Another piece for a class

Here I argue how the Socialist arts were used to help envision the ideal Soviet citizen. A goal which sad to say was never fully realized during the existence of the USSR.

Adjusting human life to communism

For the Russian people, the change of government from the Tsar, to a

provisional government, and finally then to the Bolsheviks transformed nearly all

aspects of their lives. Not only did they need to readjust to a system completely

different to what they had been living under, but also adjust to changes within

themselves as well. Civil war alongside unheard of changes such as new women's

rights, more worker control of production and foreign intervention changed

individual Soviet citizen profoundly. In Fyodor Gladkov's novel Cement, he

writes about the changes evident in everyone and how they each learn to grow

accustomed to what the future holds and how the past cannot be resurrected.

Each important character in the story works to become an ideal Soviet citizen in

their own way and vision.

The story mostly revolves around Gleb Chumalov, a Red Army soldier who

returns home as a war hero after three years on the battlefield. When he returns

however, he finds himself in a town foreign to him because of a number of things

which have changed everything. Even upon seeing his wife Dasha does he notice

that things are not like they were when he left home as he had assumed they

would be. "Now the nest was empty; and his wife Dasha, who had clung to him

so desperately at the time of their parting, had not welcomed him as should a wife,

but had passed on by him, like some cold and hostile ghost in a dream (Gladkov

6)." Despite being in the Red Army and fighting to achieve communist rule in his

country, Gleb still holds on to certain aspects of the past. Dasha's sudden change

from a loving wife who cares deeply for her husband to a woman who is now an

outspoken leader for the women in their community does not at first sit well for

Gleb, who expected the same wife he left three years ago. Despite his initial

concern in the newfound independence that Dasha holds, she is only working to

become the new Soviet citizen as Bolshevik leaders envisioned. "The Congress

of the Communist International recognizes that the realization of all the tasks it sets

by itself, as well as the ultimate victory of the world proletariat and the complete

abolishment of the capitalistic system, can be attained only by the closely united

common effort of the men and women of the working class (Communist)." These

changes are, after all, what he fought for in his three years in the Red Army.

Despite the change in his wife, Gleb quickly shows himself to be all in favor of

the new Soviet lifestyle. When he sees the disarray and chaos that is all around

him in his town, he grows dismayed. When going to the Communist party offices,

he sees all the bureaucracy and scape goating that he had fought against in order

to eliminate the capitalists. He is angered so much that he takes off his clothing

and shows all his battle scars which immediately silence everyone and shows how

lazy and pitiful they all really are. Gleb asks them all, "Oh I'm not ashamed; I am

wearing the same sort of decorations lower down. You want other people to go

to work instead of yourselves, so that you can sleeping in your goat-pens eh

(Gladkov 68)?" This selfish refusal to not want to work ceases at once because

of Gleb, who inspires many of the other workers to also sign up for the labor at

the communal farm. This type of mentality is just like the one pictured by

Nadezhda Krupskaya in his writing, What a Communist aught to Be Like. "It

means, for example, that however nice it might be to stay in a familiar,

comfortable, home environment, that if for the sake of a cause, for the success of

the communist cause, it is necessary to abandon everything and expose oneself to

danger, the communist will do this (Krupskaya 40). " Thanks to Gleb's heroic

efforts in battle, he is able to inspire the masses to forget their self-interest and

begin working for the betterment of the community.

The actions of Gleb on the front lines are admired throughout the town but his

wife Dasha inspires many people as well. Dasha too, like Gleb, had suffered

through the three years since they last saw each other. She was forced to care for

their daughter Nurka alone and then had to deal with the Greens who tortured

and raped her alongside many other people in the town. Despite all this suffering,

she still maintains a strong independent mind which is fueled by now being treated

equal to men by the communists. "Not in the war, not with the food-scroungers,

bag on her back, not in the ordinary duties of a woman; this strength had

awakened and been forged from the collective spirit of the workers, from years of

deadly hardship, from the terrible heavy burden of the newly acquired freedom of

women (Gladkov 31)." No longer does she think of herself as subservient to her

husband which had been the norm before but is now an equal. She even argues

right back at him and fights at the one instance Gleb tries to hurt her. Gleb quickly

realizes that because of this new freedom, women are finally able to show that

they are just as capable as men in working for the betterment of the state which

Nikolai Bukharin speaks of in his piece, "Bolshevism" and the Working Women.

"In the performing of their duties they show as much brain as heart, they have an

almost "ambitious, passionate enthusiasm for the new creative abilities and

possess common sense for practical things (Bukharin)." Thus Dasha proves that

men cannot be the boss anymore.

Even though Dasha attempts to give off a persona of being a new woman who

does not need a man in her life thanks to her newfound independence, Dasha

finds that at times even she must return to being a "woman" as before. This is no

more evident than when she becomes Smitten by Badin because of the affection

he shows her after her escape from some bandits. Even though she rejected him

when Badin first expressed sexual interest in her, her mind set completely changes

after her near death experience. "And in the guest room of the Executive

Committee, Dasha (how it came about she never knew) spent the night with him

in one bed, and for the first time during the past years his stormy blood brought

her in the night hours the unforgettable passion of a woman (Gladkov 134)." So

while the new Soviet woman is supposed to be strong and independent, Dasha

demonstrates that such a mentality is not always possible and that some aspects of

human nature can never be changed.

Dasha shows herself to be a strong woman ready to lead even though she may

falter at times. Compared to Dasha however, Polia is the exact opposite of the

ideal Soviet woman. Where Dasha has strength Polia needs guidance. Even

though she tries to conform to the new lifestyle and agrees with the revolution, she

still is weak and looks upon men for assistance. "I'm going to take your husband's

arm, Dasha; he's got enough strength for both of us. After all, we are weak

women (Gladkov 151)." This type of mentality is alarming for it shows Polia to

be weak hearted as she so admits. Not only that, but she is also a member of the

Communist Party as well. Her weakness prompts an inquiry into her role in the

party towards the ending of the book as she has grounds for expulsion. She is

originally one of the leaders in the Women's Section but increasingly relies on

Dasha to assist her which makes her unfit to lead according to the Party guide

(Instructions 61). Unlike most of the other characters in Cement, Polia is unable

to make the transition in this new society, and becomes disenfranchised because

she sees that all that they fought and suffered for seems for naught because of the

New Economic Policy which is bringing everything back like the way it was

before. "And suddenly-the past arises again with joyful sound and I don't know

where the nightmare is: in those years of blood, misery, sacrifice, or in this

bacchanalia of rich shop windows and drunken cafes (Gladkov 275)!"

Eventually she breaks down and depends on Dasha to help her recover which

shows the reader that not everybody is able to deal with hardships the way an

ideal Soviet citizen can. These type of people, even though they are weak, need

assistance to help make the change which others such as Dasha are willing to do.

One of the reasons for Polia's breakdown is because of Badin. Unlike Gleb or

many of the other men in the novel, Badin often sees women merely as sexual

objects and is well known in the town for being so. Taking advantage of women

is something Badin is known for as Dasha points out when on a trip with him to

another community. "If at this instant he was not going to throw himself upon her,

he would seek another moment when he would be stronger than she (Gladkov

122)." While Badin does present himself as an ideal communist to the party

seeing that he is the chairman, he at times seems to act as a careerist with only his

best intentions in mind. Even so, Badin proves himself a womanizer and unable to

treat women as equals. This is especially apparent seeing that he rapes Polia,

who by this time is totally defenseless against anything. "She did not resist,

crushed in the shadows; she could not resist: how could she when this was

inevitable and unalterable (Gladkov 249)?" Badin only helps in her eventual

breakdown by coming upon her forcefully.

On this note it must be said that the subject of women's liberation and their new

roles in society with that of men was the topic of much discussion at this time in

the country. Books such as Cement and movies like Bed and Sofa worked to

change the preconceived notions of women in society. The characters of Gleb,

Dasha, and Badin are very much like the characters Kolia, Liuda, and Voldoia in

that gender roles and signs of affection are challenged under the new order. For

the ladies Dasha and Liuda, they must decide on which man they wish to continue

their lives with. Unlike the women, the men are clearly upset of the indecisiveness

of the women and their constant swaying back and forth between lovers.

Because of this they tend to become controlling to the women and start problems

with their rivals. While in both situations, societal norms would dictate that the

women return to their husbands, the creators of the novel and movie show that in

the new Russia, it is now not the case. In the end, Dasha chooses neither men

and Liuda is shown on a train leaving the city to begin life anew with her child.

This shows that women can no longer be bossed around and ruled anymore since

the days of patriarchy are long gone and that they are free to run their own lives

which both women decide is best for them in the end.

With the Bolsheviks fully in control, they were able to use artistic works such

as Cement along Bed and Sofa to help the proletariat envision the world that they

planned to achieve. Artists who supported the revolution had no problem using

their works to help aid in the revolution. "The poet Alexander Blok summed up

their purpose as 'to remake everything...so that our false, filthy, boring, hideous

life should become a just, pure, merry, and beautiful life' (Thompson 185)." Even

if what they wrote about was not how society really was at the time, artists could

show people a better future that communism would be able to give them if they all

worked to achieve it. Not only that, but it helped cast aside norms long forged

into society such as the role of women with such amazing characters as Dasha and

Liuda. Of course, all the characters played a role in enlightening the masses.

Another notable character in Cement is a man named Serge. While he is a

current member of the Communist Party, before the Bolshevik takeover and

ensuing fight he was of a well off family. He is also viewed with disdain because

others see him as an intellectual and it does not help matters that he was once a

Menshevik as well. Because of the revolution, he must cope with the inevitable

rift between him and his family seeing that they view them as well off and take

their property to distribute amongst the masses. Particularly troubling is the

division between Serge and his brother Dimitri, who is eventually revealed to have

rebelled against the Reds when he is caught by both Gleb and Serge. "We had

the honour of meeting each other in my gay father's house when you were robbing

him. I regret that my brother Serge was not there then; I should have shot him

through the head (Gladkov 197)." Surprisingly, neither brother shows any sorrow

at their circumstance but rather hatred for what the other has done with their life.

Dimitri on one hand has fought against the Red Army to keep life as it was before

so that his family would not lose everything they have. On the other side is Serge,

who even though he knows that his family will suffer because of their former

status in society, chooses to support the communists for the betterment of the

collective whole. Despite all he does for the Communist Party including breaking

all ties from his family, which hurts him deeply, all is for naught at the end as he is

excluded from the party. Simply put, because his family was wealthy and not of

the working class, he was still treated as an outsider, as Krupskaya puts in clear

terms. "That is why during the purge of the Russian Communist Party, attention

was paid to whether or not this or that party member had been born in a working

family or not (Krupskaya 38)." For people like Serge in the newly founded

Soviet Union, these individuals are not wanted or welcome in their new socialist

society.

The irony behind the fact that people like Serge are not wanted is that people

like Engineer Kleist are welcomed. Kleist, because of his expertise as an

engineer, is wanted in order to rebuild a country devastated by many years of

bloodshed and an economy that is on the verge of collapse. This despite the fact

that Kleist disliked the Bolsheviks and caused many, including Gleb, to suffer

because of their support of the revolution. Kleist represents all those who wished

Russia had remained the way it was, but were unable to tear themselves away

from the country they loved unlike many skilled workers and upperclassmen who

had fled in fear. Gleb, putting aside past prejudices for the benefit of everyone,

knows the country needs skilled workers to change the economic situation and

thus turns a blind eye to Kleist's past deeds and asks for his assistance. "Well...I

bumped into this barricade of yours, right into this little nook...Let's turn the place

over, thought I (Gladkov 80)." Gleb realizes that things at the factory and

generally everywhere around the town is in anarchy and that the only way to make

any improvement of the situation is to use the methods used in the past, including

using people such as Kleist. This notion is similar to that of Evgenii

Preobrazhenskii, who argues in The New Economics that using capitalist means

may be necessary to help industrialize the Soviet Union. "But a country like the

USSR, with its devastated and in general rather backward economy, must go

through the period of primary accumulation with very broad use of the sources of

the pre-socialist forms of the economy (Preobrazhenskii)." Seeing that according

to Marxist theory, a capitalist stage in society is needed before being able to

obtain socialism, it is understandable needing to revert back in some instances

which the USSR did with NEP among other things.

The book Cement was just one of the many ways that the Soviet Union used

the arts to further their agenda. Each character in the story helped show that not

everyone was the same, but that by working together each person could

overcome their flaws and help further their community. Gleb was a mere factory

worker and soldier who was able to lead the reopening of the Cement factory

with help from Engineer Kleist. Polia was able to get assistance from Dasha in

running the Women's section and did so excellently for a while. This mentality of

helping each other out was key to the future of the state and even the fact that the

factory produced cement is of significance because cement keeps things stable but

is useless unless spread about evenly en mass. This is similar to how the

characters were in the book and were able to turn a place in ruins back to order.

This sort of idealism was fundamental throughout the Soviet era. They used these

works to show what opportunities were available under communism and how

their lives would be changed for the better. While it was not always the case that

things would improve under their rule, the Communist Party became quiet skilled

in using the arts and took advantage of it up until the collapse of the Soviet Union

in 1991. Despite their collapse, the Soviet Union was able to show the world for

a while of a dream that millions wished of.

Works Cited

Bukharin. "Russian Bolshevism and the Working Women" 31 July 1920. 1 October 2008

"Communist International, Petrograd. No. 1." Resolution on the Role of Working Women. 6 March 1919. 1 October 2008

Gladkov, Fyodor. Cement. Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1994.

"Instructions for carrying out verification of party documents and purging the party membership." 1 October 2008.

Krupskaya, Nadezhda. What a Communist Ougth to Be Like. 1 October 2008.

Preobrazhenskii. "The New Economics" 1926. 1 October 2008

Thompson, John. A Vision Unfulfilled: Russia and the Soviet Union in the Twentieth Century. Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1996.