Russian Life Today: Inside The Soviet Union, 1958

thousands of tourists open to visitors in 1955 near the entrance to the Kremlin is the tomb of lenon and Stalin regardless of Lea there's hardly a visitor to Russia's capital who fails to go through the dimly lighted mosum crowds are often lined up for blocks their reverence for the tomb and the embomb bodies of lenon and Stalin helped to make the creme the center of Russian life whether in communist headquarters in Odessa on the Black Sea or in lenrad every activity is controlled by directives that originate although famous Old St Basil's Cathedral in square is now a museum the churches of the Soviet Union apparently operate without governmental restriction the Russian Orthodox is still the major denomination but there are countless synagogues Catholic and Protestant churches and Mos of the mlim the churches are well attended noticeably by the agid religion is frowned upon in Soviet schools most young Russians are educated to believe that atheism is the true Faith the downtown streets of a big city like Moscow look much like those of a busy City in the states without the familiar signs and trademarks while the sidewalks are crowded the streets are almost empty no need for traffic signals here because very few people own automobiles the government stresses the production of heavy Goods rather than consumer products consequently public transportation is both rapid and regular with the average bus Fair the equivalent of 12.2 cents the crowded buses take workers past countless reminders of Russian history statues of Z s and zaras Russian Warriors of the country's long and turbulent past and contemporary statues dedicated to today's workers Russian children lead a different life than the children in our own country at an early age the Russian child is taught to think of himself as primarily part of often seen marching along the crowded sidewalks the state takes takes charge of the children almost as soon as they're born when they're 6 months old they spend at least part of every day at a state operated Nursery School while their parents are at work or engaged in government service when the child is seven he goes to a regular school their activities are closely Guided by adults who are also employees of some of the many departments of the government while they may play games there's a purpose for everything and physical training is an important part of the program scientific and mechanical courses are stressed even in the Elementary grades academic standards are very high and classes are held six days a week roll call is taken as the children enter the school both men and women are employed as teachers when a child is seven he also becomes a member of the Communist Youth Organization the young Pioneers here is additional opportunity for political indoctrination and physical training 10 years later at 17 he becomes a member of the young communist League this leads in another 10 years to eligibility for membership in the Communist party but only a comparative few are accepted as full-fledged party members in fact for many years party membership has been held by less than 3% of all adult Russians strong body is as necessary as a trained mind everyone strives hard for the highest possible achievement a source of Pride to all Russians is Moscow University it has an enrollment of 22,000 an outstanding student is exempt from military service he'll be paid by the government while studying education and culture are important to the Russian people the booy theater government supported is the scene of many ballet performances under the department of culture children may learn ballet to work hard and become a star performer can be a Russian child's dream as well as an American's but here the state controls the dancing schools and the theaters Motion Pictures radio and television are also functions of the government the average Russian is interested in art both traveling exhibitions of contemporary work and permanent museums in the Hermitage at lenrad are such masterpieces as a self-portrait by Van djk Mary Magdalene by Tian and the Priceless Madonna Lita by Leonardo da Vinci the desire for learning in culture makes reading popular so book stands are to be found everywhere the government turns out an enormous amount of printed matter in many languages including English every newspaper book and magazine must first be approved by a government agency food and soft drinks also are sold on the streets even these vendors have a government quota to meet one of the country's most popular beverages is a soft drink made from Rye grain these outdoor stands also serve as unofficial recreation centers this is goom spelled gum and meaning complete government department store located on Red Square it's the largest department store in the Soviet Union it's a series of small shops along covered arcades clothing household fixures and appliances and food are offered here in limited quantities all produced by the state the food displays are plaster and wax real food is too scarce to be used for window displays consumer demand for all merchandise far exceeds the supply we have visited the city of Moscow capital of the Soviet Union now we are going south over the Caucasus Mountains headed for the Republic of Georgia one of the republics making up the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Georgia is bordered on the west by the Black Sea on the south by turkey the capital of Georgia is the ancient city of tii once known as tifas or Tif The Hills And The Cliffs and the warm Mediterranean climate of tbli are far different from moscow's Flat terrain and cold Winters the late Joseph Stalin was once a student student at this religious Seminary the new capital building of Georgia with its contemporary Soviet architecture and the inevitable statue of lenon contrast sharply with the daily life of the Georgian people who still live much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago in Georgia as throughout Russia there are two kinds of markets the state control Market where prices are set by law no haggling or bargaining is permitted and the so-called free market such as we visit here the prices in the free market are whatever the seller can get the sellers have all produced their own Goods because it's against the law to be a middleman to buy and resell for profit is a crime strangely enough bread the single most important item in the Russian menu is not allowed to be sold to free market Market bread can be sold only at a state controlled store the average price of a loaf of bread is 1 R 12 copex the equivalent of 37 where does the Russian food come from some food is raised in all parts of the Soviet but the Republic of the Ukraine is known as the Bread Basket of the Russian people the country's agriculture is carried on at Collective Farms in the early days of Communism the government literally collected all the private Farms into huge tracks of land owned and operated by the state mechanization of the thousands of collective Farms throughout Russia has been slow most of the work is still done by horses and by manual labor Often by women with men above military age acting as supervisors younger men are usually in military service or in some other branch of government work in addition to working on the collective Farm as a government employee every Farm worker is allowed to consider as his own a piece of land a little larger than an acre whatever he raises there he may sell and keep the profits for himself after paying a tax to the state during the school year the children of the farm area go directly from school to an Agricultural Center where they learn farming methods prescribed by directives from Moscow as in the city they go to school 6 days a week moving farther south to the Crimean Peninsula we can go by train the engineers and the conductors are often women freeing men for more essential work along the North Shore of the Black Sea is the Crimean Peninsula the city of Yalta a small port on the southern tip with its moderate climate yala is the soviet's most popular vacation resort it's a busy City typical of many in the Soviet Union where the citizens are busily engaged in making their labor and production quotas there's much building underway all over the country new housing and new roads are necessary for an expanding population and to replace many outdated facilities Modern Machinery is used but much of the labor is still done by hand along the Crimean Coast are numerous castles of former royalty some of which were used for the historic yta meetings of World War II between Roosevelt Churchill and Stalin applying their trades in the manner of their forefathers without mod implements are the Craftsmen here are the knife grinder and the cobbler like all other workers they're government employees the factory workers of the Soviet are members of one of the country's trade unions they operate much like Factory Social Clubs but without the right to strike or bargain the factory management is held responsible for adequate housing for its workers the average Russian prefers an apartment to a small house with a garden that's considered oldfashioned in the larger cities elaborate hotels are provided for the tourists and the traveling delegation they offer fine facilities and feature the popular Russian food fresh caviar but many upper class City dwellers live in three and four room Apartments the rent is based on the family income almost all apartment buildings provide a playground for the children Children of the talant the mother in this family is a supervisor in the factory we visited her little girl Tasha will start to school next year Tasha's father is a captain in the Russian Navy while he's home on leave he spends much of his time listening to radio broadcast from Moscow television is not as common as in the United States the f of this typical upper class apartment appear oldfashioned to us every piece was made in the Soviet Union for dinner the family will have borch one of the Main Stays of the Russian diet borch is a cross between a heavy soup and a thin stew what goes into it depends on the season of the year the family budget and the cooks taste there are seven main varieties when the bch is done after 4 to 6 hours of slow cooking the final touch a raw egg is added Russian families seldom Eat Alone they often invite friends or relatives to Sav the borch followed in this case by a light summer meal and always the bread and sweet butter and fresh cavar are but not all Russian homes are so comfortable about one half of the people live in crowded Apartments they would be considered slums by American Standards there are usually several occupants to every room but regardless of income medical needs will be taken care of at a state operated clinic or Hospital doctors and nurses are trained by of the many of the old palaces and res have been taken by the government and converted into Vacation Resorts vacations are furnished without charge for each particular job the worker has little usually on the Black Sea taxation before to work under the quota system chess and poker our favorite pastimes if you're not a government sponsored trip accommodations may not be so good knows these vacations impossible if the had to pay his own way for the average wage is less than $100 a month after the long and severe Winters vacationers are eager for the sun Beach even though the water is seldom warm enough for comfortable swimming there's relaxing of course and maybe even an occasional bit of fishing Fitness is always uppermost in their minds when a child is attending regular school he'll spend every summer whether he likes it or not at a young Pioneers Camp part of every summer day is devoted to Recreation physical training and sports strong and healthy young people are considered essential to meet the country's Manpower shortage these are not only the men and women of tomorrow but more important they're the of tomorrow [Music] part of every summer day also is spent in political indoctrination Russian people of every age and in every phase of Life are controlled by directives from Moscow the gold domes of the Kremlin symbolize the all powerful communist government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics a