The material and cultural level of rural workers in the Ukrainian SSR (from the middle of 1960’s to the 1980’s)

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The material and cultural level of rural workers in the Ukrainian SSR (from the middle of 1960’s to the 1980’s)

Journal Title: Eminak - Year 2016, Vol 1, Issue 1

Abstract

The article analyzes social life of inhabitants in Ukrainian villages in the period from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. The main directions of state social policy in this period are examined; the leaders’ achievements and failures are emphasized. On the basis of archival documents the author has found that the problem of village material and technical base in the cultural sphere, the need for urgent decisions to change fundamentally the current situation required new approaches for social and cultural transformations in rural areas. In the mid-1960s an attempt was made to find such ways. The undertaken policy was primarily targeted at the usage of local economic and financial resources, the increase of the state budgeted funds during a large-scale construction. However, the search for new approaches could not significantly affect the material and technical base of establishments functioning in social sphere, as such measure was a part of the command and administrative system and influenced by technocratic thinking, the residual principle and halved attitude in making decisions. In the early 1970s the resource possibilities for large-scale construction in rural areas were depleted. The author comes to the conclusion that since the mid-1960s there had been many attempts to create normal cultural and life conditions in the country, to raise the incomes of collective farmers and workers of state farms so that their material level could stop people’s leaving villages for urban areas. However, all measures turned to be overdue and insufficient. In the late 1980s a significant part of the rural population was not able to use most of the conveniences existing in civilized countries: warm water, gas, regular transport services, etc. The increase of capital investments in social sphere of villages resulted in positive changes. At the same time the funds allocated for the development of social infrastructure in the rural area did not enable the village inhabitants reach the same material level that existed in the urban areas. The villager continued to be a person of lower category in terms of pensions, provision or life conditions.

Authors and Affiliations

Olga Lisovs’ka

Keywords

Ukrainian village social issues infrastructure pensions cost accounting the cultural level

EP ID EP181166
DOI -
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