Learn My Son: Science Shrinks
We are experiencing a fast-flowing life -
Someday and soon maybe
All the areas that you are now
I portrayed it so cleverly on paper
Everyone will get yours under the arm -
Learn, my son, and easier and clearer
You will comprehend the sovereign work.
("Boris Godunov" by A. Pushkin)
Source base of modern knowledge. How does the preparation of any more or less literate article begin?
Of course, with the selection of materials on its topic. If the article is solid, on a serious, let's say, socio-political topic, then the sources for its writing should be monographs or articles in well-known peer-reviewed publications, as well as, and almost primarily, scientific dissertations defended on this topic, such as candidate and doctoral, as well as articles on them from scientific publications from the list of the Higher Attestation Commission, which are easiest to find in E-lab - an electronic scientific library.
Of course, although it is very interesting to study a problem from someone else's dissertations, it is … expensive. The price of one work, which today any citizen of Russia can order by e-mail, ranges from 400 to 500 rubles, depending on the resource. That is, already three works - this is one and a half thousand. And if there are 10? It is clear that a researcher must be able to stop, otherwise he will not have enough money. Yes, and strength - to read works of 180-220 pages, and doctoral dissertations, as a rule, are even more voluminous …
But what literally every Russian can afford is to read the dissertation author's abstract. What it is? And this is her summary, that is, everything that is written in it, but in a synopsis. When the Academic Council recommends a thesis for defense, it simultaneously gives the go-ahead for the printing and distribution of its abstract. This is usually a 14-16 page brochure. It is sent by the applicant for a scientific degree according to the list. First, to all the main libraries of the country, then to the libraries of the leading universities, etc. Moreover, having received such an abstract, the department dealing with the same topic usually gives a review on it. And if you have something good or bad to say, then it is very easy to do it. And then all received feedback is read out at the defense and taken into account.
So, on the Internet, dissertation abstracts are posted free of charge. And they can be read, but the dissertation itself cannot be ordered, which saves energy, time and money. That is, if you wish, you can "gamble" on some issue quite easily. And reading an abstract is not at all the same as reading a boring textbook or scientific monograph. Although there is enough "science" in them, and some are also written in a rather "heavy language". But … all this is compensated by interesting data, and they all have links to relevant sources. That is, they are sufficiently reliable.
All this applies to any topic in the field of historical science. For example, let's consider a topic that was recently raised on VO - the topic of the elimination of illiteracy in the USSR. From the context of the article where this was discussed, it was possible to understand that this was a relatively quick and almost one-step operation, after which, until then, the bulk of the illiterate inhabitants of Russia began to be able to read and write.
But was it really so?
In fact, this topic attracted the attention of many researchers, both in Soviet times and after 1991. Turning to the Internet resources, we will see that there are a lot of works devoted to this, and of a very different plan. For example, “The growth of the educational level of the population of Kazakhstan during the period of building socialism (1917-1937) (Historical and demographic characteristics)”; "Struggle for the implementation of Lenin's decree on the elimination of illiteracy among the population in the Kazakh aul (1917-1940)"; “The culture of a provincial Russian city in the mid-20s - first half of the 30s. XX century: the example of the cities of the Volga region "; "State policy in the field of cultural construction in the Lower Volga region in 1928-1941."; "Education in Dagestan in the second half of the 20s - 30s of the XX century"; “Elimination of adult illiteracy. 1897–1939: on the materials of the Orenburg region "; "Society" Down with illiteracy ": the history of creation and activity in 1923-1927: on the materials of the Upper Volga region"; “The Soviet policy of eliminating illiteracy in the 20s - mid 30s. XX century: on the materials of the Lower Volga region "; "State policy on educating the population of the Khanty-Mansiysk national district in 1931-1941"; “Eradication of illiteracy in the territory of the Mordovian region in the 20s - 60s. XX century ", etc.
But, as always, scientific papers are in one place, and those who could read them are in another. Although, as already noted here, the Internet makes it possible to successfully overcome this contradiction. There would only be a desire …
And there is a lot to learn from all this research. And above all, the elimination of the difficult legacy of tsarist Russia was not at all easy, by no means quick, and sufficiently … contradictory.
Let's turn to just one of the works of this plan, which is called so: "The elimination of illiteracy in the Middle Volga region in the 1917-1930s." The topic of the dissertation and the author's abstract (according to the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation 07.00.02) of the candidate of historical sciences Natalya Nikolaevna Sologub (Penza, 2004).
So, first of all, she notes that one of the features of the fight against illiteracy was the assignment of this work … the Cheka. And in the dissertation it is shown in detail that illiteracy was eliminated not by persuasion, but by methods of coercion. Moreover, the latter reached unheard-of proportions in those years and, according to the applicant, manifested themselves "in the most monstrous forms, up to the arrest and imprisonment of those who did not want to study." During the years of the first five-year plans, the nationalization of the process of eliminating illiteracy became more and more noticeable. Moreover, in the late 1920s and the first half of the 1930s, this process took on a variety of types and forms. That is, both the public and the state were engaged in this. But the main line of the latter was to bring public organizations that fought against illiteracy under the control of both party and Soviet bodies, along, so to speak, the entire vertical of power.
As a result, public organizations eventually became an appendage of state bodies. A tight control was established over them, which did not lead to anything good. Rather, it led to the disappearance of any popular initiative in this area. And also total state control led to the fact that in the fight against illiteracy, strict planning began to be applied, and it did not go well with the voluntariness of this process. And it turned out that the plans "descended from above" were very often completely unrealistic or, at least, difficult to implement. Therefore, the lower bodies, fearing reprimands from above, began to resort to falsifying the results of combating illiteracy. Data on the vertical of power rose from step to step and eventually acquired an increasingly "perverted" appearance.
As a result, the government saw a distorted picture of what was happening, which, however, became the basis for adopting even more unrealistic plans. The result was the result of the 1926 census, which did not please the government at all. And if the state wanted to change its policy in this area, to get away from strict administration, but instead it strengthened its control over the activities of public organizations that fought against the illiteracy of the population.
And at this time, an interesting popular initiative appeared, a new method of combating illiteracy - a cult trip. But as soon as the cultural campaign was put under state control, it did not lead to the expected results. As a result, the new census, scheduled for 1932, was postponed to 1937.
Moreover, now the general public has begun to be understood as something different from what was previously understood. In addition to the intelligentsia and, first of all, teachers, the mass of Komsomol youth were called upon to voluntarily participate in the fight against illiteracy. The benefit was that this "public" had already gone through indoctrination. And secondly, it already had its own vertical of power in the person of the Komsomol, and that was under party control.
In her dissertation, the researcher notes that everything speaks of the genuine enthusiasm of the Komsomol youth, which she showed at the beginning. And the Komsomol members went on cultural outings, spreading culture and literacy in the villages. The participants of the cult-trip were sincerely striving to fulfill their important humane work.
But how can you do something if you have neither knowledge nor teaching experience?
That is, we could only talk about the elimination of formal illiteracy. The number of formally literate people grew, yes. But in fact, it did not reflect the situation. The main slogan - "Competent, teach the illiterate!" But as? And the literate did not know this. Literacy is taught!
And the results of forcing this process were not long in coming. A new phenomenon has emerged in the country, and a mass phenomenon - recurrences of illiteracy and illiteracy. The voluntary participation in a cultural outing began to be replaced by "coercion". And the cultural campaign itself, placed in a strict planning framework, eventually gave inflated figures for the implementation and overfulfillment of this plan. And since the quality of literacy, which grew due to the cultural campaign, was not checked by anyone, then … positive indicators multiplied, but the real state of affairs was very different from them.
Having postponed the 1932 census, the state, in fact, signed, if not a complete failure of the fight against illiteracy, then its strong lag behind the planned level. But the only conclusion that the state authorities made from the cult-trip was this: to make teachers … teachers, first of all from among the youth, as cultural armymen, and to transfer the work of eliminating illiteracy to the hands of professionals. But at the same time, they did not have to receive payment for their work, but to conduct it with full enthusiasm and on a voluntary basis.
And now, having considered one layer of information on this issue on the basis of one dissertation, let us turn to the work of Doctor of Historical Sciences G. M. Ivanova, which is called "The State Policy of Elimination of Illiteracy in the USSR in the 1950s – 1960s." It is posted on the Internet, so it's easier to get to know it. This work is quite extensive, so we use only part of its content. Namely, how all this struggle against illiteracy ended already … in the 60s of the twentieth century.
It turns out that according to the All-Union Census of 1959, 208.8 million citizens lived in the USSR (162.5 million over 10 years old). There were 99.1 million employed. So, of this number, 23.4 million people did not even have a primary education, or 23.6% of the working population. And there were 3.5 million completely illiterate people. However, the census data on the number of literate and illiterate people did not get into our press! Why bother people once again ?!
As a result, in 1962, on August 27, a secret resolution was adopted by the Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPSU for the RSFSR and the Council of Ministers, according to which the elimination of illiteracy was to be completed by July 1, 1965. That is, our spaceships were already in full swing across the vastness of the Universe, and in the country declared a country of universal literacy, there were still millions of illiterates!
So in no way the authors of any articles about the great achievements of socialism in our country can not one-sided coverage of the processes that took place. The business of the "cultural revolution" in Russia stretched out for many decades, but by and large it has not been completed until now!
1. "Eradication of illiteracy in the Middle Volga region in the 1917-1930s." The topic of the dissertation and the abstract for the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation 07.00.02, Candidate of Historical Sciences Sologub, Natalya Nikolaevna. 2004, Penza.
2. State policy on the elimination of illiteracy in the USSR in the 1950s – 1960s. The text of the scientific article in the specialty "History and Archeology". Ivanova Galina Mikhailovna
