So, friends — today will be a great and interesting post about Soviet childhood. I have already talked in detail about the household items of the Soviet childhood (be sure to read this post who have not seen yet) — but today I want to look at this issue from another, unexpected perspective. If you put together all the details of the children’s Soviet life, including cartoons, kindergarten drill, the attitude to children in clinics and in General to perform the methods of Soviet education — it appears that childhood as such in the USSR did not exist.
This idea at first glance seems paradoxical, but the farther you read my post — the more you confirm that I’m right. The Soviet system since the days of Lenin and Stalin’s goal was not the happiness of the people, not the value of each individual’s unique personality, and some ephemeral fascist dreams about an ideal society, where there is always the sun will Shine and everyone will live in a free five-room apartments. The people of the Soviet system was considered only as a building material for those who will live after. The skin of your teeth, to burn, to give himself for the sake of future generations in the USSR was considered something honorable and right.
Children and childhood of the Soviet system was regarded not as a value in itself, but only as a regrettable period of helplessness before a person becomes self-sufficient military and labor unit. All Soviet cartoons, the whole Soviet culture actually built on that and as soon as possible to blind child, an adult, with adult emotions and reactions. And in today’s post I will speak about in detail.
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Ant Ferda and small adults.
In the Soviet years, was incredibly popular book of Czech writer and artist ondřej Sekora about the ant perdu. The book is in a veiled form describes Soviet fantasy of a perfect socialist society — in the sky sun shines constantly, all smiles, working and not ask a lot of questions, building a perfect anthill. There are still enemies — “slave-atroari” to the war with which the nest is constantly being prepared.
Civil Society in the anthill does not exist — there are no elections, the orders themselves come from above, rulers separated from simple ants invisible wall, power seems to be undisputed and are set by nature. What else is interesting — nest is constantly prepared to defend themselves from the “slave-of urocarb”, but in the end, he attacks them, telling about the liberation war. In General, the book describes the scoop in its purest crystallized form.
And here in this book is a very interesting point — children and childhood in this “ideal Soviet ant society” does not exist. Ants are born first in the form of larvae — then as if nursery is meant the age of a person at the age of 1-3 years and then they pupate and later transform immediately into an adult ready. Unwittingly, ondřej Sekora has described and denounced the Soviet approach to childhood — for the scoops it would not exist, would be better if the child were born ready a worker or a soldier, but if this cannot be done, then we will treat him like an adult. This approach to children and childhood existed throughout the Soviet era.
The Soviet cartoons. Embarrassing childhood.
And now let’s examine the so-called “Soviet cartoons” — which a lot of people with a strange nostalgia I continue to love. Once I have examined in detail Soviet animation — be sure to read this post, but in today’s context, we wonder more.
If you study Soviet animation, you will come to a paradoxical conclusion — in the Soviet cartoons no children. That is — there are none at all. In the majority of Soviet cartoons are not children with children’s desires, aspirations, with the child’s perception of the world and childish mistakes — in the Soviet cartoons are little adults. Warring with the “damned bourgeois” malchish-Kibalchish, leave home, Cindy, living a fully Autonomous life of the Kid “Carlson”, strict and not for years considered Natasha from “Domovenka Kuzi” — and you easily find dozens of similar examples. It is not children, but adults with adult thoughts and actions.
In the Soviet cartoons are constantly forced upon the idea that to be a child — ashamed. Naughty ashamed, ashamed to laugh out loud and rush the streets, it is a shame to accidentally break the window of the ball — to be a child shame on you, boy. You have from the cradle to the dream of Communism. To maintain this idea, the authors of Soviet cartoons used the technique of splitting — all childish pranks and sins “meant” in individual character, which was sort of separated from the hero-child. Shalit is not Pavlik, but Kaprizka. Shalit is not Faith, but a monkey of Anfisa. Bullies are not the wolf, and the parrot Kesha, naughty Natasha, and domovenok Kuzya.
In General innocent children’s entertainments were exhibited in an extremely bad light — often at the end of these cartoons around, the delinquent child was going in a bunch of tall adults and a policeman, too, leaned over him and began to peck their Soviet morality. From viewing such cartoons in children remained a residue that drew a very bad feeling — a sense of guilt for the child. Guilt for the fact that he is not the same as adults, not as feeling and not as the world sees, does not want to build Communism and just wants to run through puddles and laughing. It is very embarrassing. Please forgive me, dear adults…
Pioneers and Octobrists. Propaganda.
In addition to books, cartoons and other cultural models, the children tightly undertook all sorts of “October and of the pioneer organization” in the literal sense of the word already from the early school years forcing children to be little adults. In the USSR it call different euphemisms like “preparation for adulthood” or “training to work”, but in fact children are simply deprived of the right to be a child.
Already in early childhood children poured into the ears of the Soviet propaganda stories about how the ever-living grandfather Lenin did all free, that we live in the best country in the world under the Kremlin leadership that our Party cares about us like no one else in the world. Crazed seven-year-old children listened to stories about the pillboxes and bunkers, hidden in the woods, machine gun nests, about how Soviet snipers shoot straight in the head, between the eyes and in the neck, the hanging of the Decembrists, about how damn the tsarist government shot people in the squares and how the Germans shouted, getting out of a burning tank near Stalingrad.
Along with this propaganda indoctrination of children already very early age began to teach a free work — calling of all kinds of waste paper fees, free work in the gardens and in school “public Affairs”. Children were taught to believe that he is not a child — and labor unit, just for some annoying prichny yet small. Children are constantly brought in examples of other children who almost from birth to behave like little adults — in the seven years up to the machine in ten years, drove a car, and in the thirteen years left to fight. No one talked about that kind of abnormal situation, it should not be — the child needs to live a normal childhood. And such distortion was in the whole Soviet attitude towards children.
The dead inner children. Afterword.
Modern courses and training in psychology talking about how important it is to keep in touch with my inner child and childish, and a fresh view of the world, the ability to wonder and enjoy the little things, the ability to smile at people just because you want to smile. I think last but not least, these trainings were so popular in former Soviet Union countries among adults, which in the USSR was killed inner child.
Soviet children from early childhood tried to make adults and quickly shove tarpaulin boots in the “beautiful far”, but when it came to beautiful far — it turned out that to live in it not so fun. And it turned out that in this future there are no adults — only people who wear their inner child, and for many, this child has long been dead…
Such cases.
Write in the comments what you think about all this, I wonder.
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