The financial position of students in the early Soviet period

We consider the financial situation of students of Soviet universities in the 1920s. The relevance of the study is due to the growing interest in the history of everyday life, in particular, soviet students in the 1920s. The main approaches to the study of this problem are the theories of psychological development, life world and social interaction. In the first decade after the October Revolution, a reform of higher education was carried out, in which the proletarian students were supposed to play the leading role, therefore, since 1918, financial assistance was provided to needy students (scholarships, rations, provision of places in hostels, etc.). However, in the realities of social and economic upheavals, with an annual increase in the number of young students, the state could not afford to provide even the minimum needs of students. During the New Economic Policy period, the material situation of the majority of students deteriorated sharply, since students rarely had support from their parents, paid for their studies, housing, food and household needs. The research is mainly based on students’ letters “to power”, which reflect a wide everyday and emotional spectrum: moods, feelings, attitudes towards power and mentality; problems faced by students as a result of the transformation of education and the state.

student, material support, scholarship, dormitory, higher school, Soviet authority