Other Reforms

• Women were seen as equals to men under Communism
• They played a big part in economic change

Policies towards women (new family law in 1936)

• Divorce was made more difficult
• Abortion (aside from medical reasons) was made illegal
• Tax breaks (a reduction in taxes) for households with more children

Policies for women in the workplace

• Free health care
• Accident insurance
• More nurseries for children so mothers could work
• Paid holidays
• "Sitting" services so mothers could care for their children during work

By 1939, women made up...

• 1/3 of all engineers
• 79% of doctors
• 43% of industrial workers

All these changees were not made with women's rights in mind, but instead the benefits of expanding the workforce. Women benefitted, but still faced discrimination and worked in lower positions, and were also expected to take care of housework. This left them with little time for education at higher levels. They also could not have high positions in Stalin's Party

• During Lenin's rule, Stalin was the Commissar of Foreign Nationalities and he was aware of the many different nationalities within Russia
• However, Stalin saw these different nationalities as a barrier for development as the people were not united
• Therefore, Stalin introduced Russification, forcing everyone to view themselves as Soviets, only speak Russian and adopt Russian customs as well
• Learning Russian was now mandatory in all schools
• Minorities were deported, and Stalin was hostile towards Jewish people
• Non-Russian people in higher classes were removed from power

Success of Stalin's reforms

• The famine in 1932 and WW2 caused losses in the non-Russian elites, and their positions of powers were left empty for Stalin to assign
• Stalin could promote Russian nationalism as the winner over the Nazis
• Millions of minorities left Russia
• Moscow retained power and the other territories lost power to the USSR

However...

• People still identified with their own nationalities, rejecting the view that they were Soviet, meaning that Stalin had to rely on the Purges to remove the non-Russian elite
• The measures were unpopular, and some in Russia joined the Nazis in WW2
• Cultural identity in rural areas remained strong