On Public and Governmental-Legal Measures for Improving Conservation in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

Nature and its resources constitute the natural basis for the development of the economy; they serve as the source of continuous addition to material and cultural values, and provide the conditions for the people's work and leisure. Therefore the Communist Party and the Soviet government ascribe great importance to the conservation of nature. The constant attention of party and government agencies to the proper exploitation of the country's natural wealth is shown by the joint resolutions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, "On Large-Scale Expansion of Land Reclamation so as to Obtain High and Stable Yields of Grain and Other Crops" (June 16, 1965), and "On Urgent Measures to Protect Soils Against Erosion by Wind and Water" (March 20, 1967) (1); by the decisions of the 4th Session of the 7th Supreme Soviet of the USSR (June 1968), "On the State of the Medical Services, and Measures to Improve Public Health in the USSR"; by its law, "Fundamental Land Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics" (December 13, 1968), and the decree of the USSR Council of Ministers, "Measures to Prevent Pollution of the Caspian Sea" (September 23, 1968) (2); and by many other legislative documents.     

Basic Directions in the Activity of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR

The resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the basic directions in the activity of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences (1) is a document of the very greatest importance to pedagogical science and to the entire system of public education.     

The ‘Cultural Lag’ Theory

A critique of the "cultural lag" theory evolved by Western sociologists — with particular emphasis on the work of W. F. Ogburn — which examines the reasons advanced by these sociologists for gaps between cultural and technological progress. Published to initiate discussion of the subject in USSR scientific circles. Vestnik Istorii Mirovoi Kultury (Journal of the History of World Culture), 1960, No. 6-slightly abridged.     

Urbanization: Present and Future

The first symposium in our country on the social problems of cities was held this year at the Institute of the International Workers' Movement of the USSR Academy of Sciences on the theme "Urbanization and the Working Class in the Face of the Scientific and Technical Revolution." The symposium was sponsored by the Scientific Council on Applied Social Research Problems of the USSR Academy of Sciences and by the Institute. Approximately 250 persons, to whom a number of papers were presented for discussion, participated in the symposium. These papers discussed theoretical and methodological problems of urbanization, the findings of urbanization studies in the USSR, in capitalist countries, and in developing countries.     

The Organization and Objectives of Soviet Science

This report was delivered before the first USSR Conference of Scientific Workers by the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences. It deals with the reorganization of the work of Soviet scientific establishments in the areas of planning and coordination and discusses the fundamental tasks of science in its major branches. The introduction to the report, omitted here, indicates that the USSR Academy of Sciences has become that country's largest scientific establishment, supplemented by a widely ramified network of industrial research institutes and laboratories and by Republic Academies which have become independent centers of research. Observing that scientific investigation repeatedly results in decisive economic and technical changes, the introduction cites the work of a number of leading Soviet scientists who have made outstanding contributions in their fields. "Soviet Science and Communist Construction," Pravda, June 13, 1961. Slightly abridged.     

On Promulgation of the Principles of Correctional Labor Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics

The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics orders:

Article 1. Promulgation of the Principles of Correctional Labor Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics and that they go into effect as of November 1, 1969.     

Eviction-Related Disputes

The Principles of Housing Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics established the basic provisions in the area of housing legislation. Based on the Constitution of the USSR, which proclaimed the right to housing to be a constitutional right of every Soviet person, the Principles significantly expanded the rights of citizens and ensured their more complete protection. The nature of the Principles is such that they could not incorporate norms that would make these general provisions more concrete; such norms will be contained in republic housing codes that will regulate housing relationships as exhaustively as possible with due regard to national and local considerations. To date, a number of republics have not yet promulgated housing codes and the existing norms in a number of provisions in the civil codes and other previously promulgated legislative acts do not correspond to the Principles and hence not all norms can be applied. These factors make it difficult for judicial agencies to resolve disputes associated with the use of living accommodations. The courts are greatly assisted in this regard by Decree No. 8 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the USSR of 9 December 1982 "On the Practice of Judicial Application of the Principles of Housing Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics." Nevertheless, following the promulgation of not only this decree, but certain union republic housing codes as well, certain provisions require commentary.     

In This Issue

Abel Aganbegian, the author of our lead article in this issue of The Soviet Review, is widely regarded as a key economic adviser to the current Soviet leadership. In "The Program of Radical Restructuring," Aganbegian looks at current reform efforts in the USSR in the light of past, failed reforms. He argues that if radical economic reform is to succeed, it must be accompanied by changes "in other spheres of social life, above all, the political and ideological spheres," noting that reform efforts in the 1960s were undermined by the lack of progress in democratization and continued reliance on "administrative methods."     

In This Issue

We open this issue of The Soviet Review with a roundtable on the introduction of the "rule of law" in the USSR. Students of Russian history will recognize this discussion as one having century-old precedents; in this case, the topic was posed in the Theses of the CPSU Central Committee mandating the goal of "complet[ing] the creation of a socialist law-governed state." As the participants freely acknowledge, it will require a "revolution of consciousness" for the idea to take hold that law is not a tool of the state, but rather, the state is subordinate to the law. Readers should pay particular attention to the discussants' views on the appropriate roles and relationships of state, party, and society, as well as their comments on rights and on the law.     

The Economic Effectiveness of Foreign Trade

The main task posed by the Twenty-Fourth Congress of our Party is that of increasing the economic effectiveness of the national economy. This is also fully applicable to the foreign economic relations of the USSR: a most important sphere of the economy. The directives of the congress on the Five-Year Plan for the Development of the USSR National Economy in 1971-1975 discuss the need to improve the methods and forms of foreign economic relations of the Soviet Union and to increase the initiative and responsibility of ministries and enterprises in the development of directions of such relations that are effective for the national economy. Foreign economic relations occupy a considerable place in the nation's economy. By the year 1973 USSR foreign trade turnover had increased (in comparable prices) 1.9 times compared with 1965 and was 25.3 times greater than the 1938 level.     

Women in the USSR: Statistical Data

"In the USSR, women are granted equal rights with men in all spheres of economic, governmental, cultural, and social and political life."     

前车之覆 后车之鉴——对苏东前社会主义国家改革失败原因与教训的再认识

苏东前社会主义国家的改革前后经历40余年,出现了三次浪潮,在取得巨大成就的同时却犯下了严重错误,最终走向失败.这主要是由于其实行了错误的改革路线,党内特权、腐败现象也导致了民心丧失,最终使改革失去了群众基础,同时也是西方敌对势力推行"和平演变"战略的结果.现有社会主义国家尤其是我们中国要吸取其教训,从改革的指导思想、策略原则、和谐环境构建等方面取得突破,确保改革顺利进行.     

No Freedom Without Moral Responsibility: Interview with Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad

Critically adopting concepts drawn from Anglophone consumption and material culture studies, including the "cultural biography of things," the article addresses the history of Soviet things in the last three decades of the USSR in terms of a sociology of everyday practices.     

A Study of the Influence of Sociohistorical Conditions on Child Development (Comparative Investigation, 1929 and 1966)

In the late 1920s, primarily in connection with L. S. Vygotsky's theory concerning the social and historical antecedents of the development of the mind, there was great interest in comparing the development of children reared in different social and cultural environments. One such study was A. R. Luria's Speech and intellect of rural, urban, and orphan children (Moscow, 1930). Zaporozhets, and then Luria, made trips to Central Asia as a part of this research effort. Although cross-cultural studies of human development enjoy some popularity in Western European and American psychology, this is one of the rare published accounts of such work from the USSR.     

Atheism and Religion in the USSR

The authors of this article attempt to define the religious person in the USSR, including such aspects as degree of faith, age, sex and nationality. They examine various social forces tending to produce religious belief and describe the efforts of churches on the one hand, and of atheist organizations on the other, to win adherents to their respective viewpoints. "Concreteness in the Study and Overcoming of Religion," Voprosy Filosofii, 1961, No. 3 — slightly abridged.     

The Soviet Union

The end of the "cold war" did not only, as is usually understood and conveyed, mark the collapse of the union of states headed by the USSR, where the Communist Party ruled, and the victory of the "Free World" over the "Evil Empire." At the same time, it meant—and this was no less important, at least for the United States—that the Soviet superpower had been erased from the world political map, clearing the way for an American monopoly in this area. In addition to this ideological (democratic) victory, another fundamental task of American foreign policy in the postwar decades was resolved: to rid itself of a rival that had posed a global challenge to the United States and opposed its endeavors to impose a Pax Americana. Under the new conditions, U.S. foreign policy has become the most important formative factor in international relations, with contradictory consequences for both the short and the long term.     

Ecology and Economic Development

The party and the government attach paramount importance to the rational, comprehensive utilization of natural resources and to the conservation of the country's natural wealth. The decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the USSR Council of Ministers "On Additional Measures to Strengthen Nature Conservation and to Improve the Utilization of Natural Resources" notes that nature conservation and the rational utilization of natural resources are among the most important economic and social tasks of the Soviet state in view of the rapid development of industry, transport, and agriculture and the utilization of an ever increasing quantity of natural resources.     

Payment to Faculties of Higher Educational Institutions

Faculties of higher educational institutions are typically paid on the basis of time worked, total earnings being governed by the post held in the table of organization, monthly salary, and time worked. A workday shorter than standard, six hours, is provided for them (Art. 22 of the Principles of Labor Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics; see the compendium The Higher School [Vysshaia shkola], Vol. I, 1965, p. 359). A system of payment through salary by table of organization has been established for the country's higher educational institutions. It is a variety of time wages in the form of payment by the month. Higher educational institutions also use hourly payment to persons invited to teach.     

Problems of Ensuring the Supply of Labor Resources for Siberian and Far Eastern Regions

The economy of Siberia and the Far East has undergone radical change during the years of Soviet power, especially during the postwar period. The development of Eastern Siberia's water power resources, the development of oil and gas fields in the West Siberian plain, and the construction of the Baikal-Amur Main Line are important stages in the development of the productive forces of the eastern regions of the RSFSR, which have become the basis of the formation of large new territorial production complexes. Between 1940 and 1975 total industrial output increased 31 times in the West Siberian region and 23 times in the East Siberian region, compared with the 17-times increase in the USSR as a whole and the 15-times increase in the RSFSR. (1)