Impacts of the great October revolution
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THE Soviet educational system stemmed from the Great October Socialist Revolution. `Land, Peace and Bread’ were the clarion slogans which inspired the workers, peasants, soldiers and toiling masses into the revolutionary upsurge. After the revolution, the Bolshevik government underlined the importance of laying a strong educational foundation for the building of socialism. It was more so in view of the fact that Russia had less developed productive forces in comparison to most of the other European countries.
Before revolution, the educational level of Tsarist Russia was deplorable. Four-fifth of children of school age in Russia were not attending schools in those times. Most of those who could gain admission were getting only elementary education.
Lenin, in 1913, wrote angrily: “There is no other country so barbarous and in which the masses of the people are robbed to such an extent of education, light and knowledge – no other such country has remained in Europe; Russia is the exception”.
For many of over one hundred nationalities and ethnic groups in Tsarist Russia, total illiteracy was the fate and there were very few exceptions. Many languages did not have even a script. Only 2.3 percent of population of Tajikistan, between the age group of 9 to 50, were literate! The figures for Kirghizia was 3.1 percent and Turkmenia was 7.8 percent.