The Shtetls of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period of Reconstruction

6

The Age Composition of the Population in the Researched Shtetlekh

The problem of organizing the work resources correctly and rationally is closely connected to the age composition of the population, the way it is divided into employable, partially employable, and unemployable age groups. What does the population of the researched shtetlekh look like from this point of view? Table Six provides the answer to this question.

[ . . . ] If we look at these figures we will see that the most employable age group is represented by a relatively smaller percentage among Jews than among Belorussians. As we get closer to the older, less employable age groups, their percentage becomes higher among Jews than among Belorussians. It is obvious that this is the typical result of emigration. [ . . . ]

Inasmuch as the distribution of age groups is closely connected to the process of emigration, it is clear that the characteristics we outlined here are much more blatant in those places where emigration has taken faster forms. Young people move to larger centers where they are absorbed into the industry—this is a phenomenon that anyone can see with their bare eyes.

7. Self-Sufficient and Dependent Population: Social and Professional Composition

[ . . . ] We have already noted the distribution of the self-sufficient and dependent population in both genders, among both Jews and Belorussians. We have seen that self-sufficiency is different among Jewish and Belorussian men. In general, self-sufficiency is lower among women than men, and it is a lot lower among Jewish women than Belorussian women.

From the information we have about 22,627 people, we can conclude that there are 9,348 self-sufficient and 13,279 dependent individuals, i.e., the ratio of self-sufficient and dependent is about 100:142. Among the Belorussian population this ratio is about 100:107, and among the Jewish population it is 100:173. This difference is quite significant; it is, as we determined earlier, the result of the disproportionate distribution of self-sufficient and dependent people among Jewish and Belorussian women.

When we compare the ratio (of the self-sufficient and dependent) in the Jewish population to the corresponding ratio before the revolution, we can see that an enormous change has taken place. According to the census of 1897, the ratio of the self-sufficient and dependent among the Jewish population was 100:231.

The change and increase of the number of self-sufficient people shows us best in what direction the October Revolution had led social changes amongst Jews. Socialist building increased the number of the self-sufficient in general, and Jewish workers of the shtetlekh were also part of this process. [ . . . ]

Speaking about the changes in the social composition of the Jewish population since the October Revolution and especially in the period of reconstruction, we cannot fail to mention the new quality of the working population at the time of our research.

Changes in the social composition of the population happened according to the program of socialist building. Thus, the working man we have here is not the kind who works in his own workshop inside his cold, dark, and damp apartment where the shoemaker or tailor workshop is located right next to his bed, table, and kitchen. The working man we have here is not the kind who is “self-employed,” his own boss, who depends on the caprices of the private buyer or merchant.

Today’s working men in the shtetlekh are mostly organized in the pre-socialist sector of crafts and agriculture. The more than 13 percent of workers that we have in the shtetlekh work in communal institutions, in state factories and enterprises. The 20.3 percent of employees work in state-, cooperative-, and economic institutions and factory-plant enterprises. In some shtetlekh more than 60 percent of the population has been drawn into the pre-socialist sector of the national economy. [ . . . ]

It is clear, however, that this kind of employment is insufficient. Further strengthening of our socialist economy will require an increasingly skilled workforce, of which there seems to be a great shortage currently all over the Union and BSSR. The shtetlekh must be prepared for this. [ . . . ]

We must set up networks of professional technical schools and run short-term courses to prepare the working population of the shtetlekh for the new tasks that are and will continue to be created in the new specialized raion. We envision that in the new system of specialized raions if there is an agricultural raion, the shtetl—being in the geographical center of the raion—will be transformed into a kind of agrarian-industrial settlement; the shtetlekh must be prepared for this role. [ . . . ]

8. Political and Cultural Situation

The changes in the social composition of the shtetlekh as a result of the expansion of state and cooperative industrial enterprises, the liquidation of unemployment, and the increase of the cultural and material level of the working people changed the political profile of the shtetlekh a great deal. All these achievements are a result of the success of the socialist attack on the capitalistic, parasitical elements in the shtetlekh who have exploited the difficulties of socialist building in order to spread nationalism and Zionism among certain strata of the population. With the help of right-wing opportunists they infiltrated some Soviet institutions and cooperatives, where they attempted to poison the atmosphere with Zionist tones. This proves that the class enemy won’t surrender its position without a struggle, and the fight against them must be strengthened. [ . . . ]

These changes in the social face of the shtetlekh led to changes in their cultural character and lifestyle as well. There has been a break with the religious and folk customs of the shtetlekh with their old-fashioned traditions. Shabbat rest has been liquidated in almost every industrial artel, with a few insignificant exceptions. In some shtetlekh when the local rabbi left, they did not hire a new one for the “vacant” position. The new lifestyle is becoming more and more natural among the working population of the shtetlekh.

The authority of the Soviet school has grown very strong. The heder has been almost completely eliminated, melamdim are disappearing from the scene.

Newspapers are widely read in the shtetlekh. In some of the researched shtetlekh local newspapers are published. [ . . . ] The central newspapers, published in Minsk and Moscow, are circulated in hundreds of copies. The circulation of Yiddish and Polish language newspapers is much more modest. [ . . . ]

[ . . . ] The lack of systematic political enlightenment work can be felt very strongly. Political enlightenment work is the weakest link in the cultural work of the shtetlekh. The people’s cultural centers do not carry out systematic work; there is no mass work at the libraries; you can still find ideologically foreign books on the shelves, antiquated trashy novels, and these are lent out to readers. Cultural work among the kustars is practically nonexistent. There is no doubt that if systematic political enlightenment work were to be carried out, our achievements in the field of planting communist culture and fighting the old lifestyle would be much greater and more profound. [ . . . ] We must take measures to make sure that the pertinent organs take the necessary steps to strengthen the political enlightenment work in the national languages in the shtetlekh. [ . . . ]