Soviet and Post-Soviet Times

Soviet and Post-Soviet Times

Introduction

The Culture of the Soviet Union passed through several stages during the 69 year existence of the Soviet Union. It was contributed by people of various nationalities from every of 15 union republics, although the majority of them were Russians [1]. The Soviet state supported cultural institutions, but also carried out strict censorship.

People, Ideas and Behaviors in Soviet and Post-Soviet Times

Soviet government policy on minority indigenous peoples was part of a larger problem of nationality across the Union. The Soviets had inherited a multicultural empire, and the Tsarist obsession with "getting the names right," in order to map the soci al terrain of the empire in terms of distinct ethnic groups, was translated into the "nationalities question" under Lenin [2]. Despite Marxist doctrine which might make cultural differences irrelevant, the Soviets promoted the rights of mino rity ethnic groups which had been oppressed under Tsarist Great Russian chauvinism. Ethnic groups and culture were "very firmly grounded in history and historical processes.

Ethnic communities, according to this theory of culture, are not only bounded, homogeneous units, but they are located within a universal history. This history was structured by a Marxist-Leninist dialectic teleologically defined by the Soviet Union a s the end of the path. The important Soviet ethnographer Ia. Gurvich defined ethnic processes as "the various types of interaction of ethnoses, leading to changes of old or the arising of new ethnic formations.

The nationalities question was eventually reduced t o the language of "backwardness" where the Russians were the advanced people and served as an elder brother to lesser peoples.

Gender Roles

Russia has a long history of women having work outside the home, as the Soviet state was a pioneer in encouraging the majority of women to perform paid labour. This includes working mothers, and a woman's career in the late Soviet times was not much affected by the woman's marital status, or what kind of mother she was - married, divorced, single, or having several lovers. The society accepted liberal sexual practices of women[3]. But while both working practices and sexual practices have been liberal for some time, gender ideology remains traditional in Russia. In the post-Soviet society, there is a worry in society that the emancipation of women is causing them to loose their “natural” femininity, and men their masculinity. It is argued that boys and girls should be raised differently, to comply with the characteristics seen as naturally male and female: girls are raised with primary function to be mothers, boys - to be businessmen, or successful, well paid professionals.

People's Relationship

It is a modern society with a lack of gender equality, Temkina points out. - Women have their own resources and can act independently, but they lack legitimate power to do so.

For instance, men have higher salaries than women. Thus, it is seen as natural that he should spend money on his girlfriend or wife. - For some of the couples I interviewed this works fine - he pays, and ...