1958 EDUCATIONAL FILM

with government permission official guide accompanied the cameraman to ensure that the better more prosperous side of the Soviet Union be filmed these scenes portray physical environment and something about the lives of the people they do not dwell on Soviet political life nor on the nature of the economy in many ways Soviet life is similar to life in the United States but government control is much broader thus lessening individual freedom of choice watch for examples of this as you view the film halfway around the earth from North America lies a country which in land area is the largest in the world this is the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics better known as the Soviet Union or Russia well over twice the size of the United States it occupies more than one-sixth of the Earth's land area occupying the northern part of Asia and a large segment of Eastern Europe the Soviet Union embraces a wide variety of peoples including Mongols Finn's Persians and many others although in fact a centralized state the Soviet Union is formally divided into fifteen republics and other smaller political divisions Moscow the fifth largest city in the world is the capital both of the Soviet Union and also of the largest republic the Russian Republic adjacent to the Moskva River in Moscow is the Kremlin the most important landmark in the Soviet Union it was originally built as a fortress until Peter the Great moved the Imperial Government to st. Petersburg the basic principle of communism is governmental ownership of all property the state controls the production and distribution of industrial products the government establishes quotas for both labor and production the Kremlin faces Red Square a paved expands with the ornate Cathedral of st. basil the Blessed in the middle thousands of tourists have passed through these massive iron gates to formerly forbidden areas since the Kremlin was open to visitors in 1955 near the entrance to the Kremlin is the tomb of Lenin and Stalin regardless of political belief there's hardly a visitor to Russia's capital who fails to go through the dimly lighted mausoleum crowds are often lined up for blocks their reverence for the tomb and the embalmed bodies of Lenin and Stalin helped to make the Kremlin the center of Russian life whether in communist headquarters in Odessa on the Black Sea or in the Hermitage art gallery in Leningrad every activity is controlled by directives that originated under the gold dome zuv the kremlin although famous old Saint Basil's Cathedral in Red Square is now a museum the churches of the Soviet Union apparently operate without governmental restriction the Russian Orthodox is still the major denomination but there are countless synagogues Catholic and Protestant churches and mosques of the the churches are well attended noticeably by the aged religion is frowned upon in soviet schools most young russians are educated to believe that atheism is the true faith the downtown streets of a big city like Moscow look much like those of a busy city in the United States without the familiar signs and trademarks while the sidewalks are crowded the streets are almost empty no need for traffic signals here because very few people own automobiles the government stresses the production of heavy goods rather than consumer products consequently public transportation is both rapid and regular with the average bus fare the equivalent of 12 and a half cents crowded buses take workers past countless reminders of Russian his statues of czars and Czarina's Russian warriors of the country's long and turbulent past and contemporary statues dedicated to today's workers Russian children lead a different life than the children in our own country at an early age the Russian child is taught to think of himself as primarily part of a group they are often seen marching along the crowded sidewalks the state takes charge of the children almost as soon as they're born when they're six months old they spend at least part of every day at a state-operated nursery school while their parents are at work or engaged in government service when the child is seven he goes to a regular school their activities are closely guided by adults who are also employees of some of the many departments of the government while they may play games there's a purpose for everything and physical training is an important part of the program scientific and mechanical courses are stressed even in the elementary grades academic standards are very high and classes are held six days a week roll call is taken as a children enter the school both men and women are employed as teachers when a child is seven he also becomes a member of the Communist Youth Organization the Young Pioneers here is additional opportunity for political indoctrination and physical training a ten years later at 17 he becomes a member of the young Communist League this leads in another ten years to eligibility for membership in the Communist Party but only a comparative few are accepted as full-fledged party members in fact for many years party membership has been held by less than three percent of all adult Russians physical training is ever important not just for a few athletes but for everyone as the Russian believes that a strong body is as necessary as a trained mind everyone strives har the highest possible achievement a source ins is Moscow University it has an enrollment of 22,000 an outstanding student is exempt from military service he'll be paid by the government while studying education and culture are important to the Russian people the boys toy theater government-supported is the scene of many ballet performances under the Department of Culture children may learn ballet to work hard and become a star performer can be a Russian child's dream as well as an Americans but here the state controls the dancing schools and the theaters motion pictures radio and television are also functions of the government the average Russian is interested in art both traveling exhibitions of contemporary work and permanent museums in the Hermitage at Leningrad are such masterpieces as a self-portrait by Van Dyke Mary Magdalene by Titian and the priceless Madonna Lita by Leonardo da Vinci the desire for learning in culture makes reading popular so book stands are to be found everywhere the government turns out an enormous amount of printed matter in many languages including English every newspaper book and magazine must first be approved by a government agency food and soft drinks also are sold on the streets even these vendors have a government quota to meet one of the country's most popular beverages is a soft drink made from rye grain these outdoor stands also serve as unofficial recreation centers this is Goomer spell G um and meaning complete government department store located on Red Square it's the largest department store in the Soviet Union it's actually a series of small shops along covered arcades clothing household fixtures and appliances and food are offered here in limited quantities all produced by the state the food displays our plaster and wax real food is too scarce to be used for window displays consumer demand for all merchandise far exceeds the supply we have visited the city of Moscow capital of the Soviet Union now we are going south over the Caucasus Mountains headed for the Republic of Georgia one of the Republic's making up the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Georgia is bordered on the west by the Black Sea on the south by Turkey the capital of Georgia is the ancient city of Tbilisi once known as tiftus or to fleece the hills and the cliffs and the warm Mediterranean climate of Tbilisi are far different from moscow's flat terrain and cold winters the late joseph stalin was once a student at this religious seminary the new Capitol building of Georgia with its contemporary Soviet architecture and the inevitable statue of Lenin contrasts sharply with a daily life of the Georgian p who still lived much as our ancestors did hundreds of years ago in Georgia as throughout Russia there are two kinds of markets the state-controlled market where prices are set by law no haggling or bargaining is permitted and the so-called free market such as we visit here the prices in the free market are whatever the seller can get the sellers have all produced their own goods because it's against the law to be a middleman to buy and resell for profit as a crime strangely enough bread the single most important item in the Russian menu is not allowed to be sold at a free market bread can be sold only at a state-controlled store the average price of a loaf of bread is 1 ruble 12 Kopacz the equivalent of 37 cents where does the Russian food come from some food is raised in all parts of the Soviet but the Republic of the Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of the Russian people the country's agriculture is carried on at collective farms in the early days of communism the government literally collected all the private farms into huge tracts of land owned and operated by the state mechanization of the thousands of collective farms throughout Russia has been slow most of the work is still done by horses and by manual labor often by women with men above military age acting as supervisors younger men are usually in military service or in some other branch of government work in addition to working on the collective farm as a government employee every farm worker is allowed to consider as his own a piece of land a little larger than an acre whatever he raises there he may sell and keep profits for himself after paying a tax to the state during the school year the children of the farm areas go directly from school to an agricultural center where they learn farming methods prescribed by directives from Moscow as in the city they go to school six days a week moving farther south to the Crimean Peninsula we can go by train the engineers and the conductors are often women freeing men for more essential work along the north shore of the Black Sea is the Crimean Peninsula the city of Yalta a small port on the southern tip with its moderate climate Yalta is the Soviets most popular vacation resort it's a busy city typical of many in the Soviet Union where the citizens are busily engaged in making their labor and production quotas there's much building underway all over the country new housing and new roads are necessary for an expanding population and to replace many outdated facilities modern machinery is used but much of the labor is still done by hand along the Crimean coasts are numerous castles of former royalty some of which were used for the historic Yalta meetings a World War two between Roosevelt Churchill and Stalin applying their trades in the manner of their forefathers without modern implements are the craftsman here are the knife grinder and the cobbler like all other workers their government employees the factory workers of the Soviet our members of one of the country's trade unions they operate much like factory social clubs but without the right to strike or bargain the factory management is held responsible for adequate housing for its workers the average Russian prefers and went to a small house with a garden that old fashioned in the larger cities elaborate hotels are provided for the tourists and the traveling delegation they offer fine facilities and feature the popular Russian food fresh caviar but many upper-class city dwellers live in three and four room apartments the rent is based on the family income almost all apartment buildings provide a playground for the children of the tenants the mother in this family is a supervisor in the factory we visited her little girl tasha will start to school next year Tosh's father is a captain in the russian navy while he's home on leave he spends much of his time listening to radio broadcasts from Moscow television is not as common as in the United States the furnishings of this typical upper-class apartment appear old-fashioned to us every piece was made in the Soviet Union for dinner the family will have borscht one of the mainstays of the Russian diet borscht is a cross between a heavy soup and the thin stew what goes into it depends on the season of the year the family budgets and the cooks taste there are seven main varieties when the borscht is done after four to six hours of slow cooking the final touch a raw egg is added Russian family is seldom eat alone they often invite friends or relatives to savor the borscht followed in this case by a light summer meal and always a bread and sweet butter and fresh caviar but not all Russian homes are so comfortable about one half of the people live in crowded apartments they would be considered slums by American standards there are usually several occupants to every room but regardless of income medical needs will be taken care of without charge as a state operated clinic or hospital doctors and nurses are trained by the state and our employees of the state after graduation many of the old palaces and residences of the rich have been taken over by the government and converted into vacation resorts vacations are furnished without charge by the state as our annual cash awards but only to those who have exceeded the labor or production quotas set for each particular job the worker has little choice in the matter of his vacation for every activity is arranged by a government agency some vacations are boat trips usually on the Black Sea these are days of relaxation before going back to work under the chess and poker our favorite pastimes if you're not on a government sponsored trip accommodations may not be so good as this woman knows these vacations would be impossible if the worker had to pay his own way for the average wage is less than one hundred dollars a month after the long and severe winters vacationers are eager for the Sun in the beach even though the water is seldom warm enough for comfortable swimming there's relaxing of course and maybe even an occasional bit of fishing physical fitness is always uppermost in their minds when a child is attending regular school he'll spend every summer whether he likes it or not at a young pioneers camp part of every summer day is devoted to recreation physical training and sports strong and healthy young people are considered essential to meet the country's manpower shortage these are not only the men and women of tomorrow but more important they are the workers of tomorrow part of every summer day also is spending political indoctrination Russian people of every age and in every phase of life are controlled by directives from Moscow the gold domes of the Kremlin symbolized the all-powerful communist government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics