Pre-war factory relations in Stalin’s Soviet Union (1924–1941)
Date
2024
Authors
Russell, Christopher
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Abstract
This thesis analyzes the rapidly changing labour relations in the Soviet Union from the period of 1924 to 1941. While the Soviet Union proclaimed itself to be a workers’ state, the legislative changes introduced by Stalin created continuously harsher conditions for Soviet workers. The worker-director relationship in factories is examined in this thesis, along with how important legislative changes impacted this relationship. Accounts provided by former Soviet workers, including a set of interviews from the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System, are used to determine how the workers viewed their role in the Soviet factory and their relationship with their directors. Collaborative efforts between workers and directors were necessary, even when legislation forbade it, so the factories could meet their constantly increasing quotas. Despite the Soviet state at times mandating factory directors to be ruthless and distant from their workers, the workers often understood that the directors had no choice in how they acted, as they were forced by the Soviet state to enforce strict laws or face harsh repercussions.
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Keywords
Factories, Stalin, Soviet Union, Directors, Workers