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 Did the Soviet government manage to revolutionise society in the 1920s? 

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 Did the Soviet government manage to revolutionise society in the 1920s? 

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Yes to some extent. The Cultural Revolution that the soviet government introduced in the country was vast and included wider access to education, more gender-equal laws and more accessibility to the arts. The number of people in the communist party was also constantly rising. However the early 1920s famines Lenin's health decline, and opposition to the new regime made it hard for the soviet government to revolutionise society. The introduction of the NEP saw the old private business system still being used. Not until Stalin took over in the late 1920s and the five-year plan was introduced did the soviet government start to take concrete steps to revolutionise society.

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Some relevant sources to the second part of the question from the weekly reading lists  

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Some relevant sources to the second part of the question from the weekly reading lists  

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CHAPTER 4 Was Society Transformed?

The new economic policy

CHAPTER THREE Organizing the “Artistic Milieu”: The Era of NEP

The Code of Laws on Marriage and Divorce, The Family and Guardianship

Threats to the Revolution: The Development of the New Economic Policy

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is a series of pictures showing the condition of proletariat life since the Bolsheviks took over in the country.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3790073  -Retailing the Revolution: The State Department Store (GUM) and Soviet Society in the 1920s

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Inside The Gates Of Soviet Russia (1920-1921)

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The OED definition of revolutionary:

Relating to, characterized by, or of the nature of political revolution; involving or constituting radical change. Also (frequently with capital initial): relating to a particular revolution.

To be revolutionary is to be committed to challenging the existing order, and taking concrete actions to put this into effect.

For 1920s Russia, this meant a commitment to building a socialist society based on Marxist principles. It involves key actions such as nationalising industry, eliminating class distinctions and collectivising agriculture. Engagement in political activism is also a key factor of being revolutionary, as overthrowing the imperial government was the first step in transforming both the political and social landscape of Russia. A cultural revolution is another key aspect of being revolutionary, as rejecting the bourgeoise culture and overthrowing its decadence was essential to build a socialist society.

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One example of a revolutionary figure in communist Russia was Inessa Armand. She consistently displayed ‘revolutionary’ actions throughout her life as she attempted to transform society. For example, she was arrested multiple times for her involvement in the Bolshevik Party; in 1913 she was arrested for helping to organise the Bolshevik’s campaign for the Duma. She was also actively involved in the October 1917 revolution. At her most influential, she was the first director of the Zhenotdel - the Woman’s department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party - from 1919 until her death in 1920.

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Lenin’s ‘Our Revolution’

Lenin claims the petty-bourgeoise Democrats fear dramatic change, and any deviations from the German model of socialism. This set structure is not achievable, however, as ‘in times of revolution the utmost flexibility is demanded’.

“Their conduct betrays them as cowardly reformists who are afraid to deviate from the bourgeoise, let alone break with it, at the same time they disguised their cowardice with the wildest rhetoric and braggartry. But what strikes one in all of them even from the purely theoretical point of view is their utter inability to grasp the following Marxist considerations: up to now they have seen capitalism and bourgeois democracy in Western Europe follow a definite path of development, and cannot conceive that this path can be taken as a model only mutatis mutandis, only with certain amendments (quite insignificant from the standpoint of the general development of world history).”

Revolution should be expected to be linear.

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Glisic, Iva. “THE BIRTH OF RUSSIAN FUTURISM OUT OF THE SPIRIT OF CRISIS, 1905–1917.” The Futurist Files: Avant-Garde, Politics, and Ideology in Russia, 1905–1930, Cornell University Press, 2018, pp. 19–52. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv177tfjf.6. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

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Glisic, Iva. “THE SOVIET 1920s’ CULTURE WARS.” The Futurist Files: Avant-Garde, Politics, and Ideology in Russia, 1905–1930, Cornell University Press, 2018, pp. 131–62. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv177tfjf.9. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

This article provides insight into the cultural and artistic landscape of 1920’s Soviet Russia, and in particular the Bolshevik’s approach to shaping a new society.

“The principal challenge faced by Bolshevik leaders arose from the fact that the proletarian class came to power before its members had fully developed their own artistic and cultural forms.”

One element I found particularly interesting was the conflict within the Bolshevik party between the soft-line approach - advocating for the inclusion of the old intelligentsia for Soviet society - and the hard-line approach - opposed the incorporation of old intelligentsia in shaping proletarian culture.

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‘Any people is essentially an anarchic element’

The Russian peasantry are ultimately a marginalised, but crucial element of society for revolution.

They were long oppressed by the feudalistic structure of society under imperial Russia, and there was thus a need to reform to improve their living conditions and give them greater autonomy over both land and labour. These rural masses hold the potential to drive revolution, as they have the ability to challenge the existing order and create a more equal society.

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Smith, Mark B., 'THE LIFE OF THE SOVIET WORKER', in Simon Dixon (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Modern Russian History (online edn, Oxford Academic, 16 Dec. 2013), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199236701.013.026, accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

This chapter highlights the speed at which society was forced into 'revolution', and the consequences of prioritising the appearance of rapid change over genuine societal progress, particularly in the context of the peasantry.

"Labour exchanges should have methodically matched workers to vacancies, but many workers simply downed tools and followed the rumour of better paid work, better conditions, and better housing, travelling hundreds of miles on the off chance."