Not to be envied: what childhood was like for schoolchildren in the USSR

Childhood in the Soviet Union is a topic that evokes a lot of emotions and different opinions. Some people recall with nostalgia the times of carefree living, while others are happy that the younger generation is living much better today.

State ideology, poverty, and shortages affected not only adults but also children. Maksim Mirovich, a well-known Belarusian blogger and researcher of the USSR, spoke about the realities of Soviet youth.

People whose childhood was during the period of the Soviet Union often speak positively about their Soviet life. This is not surprising, as children perceive the world in a somewhat deformed way due to their lack of experience. In addition, the human psyche is generally designed to protect us from traumatic experiences, so we mostly remember only the positive.

However, if you look at Soviet childhood soberly, it becomes clear how miserable it was.

The school system in the USSR

At school, Soviet children had no rights, only duties. They had no choice, because from an early age they were trained to become Komsomol members and party servants. And those who tried to show their individuality were considered bad and disobedient. Everything was forbidden. Running was forbidden, as was shouting and showing your childish curiosity. This approach resembled a colony rather than an educational institution.

In addition, violence and bullying by both children and teachers were not uncommon in schools. This is not surprising, as most of them were opportunists and took out their anger and desire for power on students.

Propaganda was an integral part of the Soviet education system. It permeated all aspects of life, including education. From an early age, children studied the biographies of Soviet leaders, listened to stories about their grandfathers, the Nazis, the suffering of little communists in Guatemala, and the great state of the USSR, which was the best and most powerful in the world. And after such lessons, children were often forced to collect scrap metal, clean the school yard, etc. In other words, child labor was not neglected either.

Cramped apartments

It's no secret that the housing situation in the USSR was very bad. About 7 people could live in one miserable and cramped three-room (and sometimes one-room) free apartment with a total area of no more than 55-60 meters. Comfort and personal space for a child in such conditions were out of the question.

Schoolchildren did not even have their own place to do their homework, so it is not surprising that they often spent time outside.

Dangerous games

Fans of the USSR often recall how fun and interesting children used to spend their free time. Back then, there were no smartphones or interesting children's television, so schoolchildren invented adventures on their own. Surprisingly, sometimes they were quite dangerous.

It was a shame to go to your friends' yard without a knife or matches. Cold steel was needed for games like "war games" or for self-defense against hooligans. Children were also constantly running around garages and rooftops.

Absolutely all the children knew what saltpeter, foil, or empty shell casings and match sulfur were for. Fortunately, the boys were so good at creating smoke machines, firecrackers, slingshots, self-shots, and other dangerous homemade devices that they rarely got injured. But in reality, such games could lead to terrible consequences.

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