Social policy in the USSR

The present article contains an analysis of the major areas of social policy in the Soviet Union.

Keywords: policy, social policy, state policy, USSR.

В данной статье проводится анализ основных направлений социальной политики в Советском Союзе.

Ключевые слова: социальная политика, государственная политика, СССР.

Historical overview

The spread of Christianity brought the organised social assistance. In XI-XV centuries’ Russia the ‘hospitals’ and ‘poorhouses’ were functioning under the supervision of the Church. There was no equivalent of European guilds, however, the monasteries in Russia could operate shelters and distribute charity. The old could live at the monastery in exchange for a donation.

Ivan the Terrible’s ‘Stoglav Sinod” of 1551 established poorhouses financed by charitable donations and prescribed to involve the able-bodied poor into different types of public works.

Durung Peter the Great’ reign ‘hospitals’ for old and disabled soldiers were created (1712). In 1720 the ‘Marine Charter’ guaranteed pensions for retired sailors. In 1764 the righ to apply for pensions was granted to civil servants. In 1827 the ‘Pensions Charter’ summed up the legislation concerning pensions for military and civil servants.

Overall, the pace of social policy development in the pre-revolutionary Russia was comparable with that of European countries.

Social policy in the USSR

The Soviet Union in itself represents a far-reaching program of social engineering. It is important, however, to distinguish between different periods in the history of the Soviet Union. World War II divides the history of the Soviet Union into two significant parts, and more periods can be distinguished within both of them.

Overall, the social policy in the USSR depended on two major factors — ideology and economics. The socialist ideology was expressed through the declaration of modest needs for everyone, the state monopoly in the social sphere, and the strict control of the income of the population by the state. Since the very creation of the Soviet Union, the domain of social policy was privatized by the state. Social policy in the Soviet Union was mainly characterised by paternalism. The state remained the main actor in the domain of social policy, and citizens expected the state to guarantee social stability to them.

The aim of the social policy in the Soviet Union was considered to be the growth of national prosperity, which was seen as one of the aims of socialism in general. However, in comparison with other developed states the Soviet Union’s spending on social policy was one of the lowest. The Soviet Union’s priorities included investing into the defence industry of the state as well as into some other industries.

The events of October 1917 led to radical changes of the system of social insurance. The reformed system covered all major areas of social policy, including old age insurance, health indurance, unemployment insurance, child benefits, impoverishment allowances, gender equality and establishing an 8-hour working day.

The Constitution of 1936 nominally guaranteed all manner of rights and freedoms, including the right to employment, the right to social security, the right to free healthcare and the right to education.

In the 1930s the Soviet Union acquired some charactristics of a socially oriented state, while the domain of social policy was under the strict control of the government. In the 1940s the state structures became more centralised in the face of the external threat.

After the Second World war the scientific and technological progress brought new changes which allowed the state to solve the issue of unemployment. Industrial productioon provided a lot of workplaces in different sectors, including chemical industry, nuclear power industry, space and aviation industries.

The Ministry of Social Affairs performed the function of distributing social benefits. In 1960s the unified salary system was introduced. The main aim of the social policy at the time was equal distribution of the social benefits.

By the 1970s, the Soviet Union acquired the complete set of chracteristics of a paternalistic social state. In 1971 the Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union formulated a socially-oriented program of the development of the economic system. However, the unresolved economic difficulties complicted the development of social security system. The shortcomings of the command-administrative system of economic management resulted in the state’s failure to provide many of the services essential for the well-being of its citizens.

Under the conditions of the tightening economy the Soviet government was compelled to reduce some of the social programs and guarantees. The Soviet Union presents an example of a paternalist state’s limit of development without the creation of a functioning civil society and economic incentives.

Prioritizing investments into the military and defense industries, in case of social policy the state tended to use the residual principle of financing.

Overall, the following characteristics of social policy in the Soviet Union can be outlined:

— the social policy characterised by paternalism comparatively low income controlled and guaranteed by the state

— the feedback of the population mostly consisting in passive acceptance of the paternalist function of the state.