THE REVOLUTIONARY ATTACK ON «FREEDOM OF EDUCATION», OR THE PROLETARIAN READING OF SOCIAL DISCIPLINES IN THE 1920s: FROM CONCEPTION TO IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

The article examines the problems of the Soviet education formation in one of the most troubled periods of the Soviet history – in the 1920s. The features of the policy of the Soviet government in this direction are studied. Through the study of a number of steps taken by the Soviet government in the field of university curricula transformation, a general picture of large-scale changes in the entire educational system is given. The work focuses on social disciplines that became key ones in creating the Soviet educational system. On the example of the activities performed by two universities in the Volga region (the largest at that time) – Saratov State University and Kazan State University -the main reasons and principles of introducing new social disciplines are studied. What it involves first is Marxist-Leninist social disciplines, which are actively implanted by the new government in the educational programs of the country’s universities in general and the universities of the Middle Volga Region in particular. The process of building social institutions designed to accumulate the study of Marxist-Leninist disciplines in universities is shown. On the basis of examining the archival documents reflecting the activities of these universities, particular moments of history associated with the beginning of the introduction and teaching Marxist-Leninist disciplines were reconstructed. The emphasis is placed on studying the reflection of the higher-education teaching personnel and their individual representatives on the ongoing changes. Individual statements of university teachers, their speeches, articles, and their direct social practices became one of the main sources that made it possible to reconstruct the attitude of the university intelligentsia to the flooding of the educational process with Marxist-Leninist disciplines and to the transformation of their professional space as a whole. The paper also traces the methods of the university intelligentsia’s influencing the ongoing changes. The interconnection between the socio-cultural practices of university professors and lecturers and the results of social disciplines transformations is revealed. It is noted that the initial plans of the authorities were largely adjusted, largely under the influence of the higher-education teaching personnel. In general, the article defines the significance of socio-cultural practices of the university intelligentsia for the emerging Soviet educational system.