Living and Working Conditions

• When were the draconian Stalinist labour laws repealed?

  April 1956
• Originally, when had Stalin introduced his draconian labour laws?

  1940
• What did Khrushchev's labour reforms include?

  Answers:

  • Trade unions were reformed and given a veto over managerial orders to sack people and impose higher work quotas.
  • The minimum wage was raised and differentials between skilled and non-skilled workers narrowed.
• What were the limitations of Khrushchev's labour reforms?

  Answers:

  • Workers in different industries were still paid differently and workers left low paid jobs to work in high paid coal and oil industries.
  • Skilled workers left in droves once their job was downgraded. This resulted in Khrushchev having to raise wages in engineering to resolve the recruitment crisis.
  • Thousands of workers were recruited to work in Siberia and the far east to take advantage of the raw materials there, but soon left due to poor amenities. This led to a drop in production in 1962.
• What were the limitations of Khrushchev's labour reforms (card two)?

  Answers:

  • Women were often restricted to lower paid female dominated industries. In the more high-technology industries, they still occupied lower-ranking jobs. On average, women still earned two thirds the pay of men. They also still undertook the majority of domestic labour.
• When was the riot at Novocherkassk?

  1962
• What were the causes of the Novocherkassk riots?

  Answers:

  • Discontent at the shortage of consumer products.
  • Sharp rises in the price of meat and dairy products.
  • The local management of a locomotive plant also decided to cut wages.
• What were the events of the riot at Novocherkassk?

  Answers:

  • Thousands of men came out on strike and led protests in the town square, carrying banners of Lenin, Marx, and Engels.
  • Mikoyan and Kozlov were sent from Moscow and arrived on the 2nd June 1962.
  • They ordered troops to fire on the strikers if necessary. When some of the strikers entered and damaged the local soviet building, the troops fired.
  • 24 were killed and 39 were wounded.
  • The bodies were carried away and buried in secret locations. The streets were cleaned of blood and the town forced to carry on.
• How many people migrated to the cities between 1956 and 1959?

  13 million people.
• Why did people migrate to the big cities in Russia?

  In search of better pay, working conditions, and access to services (all of which put severe pressure on housing).
• How did the 1959 Seven Year Plan aim to help the housing crisis?

  It provided for the building of 15 million new apartments.
• How did the level of state housing stock increase between 1955 and 1965?

  It rose from 25 million square metres to 55.8 million metres.
• What were the limitations of the housing reforms?

  Answers:

  • There was still 1.5 people on average to each room, and some of the housing stock was of very poor quality with no water or drainage supply.
  • The Khrushchev housing that was built never went above 5 storeys in order to avoid high costs- but they were very low quality.
• By 1968, what percentage of households had a TV?

  50%
• By 1968, what percentage of households had a refrigerator?

  25%
• How was the availability and quality of consumer goods during Khrushchev's rule?

  Answers:

  • Telephone connections were difficult to obtain and low priority was given to motor cars.
  • A large proportion of most household incomes went on food and clothing. Prices were kept artificially high.
  • This led to people becoming more discriminating, which left the state with stockpiles of goods which no-one would buy.
  • The diet of town dwellers improved, with an increase in meat and dairy products.
  • Fruit and vegetables were in short supply due to the restrictions on production in collective farms.
• How did peasant wages compare to workers' wages in the cities?

  Wages were 40% of the industrial workers' wages in 1958 and only 50% by 1964.
• What reforms did Khrushchev implement to help industrial workers?

  Answers:

  • He introduced a minimum wage, wage increases, a shorter working week, longer holidays for workers under 18, and more paid maternity leave.
  • In 1958, trade unions were given more power.