The Reduction of Illiteracy (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
The Reduction of Illiteracy
Why literacy mattered to Lenin
Lenin believed that ending illiteracy was absolutely crucial to building socialism in Russia. He understood that a literate population was necessary for creating a modern, industrialised socialist state. Consequently, tackling illiteracy became Lenin's central educational aim from the earliest days of Bolshevik rule.
The 1919 Decree on Illiteracy
In 1919, the new government published the Decree on Illiteracy, which made learning to read and write compulsory. This decree required all illiterate people between the ages of 8 and 50 to learn to read and write. The decree also gave the government the right to conscript literate people into the education system to work as teachers, demonstrating how seriously the regime took this challenge.
The literacy campaign continued throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s with mixed results, facing various obstacles but ultimately achieving significant success.
The Red Army literacy campaign
Trotsky, as leader of the Red Army, shared Lenin's conviction about the importance of literacy. He introduced compulsory education for all soldiers serving in the Red Army. This military focus produced impressive results:
- In 1918, only 50 per cent of Red Army soldiers were literate
- By 1921, this had increased to 86 per cent
- The campaign continued after the Civil War was won
- By 1925, 100 per cent of soldiers in the Red Army could read and write
Why the Red Army Campaign Succeeded
The Red Army literacy campaign stands out as one of the most successful early Soviet educational achievements. The military structure and discipline made it easier to enforce attendance and ensure systematic learning.
Literacy during the Civil War (1918-1921)
Government initiatives
Outside the Red Army, the Civil War period saw a decline in literacy despite government efforts. The Communist Government attempted several initiatives:
- Published 6.5 million textbooks containing simple rhymes that taught the alphabet
- This led to a rise in the number of people who could identify letters
- However, this campaign did not lead to an increase in genuine literacy
Lunacharsky, the Commissar for Education, also set up a network of reading rooms called likpunkty (liquidation points) in towns and villages. These offered six-week intensive courses in reading and writing and were designed to 'liquidate' illiteracy. However, learning was not a priority for those trying to survive the brutal conditions of the Civil War.
Setbacks to the literacy campaign
Major Obstacles During the Civil War
The literacy campaign was severely set back by several interconnected factors:
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Teacher opposition: The majority of teachers in 1917 did not support the Bolshevik regime. They advocated Western-style democracy and went on strike in early 1918 in protest at the new government.
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Military priorities: The government prioritised military victory and economic survival over education, diverting resources away from schools.
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Loss of school buildings: Many schools were requisitioned by the army and turned into stores or barracks, meaning education ceased in these locations.
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Severe shortage of materials: The war economy did not produce or distribute educational products. By 1920, the schools that were open reported that they had one pencil for every 60 students and one pen for every 22.
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General disruption: The war disrupted education across the entire country, making systematic learning nearly impossible.
These factors meant that despite government intentions, literacy rates declined outside the Red Army during the Civil War period.
Literacy and the NEP (1921-1928)
Initial cutbacks
When the New Economic Policy began, the economic crisis forced the government to scale back the already limited literacy campaign. To save money, the government closed 90 per cent of the reading room network that had been established during the Civil War. This represented a major setback to literacy efforts.
The mid-1920s campaign
However, in the mid-1920s there was a renewed campaign to 'liquidate illiteracy'. In May 1925, the government announced an ambitious initiative to ensure that all adults in the Soviet Union were literate by October 1927, which would coincide with the tenth anniversary of the revolution.
Working in partnership with trade unions, the government set up libraries and reading groups in factories to educate workers. There were some notable successes:
- The Metal Workers Union reported an increase in literacy from 86 per cent in 1925 to 96 per cent in 1926
- The Transport Workers Union achieved 99 per cent literacy by 1927
Challenges with peasant education
The Rural Challenge
Educating peasants proved much harder than educating factory workers. The rural population was more dispersed, harder to reach, and less integrated into organised structures like trade unions. Therefore, the goal of universal literacy was pushed back to 1933.
Overall progress
Despite the challenges, there was measurable progress during the 1920s. Overall, literacy rates improved from 38 per cent in 1914 to 55 per cent in 1928. However, this achievement was extremely uneven across different regions and social groups. Significantly, rates of illiteracy began to increase after the illiteracy liquidation campaign officially ended in 1927, showing that sustained effort was needed to maintain progress.
Stalin's war against illiteracy (1930-1939)
Launching the campaign
Under Stalin, the campaign against illiteracy was dramatically relaunched. The Sixteenth Party Congress of 1930 adopted ambitious new targets to eliminate illiteracy and ensure that primary schooling was compulsory during the First Five-Year Plan.
The government recruited 3 million volunteers from Komsomol (the Young Communist League) to educate workers and peasants. The campaign was organised in a distinctly military fashion, reflecting the militarisation of Soviet society during this period:
- Volunteers were called 'cultural soldiers'
- They were organised in 'cultural battalions'
- They were tasked with fighting a 'cultural war' against illiteracy
Violence and resistance
The Brutal Reality of the Campaign
The campaign took place in the midst of Stalin's brutal campaign to collectivise agriculture. This timing had devastating consequences for teachers. Teachers were attacked because they were associated with the government and therefore considered enemies by many peasants resisting collectivisation.
The violence was shocking:
- Around 40 per cent of teachers were physically attacked in the first year of the campaign
- Some teachers were locked in schools that were then set on fire
- Others were beaten to death
- Some had acid thrown at them
- Rumours spread that teachers were really there to kidnap children and send young Soviet women to China as slaves
Poor conditions for teaching
Teachers were also poorly equipped and poorly supported:
- They often arrived with no textbooks or writing materials
- They had little to offer peasants who attended schools
- They were unable to provide incentives such as free school meals
These conditions made the work of cultural soldiers extremely difficult and dangerous.
Success despite the obstacles
Despite this unpromising start, the campaign was ultimately successful. The scale and persistence of the effort, combined with the harsh discipline characteristic of Stalinist policies, produced significant results:
- During the First Five-Year Plan, 90 per cent of Soviet adults had attended a literacy course
- These courses were not wholly successful, but approximately 68 per cent of people were literate by the end of the First Five-Year Plan (1932)
- This represented a significant improvement from the 55 per cent literacy rate in 1928
- Stalin's campaign continued throughout the 1930s
- By 1939, over 94 per cent of Soviet citizens were literate
Limitations and inequalities
However, there were important limitations to this achievement:
Gender Inequality in Literacy
Literacy rates reflected broader inequalities in Soviet society. While around 97 per cent of men were literate by 1939, only 90 per cent of women could read and write. This showed that women still faced disadvantages in accessing education.
Focus on statistics over learning: Educational culture became obsessed with statistics and centrally enforced targets. Although literacy rates increased dramatically, there was no focus on the full educational development of students. There was no official attempt to encourage students to read or write for pleasure.
Narrow definition of literacy: The focus was on basic reading and writing skills necessary for work, rather than on developing critical thinking or a love of learning.
Overall assessment
Nonetheless, achieving mass literacy was one of the major successes of Stalin's first decade in power. The transformation from a largely illiterate society in 1917 to one where over 94 per cent of citizens could read and write by 1939 was a remarkable achievement, even if the methods used were often brutal and the quality of education was limited.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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Lenin believed ending illiteracy was crucial to building socialism, leading to the 1919 Decree on Illiteracy requiring all people aged 8-50 to learn to read and write.
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The Red Army achieved 100% literacy by 1925 thanks to Trotsky's compulsory education programme, but outside the military, the Civil War severely disrupted literacy efforts through teacher opposition, resource shortages, and general chaos.
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During the NEP, literacy improved from 38% (1914) to 55% (1928), with more success among factory workers than peasants, though progress was uneven and stalled after 1927.
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Stalin's dramatic literacy campaign from 1930 recruited 3 million Komsomol volunteers as 'cultural soldiers', but around 40% of teachers were violently attacked during collectivisation.
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Despite brutal methods and poor conditions, Stalin's campaign was successful: literacy reached 68% by 1932 and 94% by 1939, though gender inequality persisted (97% of men vs 90% of women literate) and the focus was on statistics rather than genuine educational development.