Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). People. Way of life

People. The population of the Soviet Union consisted of more than 100 ethnic groups. The Soviet republics were set up on the basis of ethnic groups and carried their names. For example, Georgians lived mainly in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (now the independent nation of Georgia), and Armenians were centered in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (now independent Armenia).

Slavic ethnic groups made up about 70 per cent of the total Soviet population. The Russians, the largest Slavic group, made up about half of the country's population. They lived throughout the country and held an excessively large share of leadership positions in the various governments. The Ukrainians were the second largest Slavic group, and the Belarusians (then called Byelorussian5) were the third largest. In 1991, the Ukrainians and Belarusians formed their own independent nations.

Turkic peoples ranked second in number to Slavic peoples in the Soviet Union. The largest Turkic groups included the Uzbeks, the Kazakhs, the Kyrgyz (then spelled Kirghiz people, and the Turkmen. These four Turkic groups also formed their own independent nations. Other ethnic groups who gained nationhood included the Tajiks (then spelled Tadzhiks) and the Moldovans, whom the Soviets called Moldavians.

Minority groups in the Soviet Union included Finno- Ugric peoples and Germans. Many small Siberian groups, related to Native Americans of the Far North, made their homes in the Arctic.

Each nationality in the Soviet Union tried to preserve its own language and culture. But a number of government policies were aimed at merging groups into one common culture, based on Russian. The Russian language was used everywhere. Languages once written in the Roman or Arabic alphabets had to use the Cyrillic alphabet of the Russian language. Those who supported the single-culture idea were given many top political and economic positions. Their privileged status caused friction with minority ethnic groups.

Ethnic differences also led to conflicts between non Russian groups. In the late 1980's, for example, violence broke out between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. The Armenians demanded that Nagorno-Karabakh, a district of Azerbaijan largely populated by Armenians, be made part of Armenia.

Jews, who were listed as a nationality group by the Soviet census, faced widespread discrimination in the Soviet Union. During most of the 1900's, the government discouraged the practice of Judaism and Jewish customs, and it restricted Jewish emigration.

Way of life. Personal freedom. For much of Soviet history, especially during the 1930's, the people lived in fear. The secret police arrested millions of citizens suspected of anti-Communist views or activities. The victims were shot or sent to prison camps. In the late 1980's, the government began to grant the people greater freedom. It allowed criticism of the Soviet system. Also, the works of writers whose views had been officially condemned were permitted to be read openly

Until 1990, the Communists restricted religious practices. They were officially atheists (people who believe there is no God). They looked on religion as an anticommunist force. Religious worship survived in the Soviet Union, however, and the restrictions gradually decreased. In 1990, the government promised freedom of religion.

Privileged classes. The early Communists hoped to achieve a classless society л society with neither rich nor poor people. The government took over all privately owned factories, farms, and other means of production. It abolished income from real estate and other private property. The government provided such benefits as free medical and hospital care. The goal, as stated by Karl Marx, the German philosopher whose ideas formed the basis of Communism, was, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." In theory, everyone would serve society in the best way possible, and no one would have any special claims.

The Communists failed to achieve a classless society. The old classes that possessed special rights based on inherited rank and wealth disappeared. However, new groups with special rights developed under the Soviet system. These groups included top officials of the Communist Party and the government, and also some professional people, including certain favored artists, engineers, scientists, and sports figures. They received automobiles, comfortable apartments and dachas (country homes), and other luxuries most Soviet citizens did not have.

City life. By 1990, about two-thirds of the Soviet people lived in urban areas. Cities were crowded, and most families lived in small and poorly maintained but cheap apartments. Housing shortages forced some families to share space and kitchen or bathroom facilities with other families.

Because the government kept prices artificially low, there were frequent shortages of meat, shoes, soap, and many other goods. Shoppers often had to spend much time looking for what they wanted. They often had to wait in line for hours for quality or imported goods.

Modern apartment buildings were built by the government in cities throughout the Soviet Union in an effort to reduce a shortage of housing in the nation's urban areas

Rural life. Living conditions in the rural areas of the Soviet Union were poorer than in the cities. In rural villages, many people lived in small log huts or in community apartments. Many of the families had no gas, plumbing, or running water, and some did not have electricity. There were fewer stores in the villages, and stores carried a smaller variety of goods.

Most people in rural areas traditionally worked on huge government-controlled farms. Farmers were allowed to cultivate small plots of land for private use and to keep a few animals. Farmers could sell dairy products, meat, and vegetables produced on this land for private income. These private plots produced about one-fourth of the total value of agricultural production in the U.S.S.R.

Education. During the early 1900's, Russia was largely a country of poor, uneducated peasants. After the Communists seized control, they strongly promoted education. Highly trained managers and workers were needed to build up the country. To meet this need, the government expanded its schools and made major improvements in education. The schools stressed science : and technology. Soviet achievements in these fields were among the highest in the world.

Soviet children had to attend school for 11 years, from the age of 6 to 17. Education was free. In addition to schoolwork, students were graded on classroom behavior and leadership in group activities, both in class and after school.

The Soviet Union had many schools for gifted children, who were chosen by examination. These schools, beginning in the first grade, provided extra instruction in the arts, languages, or mathematics and science.

After ninth grade, many students attended technical or trade schools. These schools trained young people to be skilled technicians and workers in agriculture, engineering, industry, and other fields. The Soviet Union also had about 70 universities and more than 800 technical institutes and other schools of higher education.

Science and technology. The government established many research institutions and employed hundreds of thousands of scientists, engineers, and technicians. These specialists made it possible for the Soviet Union to become an industrial and military power. Soviet scientists developed new processes and new technology for industries and new weapons for defense. In addition, their work enabled the U.S.S.R. to lead the world in space exploration. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. In 1961, Soviet air force officer Yuri A. Gagarin orbited the earth and became the first person to travel in space.

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first person to travel in space when he orbited the earth on April 12,1961. From the mid-1950's through the 1970s, the Soviet Union and the United States competed for leadership in space exploration

The arts. For most of the history of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party attempted to control all artistic expression. The government permitted only an art style called socialist realism, which emphasized the goals and benefits of Soviet socialism. Such writers as Boris Pasternak and Alexander Solzhenitsyn were disciplined for criticizing Communism. The publication of most of their works was prohibited in the Soviet Union for years. In the late 1980's, however, the Soviet government began to allow artists much greater freedom in their work.

Even under the strict controls, a number of Soviet artists made noteworthy achievements. Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for literature. Director Sergei Eisenstein became famous for his methods of film editing. The music of composers Aram Khachaturian, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dimitri Shostakovich received worldwide attention. The Moscow Art Theater, founded in 1898, remained the most respected theater company in the Soviet Union. The Bolshoi Theater Ballet and the Kirov Ballet continued to earn international fame for the brilliant technical skill and dramatic dancing of their performers.