. Some workers lived in barracks or in their factories. Only favoured Party members had the right to more substantial and private accommodation.
Surveillance and Fear in the Kommunalka
The kommunalka system wasn't just about housing shortages - it was a tool of state control. With families living in such close quarters and concierges monitoring residents, privacy became impossible. Every conversation was potentially dangerous, and neighbours could become informants. This constant surveillance created a climate of fear that extended the reach of Stalin's security apparatus into every aspect of daily life.
Many cities lacked proper sewage, street lighting and public transport, despite show projects such as the Moscow Metro. Water was rationed. Considerable 'hooliganism' (urban violence) occurred. Living standards dropped considerably, with 1933 being the worst year. Overall food consumption was lower than in 1900, and meat consumption was only a third of the 1928 figure. Many depended on the black market for survival.
The stark statistic that meat consumption in the 1930s was only one-third of the 1928 level reveals how dramatically living standards declined under Stalin's policies, despite propaganda claims of progress and prosperity.
Improvements from 1935
Conditions improved from 1935, with 1937 being probably the best year for living standards. It became legal for some small trades to operate privately: shoe repair, hairdressing and plumbing activities. This occurred because the State could not resolve the shortages (buying shoes was a particular problem). However, problems increased again after 1937 as the bad harvest of 1936, and the continued increase in the urban population, put further strains on public services.
The State's decision to allow private trades was a pragmatic admission of failure - the command economy simply could not provide basic services and goods that citizens needed for daily life.
Comparing urban and rural experiences
Overall, urban workers probably coped better in the 1930s than the peasants in the countryside. Changes were fewer in urban areas, and at least factory workers had regulated hours and wages and could benefit from workplace canteens or even shops, providing goods for the employees to purchase. In rural communities, these were troubled times, and peasants had most of their produce taken from them.
When war came in 1941, however, there was a reversal. Conditions in both urban and rural communities became very harsh, and rationing was reintroduced. The peasants, at least, had their private plots to fall back on for food production.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Stalinist changes affected rural areas more profoundly than urban areas, through collectivisation, compulsory schooling, and increased Party control.
- Urban living was characterised by the kommunalka system, with severe overcrowding, lack of privacy, poor services, and food shortages (especially 1933).
- 1935-1937 saw improvements in living standards, with 1937 being the best year for urban populations before conditions worsened again.
- Urban workers generally coped better than rural peasants during the 1930s due to regulated wages and workplace benefits, though this reversed during wartime.
- The concept of 'socialist man' influenced urban planning and social organisation, promoting community loyalty over individual independence and private life.