The problem of engaging the women of Kabardino-Balkaria inti industrial manufacturing in the 1920s – 1930s

Soblirova Zareta Khasanbievna PhD in History Associate Professor, Department of History of Russia of Kabardino-Balkar Republic and Journalism, Kabardino Balkarian State University 360004, Russia, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik, Chernyshevsky str., 173 zareta.soblirova@inbox.ru Other publications by this author     Kumakhova Zairat Khasanbievna PhD in History Senior Lecturer, Department of Ethnology, History the Peoples of Kabardino-Balkar Republic, and Journalism, Kabardino Balkarian State University 360004, Russia, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik, Chernyshevsky str., 173 kzaira@list.ru Other publications by this author

Tamazov Muslim Sultanovich PhD in History Docent, the fepartment of World History, Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after K. M. Berbekov 360004, Russia, respublika Kabardino-Balkariya, g. Nal'chik, ul. Chernyshevskogo, 173 muslimt@mail.ru

The post-revolutionary period in the history of the peoples of Russia is characterized by a whole complex of changes in the social structure. Among them is the involvement of women in socio-political and economic life. The Soviet government artificially created all the necessary conditions for the implementation of de facto gender equality. Gender equality was enshrined at the level of slogans and resolutions. The first decrees of the Soviet government "On work among women", "On the introduction of equal pay for equal work for men and women", "On the protection of motherhood and childhood", "On the labor protection of workers and female workers" contained legal bases that ensured the realization of equal conditions and opportunities. In the conditions of transition to large-scale economy and industry, a woman rapidly became an active builder, a participant in public life and social structure. This kind of order presupposed the mobilization of women as a unit of productive forces, as a worker engaged in social and economic production. The ambitious task of including women in public life was to introduce them not only to current ideological slogans, but also to turn them "into a socially active, but politically loyal mass" ^{[1, p. 54]}.

Achieving the declared goals in the national regions of the Soviet state was complicated by the presence of firm patriarchal foundations. The preceding historical period formed the peculiarities of the socio-cultural and mental status of women in the North Caucasus: special legal status, religiosity, subordinate position, isolation, illiteracy, her own stereotypes, etc. This is an incomplete list of obstacles faced by the Soviet government for the implementation of the policy of emancipation of the Caucasian woman.

To implement the party's gender policy, in December 1918, commissions for propaganda and agitation among women began to be created everywhere. Later, in September 1919, they were transformed into departments of party committees for work among women (women's departments). In Kabardino-Balkaria, the women's department was established in July 1922. The Soviet government stated that the main content of work among women is: raising their cultural and political level, the qualifications of women's labor, studying the issues of everyday life of workers and peasants "and participating in work to change it in the direction of freeing women from additional domestic work" ^{[6, p. 138]}. The tasks of such departments included conducting educational work among women, organizing meetings, conferences, where lectures and reports explaining women's rights were read. Measures were taken to improve the work and life of women. Clubs, houses for children, kindergartens were built. In 1922, the regional Congress of Soviets abolished kalym and polygamy. A plan was outlined to organize educational circles in the villages of Kabardino-Balkaria. For example, such a circle united 22 women in the village of Akbash in the Malo-Kabardian district ^{[8, p. 12]}. It should be noted that "women's affairs" have always been in the field of view of the printing authority of the newspaper "Karakhalk". From the pages of the newspaper, the chairman of the regional executive committee B.E. Kalmykov called on Kabardian women to take up gardening, sericulture, gardening, take care of their health, wear coats in winter, learn from neighboring women (Russians, Ukrainians) home economics and child rearing ^{[7, p. 32]}.

In May 1924, at the party congress, a report was considered "On the next tasks of the party in working among workers, peasants and workers of the East." Special attention was paid to the fight against domestic prejudice and the "liberation" of women. The legislative work had to be carried out with careful consideration of local conditions and opportunities. One of the tasks was to involve women in production "in every possible way to raise the qualifications of female workers in order to consolidate them in production" ^{[6, p. 332]}. The organizations of Kabardino-Balkaria, with their characteristic promptness, directed their efforts to fulfill the tasks of the party. All this was accompanied by a powerful propaganda campaign and loud slogans. The absence of industrial production, urban population and the working class predetermined the specifics of the work of women's organizers. "We had to take into account that in the local peasant environment, the tasks of raising wages for women, ensuring the right to work, granting women the right to vote, access to education, etc., characteristic of the women's labor movement, were largely abstract concepts" ^{[10, p. 306]}.

Industrial construction in Kabardino-Balkaria had its own peculiarities. With a large economic potential, the region was characterized by an extremely low level of development. The industry was represented by home handicraft and semi-handicraft production. Before the revolution, there were only 413 semi-industrial enterprises on the territory of the republic (watermills, brick-tile, lime factories, etc.), and the number of people employed in production was 764 people ^{[17, p. 81]}. Women's participation in domestic production and crafts was not allowed, with the exception of women from poor families. The main types of occupations for women were felt, borage and cloth production. The number of women employed in domestic crafts could not be restored.

In planning the development of the productive forces of agriculture and industry in Kabardino-Balkaria, the historical, ethnographic and economic survey of the region by a group of scientists from Moscow was of great importance. The result was the construction of large facilities, including the Nalchik Hydro Turbine Plant, the Malo-Kabardian irrigation canal, the Baksan hydroelectric power station, the Tyrnyauz tungsten-molybdenum combine, etc. Many medium and small enterprises were built – flour mills, blacksmithing and mechanical workshops, brick and tile factories, woodworking plants, oil mills and fruit and vegetable dryers. The lack of national workforce has become a serious problem. "The bulk of skilled workers were recruited in the industrial areas of Central Russia. However, there were not enough such migrants even for construction work, so the issue of training workers from local nationalities was acute" ^{[3, p. 59]}.

Large-scale industrial construction for the republic in the early 1920s affected the women of Kabardino-Balkaria. Women's labor was used in industries that do not require high qualifications. Most women were familiar with such work, and the main condition for the start of production was her "liberation" from everyday life and economy. For this purpose, a workshop club was opened in Nalchik, where 33 women were engaged. They made stockings, socks, sweaters, which came true through cooperation. The quality of the manufactured products was quite high and there was a stable demand. At the club, needlework, sewing, cutting circles, a circle on maternity protection, on the elimination of illiteracy were organized. The club played an important role in the training of female workers for the Nalchik garment factory. In 1924, 159 women worked at the factories ^{[11, l. 23]}. So, 150 women worked in the Goryanka artel in Nalchik in 1925. A number of handicraft enterprises were established in the villages of Nartan, Aushiger, Baksanenok, Lesken II, etc. These are knitting workshops, schools of cutting and sewing, drilling and felting workshops ^{[11, l. 169]}.

The success of women's involvement in social production was associated with their participation in party and political work. In 1925, 489 women took part in the elections to the soviets, 105 were elected ^[4]. In the same year, 547 women became members of the trade union. They took care of labor protection and women's health, conducted educational conversations. It should be borne in mind that most of the active women were directly or indirectly connected with social activities. These were relatives (wives, sisters, nieces, etc.) of party workers who were the first to feel the social changes.

It is worth noting that the success of women's participation in industrial production largely depended on the establishment of their training system. Especially for women in the villages began to open points for the elimination of illiteracy. They were involved in the "Down with Illiteracy" society. So, in 1925, there were 15 literacy centers in the region specifically for women, which covered about 400 women. Women were educated at the Leninsky educational campus and at universities outside the republic.

The involvement of Kabardino-Balkarian women in the committees of peasant public mutual assistance (KKOVs and cooperation) was successfully carried out. In 1924 there were only 34 women on the boards of the CCAs, and in 1928 there were 163 of them. In five rural societies, the chairmen were women ^{[16, L. 64]}. In addition, these public organizations carried out independent work on the emancipation of women, in particular, "mutual aid committees singled out a responsible employee from their composition with the right to attract women to work" ^{[2, p. 80]}. The committees helped in the construction of literacy centers, schools, clubs, hot springs, opened women's workshops in different districts.

In 1926, the executive committee of Kabardino-Balkaria opened a commission for the improvement of women's work and life, which discussed the issues of women's liberation from daily routine work and the construction of specialized institutions for children. In 1928 alone, the commission organized 30 playgrounds and 14 kindergartens ^{[12, p. 19]}.

The socio-political activity of the mountain woman caused opposition from conservative men and representatives of the religious clergy. There were cases of beatings and even murders of women on the basis of their social activities, facts of secret payment of kalym, stealing brides and much more. The newspaper "Karakhalk" reported on the case of the murder of her own sister, who refused to leave her communist husband ^[5]. In Urvan and Nagorny districts, the list of female students of the educational center was crossed out and various inscriptions were made. Anti-Soviet indignation among the masses was great, and many women refused to send their children to a nursery, avoided visiting educational centers, hospitals.

In April 1929, the VIII Regional Congress of Councils of Kabardino-Balkaria proposed to highlight the issue of women's involvement in all branches of the management, management and control apparatus. To do this, it was decided to develop the sewing and knitting business with the organization of special schools. In addition, it was proposed to include women in other industries.

In the early 30s, the construction of timber processing plants, an iron foundry, shoe, knitting and sewing factories (a total of 44 industrial enterprises) continued at an accelerated pace. The number of women employed in production has increased significantly, so if in 1930 their number was 124, then at the end of 1931 – 365 ^{[15, l. 8]}. In 1933, 265 women were involved in the industry of Kabardino-Balkaria. Handicraft and craft artels united 240 women (14.7% of all members of artels) ^{[15, L. 8]}. By 1933, the number of women in industry reached 4,377 people. For the convenience of women, training was carried out directly at the workplace, as well as at various courses and clubs.

More responsible and serious types of industrial production required highly qualified specialists. The Kabardino-Balkarian regional party committee conducted continuous work on the selection of girls to study outside the republic. In 1933, 254 women and girls were sent to study outside the republic. In universities and labor departments outside the republic, 165 students were preparing to replenish the working staff. The educational programs of Kabardino-Balkaria have already covered 3,386 women ^{[14, L. 5]}.

An important help was the successful operation of playgrounds. In 1931, there were 61 playgrounds in the region with coverage of 3,200 children and 48 nurseries, with the number of children 1,713 ^{[15, L. 19]}. In 1937, 93 kindergartens with a total of 3,432 children were functioning in the republic ^[9]. Of great importance was the improvement of medical care for the population, especially women and children. The number of women seeking medical help has been growing every year.

The result of this work was a noticeable increase in the activity of women in the political sphere. In 1929, there were 1,158 women in city and village councils, 98 of whom were members of the presidium, and 12 were chairmen of village councils. In 1930, there were 88 women in 106 village councils ^{[16, L. 10]}. In 1937, about 2 thousand women worked in the councils of the republic. Of these, 68 were deputy chairmen of village councils, 56 were deputy chairmen of district executive committees, 7 were deputy chairmen of district executive committees. The names of N. Kishukova, A. Kazharova, M. Dottueva, H. Atakueva became known. In 1939, two women of the republic became deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, 15 – deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, 58 deputies of city councils, 94 – district councils, 987 – village councils ^{[18, p. 66]}.

The success of individual women in the workplace was noted on the pages of the periodical press. The work of N. Kyarova was noted at the garment factory in Nalchik, the confectionery factory was proud of K. Martokova, the names of a female electrician T. Batekova, a worker of the Meat Processing Plant G. Zhanaskhanova were known ^{[18, p. 66]}.

Russian women activists provided great help in educating Kabardians and Balkars. The first schools, children's institutions, outpatient clinics in the villages appeared with their active participation. In their memoirs, many Kabardians and Balkars remembered their names with gratitude. By the end of the 1930s Kabardinki and Balkarki acquired the professions of teachers, educators, librarians, doctors.

Thus, in a short period of time, there has been an unprecedented increase in the political, cultural, and economic activity of women in Kabardino-Balkaria. Participation in industrial production and social life became a way of mastering the new Soviet space in all respects. For the first time, the rights of hot-blooded women were legislated. The accelerated development of industry and the acute shortage of national workers contributed to the beginning of the process of mass involvement of women in public and public-industrial life. At the same time, the formation of household and cultural infrastructure was underway, which undoubtedly strengthened the positive dynamics in the implementation of the gender equality plan outlined by the Soviet state.