Solving the Problems of Childhood Neglect and Homelessness through the social Policy of the USSR 1936-1953 (based on the materials of the Baikal region)

The social policy of the state is always aimed at improving the life of the population of the country. Its main task is to combat antisocial phenomena that threaten the well-being of citizens. A striking example of such phenomena in society is neglect and homelessness in the child and adolescent environment.

This problem does not lose its relevance in modern times: every year in Russia questions are raised about the effectiveness of the implementation of social and law enforcement measures against child deviation and offenses, and there is an active search for new ways to support children left without parental care. The USSR in the 1930s and 1950s managed to develop a whole system of mechanisms aimed at combating homelessness. The experience of implementing the social policy of the Soviet state can in many ways be applied in solving issues of ensuring the rights and freedoms of children in modern Russia.

It is worth noting that homelessness should be understood as the absence of a permanent place of residence for children, as well as family or state care and the provision of systematic educational influences. Such a condition of a child can be established in connection with the loss of parents, or with the loss of communication with relatives or as a result of flight from a specialized educational institution. A minor who has no control over his behavior on the part of his parents or legal representatives due to improper performance of duties on the part of the listed persons is considered to be neglected. Such social problems as neglect and homelessness pose a danger to society and, in particular, to the younger generation. Homelessness and neglect generate an increase in juvenile delinquency, lack of discipline and a tendency to deviation in children, which in itself negatively affects the development of the individual and society as a whole.

The study of the issues of homeless childhood in historiography is not a new issue. More and more authors turn to the regional practice of applying measures of social protection of childhood, revealing new details of the implementation of the policy regarding children left without parental care, as well as children whose parents did not pay due attention to their upbringing. As part of the study of the fight against child homelessness and neglect in the USSR in 1930-1950, the works of such authors as L. V. Akimov ^[1], S. M. Emelin ^[2], A. A. Slavko ^[3], A. F. Trunova ^[4], S. P. Shatilov ^[5] deserve attention. These authors focus on the socio-historical aspect of the subject under study, as well as on participation in the fight against homelessness of law enforcement agencies and young people from the Komsomol. A special place is occupied in the analysis of homelessness and neglect during the Great Patriotic War.

Considering the social policy of the USSR, researchers note the presence of specifics of the implementation of measures in certain regions. In Eastern Siberia, the Baikal region can be geographically distinguished, in which the fight against homelessness and neglect had characteristic features associated with the implementation of the most active work to solve childhood problems. Child homelessness in the Irkutsk region has been actively studied by such researchers as E. N. Afanasova ^{[6, 7]}, A.V. Shalak ^[8]. E. V. Banzaraktsayeva was engaged in a separate study of childhood in the Republic of Buryatia ^[9], who paid attention not only to the development of measures to combat homelessness, but also to the development of the system of orphanages within the framework of ensuring the protection of children's rights.

The system of social protection of children in Russia was formed by the beginning of the XX century . However, the peak of child homelessness occurred in the 1920s, which was directly related to the civil war and the instability of the state system. It was then that the issue of creating mechanisms to combat child homelessness became one of the key tasks of the state. Since 1921, there have been commissions for improving the lives of children under the VTSIK. Similar commissions were created on the ground. Since 1931, such institutions have had the right to issue their own orders in the field of child protection. The commissions operated in districts and cities, and in small settlements commissioners were appointed to the district executive committees ^{[7, p. 237]}. The functions of these bodies were to eliminate neglect and homelessness among children, as well as to involve the public in solving this problem. The Komsomol, trade unions, and women's councils provided assistance in the fight against homelessness. Specialized children's institutions were created, including orphanages, sanatorium-type institutions with the possibility of studying in them, juvenile colonies, orphanages, communes and children's towns.

The work of such bodies was carried out at the expense of state subsidies. Since the establishment of the commission until 1935, 240 million rubles were allocated to combat homelessness (in particular, 38 million rubles were spent in 1935) ^{[7, p. 238]}. On May 31, 1935, the resolution of the SNK and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) "On the elimination of child homelessness and neglect" was adopted. It was this document that set important tasks for the local authorities – to improve the work of orphanages, the state of labor colonies. Special sections were also created to combat street hooliganism.

In the Irkutsk region, in 1930, a regional commission was established to improve the lives of children. Already in 1931, district commissions were created in Irkutsk, Tulun and Kiren districts. The children's social inspection played an important role. The inspectors' duties included visiting families who had problems with raising children. Inspectors also conducted raids on street children, identified places where children congregate and carried out duty in attempts to detain vagrants. The Irkutsk Department of Public Education carried out the task of removing street children and placing them in children's institutions. At the women's department of the provincial Committee of the RCP (b) in Irkutsk, a section was created to combat homelessness. It is worth noting that the first reception centers for street children in Irkutsk appeared in the 1920s. The total capacity of the distribution receivers was up to 50 people ^{[10, op. 2, d. 93, l. 374-379]}. The number of reception and distribution points in the region was insufficient, which significantly slowed down the process of combating homelessness.

The lagging nature of taking measures to combat homelessness in the Baikal region is evidenced by the presence of receiving wagons, which were first formed in 1933, while this form of work with children has already been carried out in the country since the mid-1920s. Two teachers worked in the car. The purpose of such measures was to prevent and eliminate homelessness in transport. Vagrant children were placed in wagons for 4-5 days with the possibility of receiving food and sanitation ^{[11, op. 1, d. 1, l. 13]}.

Another problem in the fight against homelessness was the lack of an accurate distribution system for children's institutions. In the Irkutsk region, preschoolers often got into orphanages together with school-age children, and there was also no systematization of the registration of children for health reasons. Often, due to overcrowding in children's institutions, children were placed on the principle of availability of space, regardless of age or health categories. As for the patronage, in the Irkutsk region in 1937, 1,200 children were kept under patronage. They were successfully integrated into family relationships, which allowed them to adapt to life ^[7].

During the war years, the creation of educational and production workshops became widespread. Children were also involved in work at defense enterprises. Their working day was 2-3 hours, but such a measure significantly affected the discipline, educational activities and behavior of children in general. Since the war claimed many lives, a huge number of children were left without parents. In this regard, such a form of work with orphaned children as transfer to foster families has been revived. Nationwide, 270 thousand children left without parental care were placed under guardianship and patronage. During the war years, the network of educational institutions for orphans expanded. The number of orphanages has increased dramatically. If in 1941 the number of orphanages in the USSR was 2.1 thousand, by the end of 1942 this figure had increased to 3.4 thousand ^{[12, p. 32]}.

In 1942, the SNK adopted a resolution "On the placement of children left without parental care" ^[13]. This document proclaimed the creation of commissions under the executive committees for the placement of children left without parents, which included representatives of the Komsomol, NKVD bodies, educational and health institutions. According to this decision, it was assumed that all children who have reached the age of 14 should be employed without fail. In the law enforcement system, isolators and distribution receivers worked, the tasks of whose employees, as a rule, were the search and identification of street children. Places where teenagers congregate were actively identified in order to identify street children, as well as offenders among minors. The staff of the receivers also examined the living conditions of Soviet families whose children committed offenses or were without supervision. Also, targeted children's desks were created, the purpose of which was to help parents find children. All homeless and neglected children were registered in the reference and address desks for children.

The work of children and adolescents in collective farms and state farms was of great importance. Also, children were actively involved in collecting things for the Red Army. The children of orphanages worked on the field plot of the subsidiary farm. For example, in the Kirensky orphanage in the Irkutsk region, there were 6.5 hectares of grain crops at the institution: potatoes, seedlings, cabbage, tomatoes were grown. They also engaged in animal husbandry: pigs were kept at the orphanage, the pupils also took care of horses ^{[14, p. 1]}. The Central Committee of the Komsomol was actively working to combat homelessness and neglect.

By the 1930s, members of the Irkutsk Komsomol organization actively participated in the fight against homelessness. In 1942, the resolution of the Komsomol Central Committee "On measures of Komsomol organizations to combat child homelessness" was adopted. By this resolution, the Komsomol secured their participation in the fight against homelessness, declaring the solution of the problem the most important task of the youth of the USSR, the solution of which will contribute to the preservation of the younger generation. Komsomol members actively identified the places of stay of street children, organized fundraising to support orphanages, assisted law enforcement agencies in finding children. The society "Friends of Children" was created, weeks of assistance to street children were held. There was a school-workshop, schools of printers, the Federal Law in Irkutsk, Cheremkhovo ^[15].

The state of neglect in the Baikal region can be judged by the memoirs of contemporaries. So Nina Fedorovna Beznosova recalls that during the war years neglect was very high. Using the example of her family living in the village of Yandon in the Zalarinsky district of the Irkutsk region, N. F. Beznosova notes the following: "We lived in a village, in a big house. My parents had a large household. Since the father was repressed before the war, all the work on the farm fell on the shoulders of the mother, and this is the care of cattle – two cows, two pigs, as well as geese, chickens, rabbits. There were also pets – several cats and a dog, which also required care and attention. There was a large vegetable garden where they planted all the vegetables necessary for food – carrots, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes. The house was heated by a stove. The day began with the kindling of the stove. They also cooked in it. We had two children – born in 1925 and 1933. From the age of seven, they helped their mother to do all household chores. In addition, they managed to milk cows at the Svoboda collective farm, helped deliver mail, and also looked after the neighborhood children. In the summer, everyone was busy at the haymaking. There were no nurseries and kindergartens in the village. A blanket was spread out right on the field and children were seated. While the adults mowed the grass, the older children looked after the younger ones. Often, while parents were working, children ran around the village without adult supervision in large companies, but at the same time any violations in the village happened extremely rarely: broken windows, broken fences, fights without significant harm to health - all the incidents that occurred in the village at times when adults were not looking after children" ^[16].

Neglected children identified by the NKVD were placed in distribution receivers, the network of which was significantly increased in the 1940s. The amount of necessary funds for the maintenance of such receivers was put into local budgets. They included children under the age of 15. The maximum period of stay in the receiver was two weeks, after which the child was returned to his parents, or placed in a special institution for further education or patronage. For children over the age of 14, employment in the industrial or agricultural sector was assumed. Families of workers, collective farmers and employees were prioritized for patronage over children left without parental care. The adoption of a child under patronage took place on a voluntary basis, but the propaganda of the distribution of street children into families was widespread.

On June 15, 1943, the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On strengthening measures to combat child homelessness, neglect and hooliganism" was adopted. In addition to labor colonies, the decree allowed the organization of educational colonies for neglected and street children, as well as for teenagers caught in minor crimes. The NKVD's plans were to organize up to 50 thousand similar colonies throughout the country. Not only children detained for hooliganism could be sent to such institutions, but also children from orphanages who did not observe internal discipline. In 1943, a special department was created in the NKVD to combat child homelessness. It can be noted that these bodies were entrusted not only with the organization of the educational process, but also with the employment of minors, the provision of living quarters. By the end of the war, there were 2.5 million children left without parental care in the USSR ^{[17, op. 3, d. 48, l. 367]}.

As for offenses, for example, in 1944, 64,640 crimes committed by minors were recorded in the Soviet Union during the year. These were mainly thefts (84.7%). 77970 children were brought to responsibility for the year. Of these, 8970 children were recognized as street children, a significant part of whom did not work and did not study ^{[17, op. 3, d. 48, l. 368]}.

With the outbreak of hostilities, many minors found themselves without parental supervision. As a result of the evacuation, there was a frequent separation of children from their families. The Baikal region was characterized by the resettlement of the evacuated population from other regions, as a result of which many children lost contact with relatives. At the same time, there was a difficult financial situation of Soviet families. In this regard, an important condition for the preservation of law and order has become the work of law enforcement agencies and especially the police. They carried out purposeful work to identify dysfunctional families, improper supervision of minors was punished with a fine of 200 rubles. In Buryatia, as of 1942, 382 street children were detained by the police, and 1,189 street children were identified ^{[18, op. 1, d. 4208, l. 11]}. In the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR, 129 teenagers were convicted of offenses only in the third quarter of 1942, and by the end of the year another 258 people were added to them ^{[9, p. 65]}.

The People's Commissariat of the Republic has been criticized more than once. Decisions were constantly being made in the region to strengthen the fight against homelessness, and mass explanatory work was actively underway. On May 18, 1943, the resolution of the SNK B-MASSR approved a list of measures to solve this problem. Village councils were charged with the task of identifying neglected and street children. Explanatory work was carried out among parents, it was carried out by teachers. A list of measures to solve this problem was approved. For the first time, the position of patronage instructor was introduced. If the guardians were irresponsible about the upbringing of the child, the instructor had to immediately inform the police about this fact in order to bring the guardians to justice. From March 11, 1943, a ban was imposed on children under the age of 14 staying in public places after 21 hours. Until the age of 16, children were prohibited from selling tobacco and beer ^{[19, op. 2, d. 290, l. 4-18]}.

In 1943, a labor educational children's colony was opened on the basis of the Timlyui school of the Federal Law No. 5. It housed children aged 11-16 who were detained for hooliganism and minor offenses. In total, the colony could contain up to 350 people. Special attention in the Baikal region was paid to the opening of foster homes for neglected and street children. Only two of the three existing receivers operated in the Irkutsk region, and only one receiver-distributor worked in Buryatia ^{[20, f. 11 op. 1, d. 657, l. 193]}. As of 1941, the receiver distributor in the city of Ulan-Ude could receive up to 100 people. Due to the increase in the number of orphans during the war years, the number of places in orphanages was significantly increased. For example, 135 places were opened for preschoolers in an orphanage in Ulan-Ude ^{[21, op. 1b, d. 7, l. 6]}. The study of archival documents and periodical press data allows us to conclude that during the war years most of the children of the Baikal region found new families through patronage and guardianship.

It was during the war that the number of children taken into care increased. In general, thanks to the organization of the fight against homelessness and neglect, 278 thousand orphans were attached to new families, but 600 thousand children still remained in orphanages.

Neglect in the post-war period was also associated with the constant employment of parents and the inability to look after children all the time. So Sergey Nikolaevich Slesarev, a native of the village of Bolshoy Luga in the Shelekhovsky district of the Irkutsk region, recalls that in the early 1950s. "they actively gathered in boy companies and, without parental supervision, at the age of 10-14, climbed through local landfills in search of interesting things: they collected bicycles from improvised material, handed over scrap metal, picked up things suitable for barter" ^[22].

The decline in neglect and homelessness began only in the 1950s. As L. V. Akimova notes, it was during these years that they started talking about victory in the fight against homelessness in industrial countries ^{[1, p. 52]}. The author also concluded that the USSR was working effectively to eliminate homelessness, despite the fact that the state itself was in extremely unfavorable conditions for its development. It is impossible not to agree with this conclusion, however, there were many problems on the ground that required more attention from local governments to solve the task.

Thus, in 1936-1953, the fight against homelessness and neglect was the main task of the Soviet state as part of the implementation of social policy in the field of motherhood and childhood. The formed legislation in this area made it possible to organize a whole system of mechanisms for the implementation of social measures on the ground. However, in the Baikal region there were a significant number of problems associated with the implementation of the proposed measures. The highlighted problematic aspects are not exhaustive. Despite this, the USSR managed to achieve significant results in the fight against homelessness. The established network of institutions, as well as the constant emphasis in social policy on supporting childhood, indicate that the preservation of the younger generation was a priority for the development of the state.