In Soviet Russia

Summary

This dossier contains two dated newspaper articles under the common heading “In Soviet Russia”: Article V (2 November 1927) and Article VI (7 November 1927). In the rendered pages, Article V reports on a Ukrainian village, Bilastavitza, whose largely peasant population has access to a cooperative store, flour mill, and blacksmith forge. It describes the early spread of collective farming, free and compulsory village education, teachers’ working conditions, and adult literacy classes. The account presents village government as locally elected and notes that the local Soviet contained no Communists, although Young Communist activity was visible among the younger generation. Peasants’ attitudes are differentiated by class: prosperous farmers support the Soviet government when it protects their land interests, while poorer peasants are more directly indebted to the revolution’s redistribution of land.

In the rendered pages, Article VI shifts to Soviet industrial and political conditions. It describes large factories, shorter working hours, trade-union membership, factory management, crèches, holidays, wages, and social benefits. The article acknowledges improved worker morale and substantial welfare provisions but stresses the shortage of modern machinery and the dependence on foreign credit for imports. Its concluding discussion contrasts industrial workers with peasants and identifies the “Peasant Problem” as the difficulty of securing cheap agricultural surpluses while moving toward effective state ownership and management. Education is presented as a long-term means of reshaping rural political attitudes. The visible pages end with this discussion; no author byline is printed.

Key points

• Article V describes Bilastavitza as a Ukrainian village of about 8,000 people, almost all of them peasants, with cooperative economic institutions.
• Collective farming had begun locally with five peasants and had reportedly grown to twenty-nine participants.
• The village school provided free and compulsory education for children aged seven to fourteen, while teachers also conducted evening literacy classes for adults.
• The account distinguishes prosperous peasants’ conditional support for the Soviet government from poorer peasants’ stronger dependence on the revolution and its land settlement.
• The village Soviet was described as annually elected by adults, with 88 percent of electors having voted and no Communist members.
• Article VI reports shorter working hours, extensive trade-union membership, factory social services, paid holidays, and improved worker morale.
• The industrial account also records obsolete machinery, dependence on imported equipment and foreign credit, and a major unresolved tension between industrial supply and peasant production.