The experience of implementing Soviet policies of assimilation of national minorities: application in contemporary public administration

Full Text

Introduction The Russian public administration system has repeatedly undergone historical changes, including in the implementation of national policy. Being a multinational country, it is important for the Russian Federation to maintain internal stability and prevent ethnic strife. Meanwhile, conflict problems exist and require immediate resolution. From the point of view of the modern development of interethnic relations within the Russian Federation and the socialization of several national minorities, it is important to consider the experience of the early Soviet state, which, starting in 1924, pursued a policy of rooting out the peoples of the USSR. The aim of the study is to analyze and evaluate the positive experience of public administration of national policy in the early USSR and its application in managing the socialization of national minorities. Theoretical and methodological basis of the research The problem of socialization of some national minorities is becoming relevant and topical today. The main sources of the research were archival materials of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, statistical data, scientific articles and modern documents. This topic was covered by some authors in the early 2000s. The works devoted to the history of socialization management mechanisms by N.F. Bugai [1], A.P. Kilina [2], and A.A. Gutsalov [3] are of interest. The problems of socialization of Roma communities were analyzed in the works of N.G. Demeter [4], A.I. Kovaleva [5], as well as young authors O.I. Gudenkova [6], E.A. Mikhailova [7]. However, we suppose that the possibility of translating the Soviet experience into a modern management system for the socialization of national minorities has not been analyzed by the scientific community. The author uses methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis of sources and statistics, as well as methods of interviews conducted in the period from 1979 to 2015. The author reveals historical experience and examines its application in the modern system of public administration of the socialization of national minorities. Results In this article, the author examines the experience of socialization of Roma communities during the Soviet period. The author focuses on the Roma people primarily because the situation in compact Roma settlements has recently deteriorated significantly [8]. In general, the experience of the indigenization of small nations was very successful, although the ultimate goals were changed by state policy in the face of the military threat, the main tasks were fulfilled - by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), the majority of national minorities had acquired the most important features of Soviet citizens: literacy, collectivism, patriotism. The result of this policy was the socialization of various small peoples of the USSR: Buryats, Evenks, Yakuts, Gypsies, small peoples of Central Asia, etc. According to the results of the censuses of 1926 and 1939, significant progress was achieved in one of the main tasks - education. According to the 1926 census, the literate population in the USSR was only 55.5%, and by 1930 it was already 67.3%. In the national suburbs, for example, in Tajikistan, it was 2.2%, and by 1930 it was already 8.7%. Before 1926, there were only 72 literate Chukchi1, a quarter of a century later, over 80 schools were operating in Chukotka2. Among the Gypsies in the USSR in 1926, there were 5,076 literate people, or 8.3%3, аs a result of this policy, the number of literate representatives of the population increased by almost 2 times by 1939 [9]. Translating this experience into the state of modern Russian national policy, the author wants to draw attention to the situation with Romani compact settlements, which requires increased attention from the authorities. Having withdrawn from solving social problems in the 90s, the state left it to the citizens to decide their own fate. And in a matter of years, many of the achievements of the USSR were lost. Economic crisis, social and economic competition, crime, negative attitudes aggravated the already precarious economic situation of the Roma communities. The majority of the Roma population of the Russian Federation is indigenous. Most of it has been living on the territory of modern Russia since the 16th century, and in the southern regions since the 14th century [10]. Before the Second World War, the Gypsies of the Russian Federation were considered a small indigenous people of the country. During the Second World War in the western and southern territories, the Roma population suffered huge losses because of the fascist genocide. Therefore, the old-time Gypsy population, which was based on Russian Gypsies (Ruska Roma), had greatly decreased by the 50s. However, after the end of the Second World War, Gypsies from Eastern Europe began to move to USSR en masse4. Especially numerous were the settlers from Romania, the Kotlyars, who, as a result of centuries of slavery, were an extremely closed society and very poorly socialized even during Soviet times. Representatives of the 8 largest ethnic Roma groups live on the territory of the Russian Federation, which are very different from each other [10]. Therefore, the national composition of the Roma population of the Russian Federation is very heterogeneous. The most socialized groups in society are Gypsies: Russka Roma, Sarva, Krymore, Kishinevtsy, Lovare and Lotva. The Vlachs and Kotliare are the least socialized, coming from Romania and Moldova. It is worth noting that Gypsies of different ethnic groups often do not communicate with each other5, their disunity is a great obstacle to interaction, making them socially vulnerable. Returning to the historical experience of the early Soviet government, it can be stated that not all Gypsies in the 1920s had Soviet citizenship, and there were also migrants from Hungary and Romania. Most of them were engaged in contract work and trade. So the Kotlyars traveled all over the country in search of work: to factories in Vladivostok, to mines in the taiga, and created workers’ artels in cities [11]. And the authorities went to meet them in this. Old-time Gypsies who lived in large cities also joined together in artels. The plans of the artels were set high, but, according to the reports of the Central Election Commission, they successfully coped with them [12]. Rural and nomadic gypsies united into collective farms6. Collective farm movements were particularly successful in the Krasnodar Territory and in the Smolensk Region, where collective farms were led by Romani communist activists I.P. Tokmakov and M. Bezlyudsky. There were also failed projects. The main reason for the failures, Roma activists pointed out: the formal attitude of local authorities and even the sabotage of directives from the center, which manifested themselves in the allocation of land unsuitable for agriculture for the Roma, the lack of housing and assistance in its construction, the allocation of broken equipment and sick livestock, and most importantly the lack of mentoring in a new type of activity for the Roma population [13]. The successful experience was those farms where the local authorities approached citizens who wanted to embark on a new life path with understanding, responsibility and care. Historical experience shows that Gypsies flocked en masse to where government agencies dealt with them, rather than being abandoned to their fate. By the beginning of the Second World War, there were more than 50 Gypsy collective farms in the USSR. The leader was the Smolensk Region, with 25 collective farms, 9 of which were advanced7. The production activities of the Roma population, who worked on most Soviet construction projects and participated in the construction of the Moscow Metro, were no less successful. In Moscow, more than 200 Gypsies worked in factories, and 30% of them were women [12]. It is noteworthy that many workers who had no housing lived in their tents right in the squares next to their place of work. Later, they were allocated barracks to live in. Gypsies worked in national artels, procurement offices, repair shops, and other enterprises. By the beginning of the Second World War, most of the old-time Gypsy population was a patriotic, well-educated part of Soviet society, which, together with all the citizens of USSR, stood up for the defense of their Homeland. The author notes several important mechanisms of public administration in the early Soviet period. First, the young Soviet government did not consider the Gypsies as marginals and treated Gypsies as people who required empathy and understanding to help them change their lives for the better. The Soviet government used the following socialization mechanisms: prohibitive measures (it was forbidden to have horses on the farm8); stimulating (loans, housing, rural allocation of land9, equipment and livestock); agitation and propaganda10 (explanation of a better quality of life, permanent earnings and other benefits); motivational (incentives, awards, status enhancement); cultural and educational11 (involvement in creative activities, education); upbringing of children (children were sent to boarding schools and taught literacy and work). First, the success consisted in the interest of the authorities to socialize the Roma communities. For this purpose, not only goals and objectives were set, controlled by the party organs, but also budgetary funds were allocated. The second important condition is the formation of national public cadres and movements. There was massive propaganda work among the Gypsies about getting involved in a better life. Gypsies were also involved in political organizations such as the VKPb and the Komsomol. Thirdly, there was a struggle against nationalist manifestations on the ground, which also took place. Manifestations of discrimination and chauvinism were sharply suppressed, and criminal cases were initiated. Fourth, great attention was paid to education. During the period of Korenization, a Gypsy dictionary was created, printed publications and textbooks in the Gypsy language were published. This fact contributed to the fact that many Roma began to send their children to schools. Teachers at these schools were also trained from among young Roma activists. Therefore, the issue of personnel was in an important place - and this is the fifth condition. As a result of the policy pursued by the Soviet government in the 1920-1930s, each district center had not only Gypsy production enterprises, but also schools, boarding schools, orphanages, clubs, theaters, and creative houses. By the early 1940s, the majority of Gypsies living in cities and rural areas had incomplete secondary education. Many had secondary specialized and technical education. Some are higher education. And most importantly, the former nomads began to feel like full-fledged and full-fledged members of Soviet society. These people and their children, whom they also tried to educate, created a solid industrial base for the country’s Gypsy population after the Second World War, as well as the foundation of the creative Gypsy intelligentsia. The Second World War destroyed much of what had been achieved in terms of the socialization of the Roma population. The western part of the USSR and the Roma population of these regions suffered the most. Roma survivors of the genocide, many lost their homes and jobs and were forced to travel the country again in search of earnings. In the Smolensk region, part of the collective farms was restored. The Gypsies who returned from the front worked in enterprises, agriculture, and labor camps. In large cities, the employment situation after the war was stable, as there were not enough workers, and most Roma were employed. However, the situation was complicated by the fact that people lost their homes, and as mentioned above, they were forced to lead a nomadic lifestyle, engaging, as before the revolution, mainly in contract work, trade and crafts 12. To these war-deprived Soviet citizens, immigrants from abroad were added, and by the 1950s the situation began to spiral out of control. The impoverishment of any segment of the population contributes to its rapid marginalization and criminalization, which was noted in the reports of the Ministry of Internal Affairs13. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 5-1 of October 5, 1956 “On the initiation of Gypsies engaged in vagrancy”14 It was decided to forcibly lay siege to the wandering Gypsies, and in those places where the decree found them. The law did not just oblige Gypsies to settle on the land. Local authorities were ordered to provide housing, loans for the construction of houses, land and jobs for the Roma. In those cities where local leaders approached the issue responsibly, the transition to settlement took place normally. The Gypsy elders of the Kotlyarov group gratefully recalled that they were given contracts and helped to build houses. In Tula, for example, where 4 camps settled, 4 blacksmithing artels were created, which received a state order for the manufacture of forged fences for the Central Military District15. Many Gypsies worked on state farms. The Central Asian Gypsies of Lyuli, who are in another country, longingly recall Soviet times: they all worked on collective farms, lived well, received regular salaries, had cars, and now they beg and collect metal [14]. By the end of the 1980s, the majority of Gypsies in the USSR had almost completely assimilated into Soviet society. There was a high level of education among the Soviet Gypsies. Many had specialized secondary humanitarian and technical education in a wide variety of fields. There were scientists among the Gypsies, not to mention cultural figures. Soviet Gypsies worked in all areas of the economy and were practically indistinguishable from other citizens. All this was facilitated by the policy of great-power internationalism pursued by the Soviet government [15]. The majority of Soviet citizens did not try to self-define themselves on the basis of nationality, but considered themselves to be a single Soviet people. All the above facts refute the prevailing stereotypes that all Gypsies are completely marginalized, parasites, dependents, and even drug traffickers. On the contrary, historical facts show that the majority of Gypsies in the USSR were hard workers. This achievement of Soviet power was destroyed with the collapse of the USSR. The new state has withdrawn from solving many social problems. In the 1990s, there were so many problems in the country that the authorities were not interested in Roma minorities. The entire economy was collapsing, collective farms, state farms, and enterprises where many Soviet citizens, including Gypsies, worked, were closed. In the Smolensk region, veterans said that when staff was cut, Gypsies were the first to be fired, even despite their hard work16. In other words, discrimination processes have begun. Left behind by the economy, people were left on their own. The economic stratification of the masses has intensified the process of marginalization and criminalization of the population. Gypsies were no exception [16]. Moreover, they were not always well versed in the new laws, and they became the ones who could be blamed for almost any crime. Youth movements ceased to exist in the 1990s. Teenagers joined criminal groups and gypsies as well. In large cities, the situation was more manageable. But irreversible processes have begun in the regions and in rural areas [17]. People who are used to the fact that the authorities take care of them have lost confidence in the authorities, and Gypsies, too. Even though the majority of Gypsies in the Russian Federation still continued to work at various enterprises and began to develop their businesses, in the early 2000s a generally negative image of Gypsies has emerged in the Russian information field. This did not contribute to the socialization of densely populated communities, whose population, given the traditionally high birth rate, was rapidly increasing and becoming impoverished. During this period, a huge stratum of the country’s Roma population simply dropped out of the field of public administration. There were entire villages of residents who did not even have birth certificates and passports17. The general situation with interethnic relations began to deteriorate. Since the local government authorities practically did not deal with the Roma population, the situation was catastrophic in some areas of compact residence, which was repeatedly covered in the media. It was only when the nationalist clashes began that the authorities noticed their shortcomings and began to take emergency measures to remedy the situation. In recent years, the following mechanisms have been implemented in the public administration system in the field of national policy in relation to densely populated Roma communities: · In 2013, a comprehensive action plan for the socio-economic and ethno-cultural development of Russian Gypsies was approved. It included a program for the education of Roma children. However, it had a limited duration and ended in 2015. The main problem with the implementation of the plan was the lack of budget financing. · In 2019, the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs has approved a Comprehensive action Plan for the socio-economic and Ethno-cultural development of the Roma in the Russian Federation (No. 2738p-P44 dated March 27, 2019). The document defines the key areas of socio-economic and cultural development of the Roma communities, as well as their socialization into Russian society. In general, the implementation of this plan continues. However, the targets are not defined by the plan. There is not enough statistical data. Most statistics are available from the Interior Ministry and are encouraging. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, only 3% of Russian Gypsies are involved in crime18. According to the Federal National Cultural Autonomy of the Roma of the Russian Federation, at least 26 Roma public organizations operate in 23 regions of the country. All of them interact with the authorities. However, this is not enough yet, as the Ministry of Internal Affairs has identified 7,129 compact places of residence for Gypsies in the Russian Federation19. Consequently, the existing public associations are not able to reach the entire mass of the Roma population. There is no unity and complete interaction between these public organizations either. There are also no complete statistics on how many Gypsies live on the territory of the Russian Federation20. The 2020 census data is imprecise, because due to the negative image of Gypsies, many of them began to hide their nationality. There are also no statistics on the sectors where Roma work and on their level of education. There are separate scientific papers in this area [18]. But the biggest problem remains education. There are no statistics on the number of schools where Roma children study and the number of Roma children enrolled in them. Partial FADN studies have shown that the educational situation of Roma children in compact settlements continues to deteriorate21. This problem is being solved today mainly by charitable organizations and individual teachers22. However, the experience of their successful activities is not transferred to other educational institutions where Roma children study. According to the author, the problems are related to the lack of consistency in public administration in this area. Grant-based project financing mechanisms are mainly used, but systematic work and the allocation of appropriate budgetary funds are required. The national policy of the state should include not only goals and objectives, but also a set of interrelated mechanisms to achieve these goals. The main objectives of socialization of the country’s population are: · improving the educational and cultural level of citizens; · legal employment and payment of all taxes; · Participation in the public life of the country or the local community; · full integration into modern Russian society. The socialization of any member of society implies: equal rights for all members of society; equal level of education and employment; equal status of all citizens, respect for their personality and dignity; ensuring a decent standard of living [5]. In many respects, the current situation with the compact Roma population in the country is unsatisfactory. According to the author, in order to change the current situation, it is necessary to carefully study the experience of the Soviet management system for working with small nations and introduce them into modern practice. 1. The main goal is to solve the problem of children’s education. In the early years of Soviet rule, boarding schools and orphanages were established, where Roma children were taught literacy and labor, and new citizens were raised. It is necessary to return the system of compulsory lower secondary education for Gypsies, possibly boarding schools. Payments of benefits to citizens with many children should be linked to these responsibilities - it is mandatory to send children to schools. On the other hand, children from poor families need to be provided with everything necessary for education at the expense of the state: uniforms and clothes. There are many different charitable organizations in the country that can help in solving these problems. 2. An important condition is personnel. The great educational success of the USSR was that in a short time the national pedagogical staff was trained. Children are better able to trust their teachers, especially if they have already experienced harassment or discrimination based on nationality. There is more trust in national teachers. This is important for elementary schools. During the Soviet era, a Gypsy pedagogical college was opened in Moscow and pedagogical colleges in other cities that trained teachers for national schools and classrooms. There is a human resource potential among educated Roma youth in Russia, which can be used to train primary school teachers for those schools where many Roma children study. There are teachers of other nationalities who have specially studied the Gypsy language to teach children. But there are few of them. Pedagogical courses should be organized for educated Roma youth and specialists should be trained for primary schools. It is also important to motivate them: to provide housing, to provide decent salaries. But first, it is necessary to study the needs for the number of such specialists. In other words, there should be statistics not only on compact Roma settlements, but also on the number of children in these settlements of different age groups. To date, there are no such statistics. 3. Professional training and employment are the final stage of socialization. And if the first part of it is partially solved, then the second part lies entirely in the plane of public administration. Many enterprises and organizations categorically refuse to employ citizens of the Roma nationality23. This is discrimination based on nationality. Public authorities should tighten measures of responsibility for violations of citizens’ rights to employment. There is a shortage of workers in various professions in the country. Working Gypsies work in agriculture and other industries no worse than all other citizens. Once upon a time, Gypsies were organized into artels, invited to factories to repair equipment. Today, it would also be possible to use their collective labor, for example, in construction and manufacturing. There are many welders among the Gypsies, who are so lacking in factories. In any case, an administrative resource is required to solve employment problems. 4. The main problems in the implementation of the program for the adaptation of the Roma population are that the socialization targets do not contain specific figures. Local administrations should report not only on the number of cultural and patriotic events that are successfully implemented. But also in terms of the number of children enrolled in schools and graduating from it, at least incomplete secondary education, because not all children graduate from school with a certificate; in terms of the number of those who have received secondary and specialized secondary education, various professions; according to the number of employed citizens of Gypsy nationality, etc. 5. An important direction in the socialization of compact settlements is the unbundling of ethnic enclaves. During the Soviet period, large families were provided with apartments and even separate houses. Today, the Russian Federation has mechanisms for providing housing for large families. There are separate projects for the provision of land plots and individual houses. In some regions, they began to provide housing to Roma families with many children, which caused a wave of indignation among residents. It is necessary to work with residents to clarify that certificates are issued to large families, regardless of nationality. And having many children is the main criterion in this case. But it is necessary to introduce a reverse responsibility for the upbringing of these children. As mentioned above. It is important to prevent manipulation of social assistance and introduce strict control mechanisms. 6. An important task is to overcome the stereotypes prevailing in society regarding the Roma. Meanwhile, many public Roma organizations are actively helping the participants of SVO, regularly collecting humanitarian aid. Among the Gypsies, there are both combatants and KIA. Not only art festivals are held, but also patriotic events dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. All this needs to be popularized to overcome the negative image of Gypsies. It is necessary to work with the local population to stop discriminatory attacks, especially nationalistic ones, to foster mutual respect among citizens. For this goal, it is justified to organize various joint events. Then the trust of the small people in both the government and the surrounding population will be restored, and more Roma citizens will become full-fledged and responsible members of the society. Conclusion After analyzing the historical experience and modern policy of socialization of the Roma communities, the author came to the following conclusions: · the majority of Gypsies of the Russian Federation, contrary to the prevailing stereotype, have not led a parasitic lifestyle for a long time, but were constantly looking for a living, hiring themselves for a variety of jobs; · the early Soviet experience showed the willingness and ability of various Roma groups to work collectively and strive for a normal lifestyle; · the mechanisms of state management of the socialization of national minorities of the Soviet period should be used as an example of successful historical experience in the implementation of current problems with compact Roma settlements.

About the authors

Anna Yu. Anfimova

Moscow International University

Author for correspondence.
Email: ladyannstyle@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4402-8323
SPIN-code: 1087-8197

Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Management

17 Leningradsky Ave, Moscow, 125040, Russian Federation

References

Supplementary files