The study of the development of the socialist culture of the Soviet peoples at the present stage is an important task of historical science. In recent years, the historiography of Russian culture has been enriched by many works covering both general theoretical and specific historical aspects of the topic 1 . However, many actual problems of cultural construction of the last decade are still insufficiently reflected in the literature. Among them, we can mention the issues of raising the culture of the peoples of the Volga and Kama regions-Tatars, Bashkirs, Mordvins, Chuvash, Udmurts, Mari, Komi - Permyaks during this period. General historical works and some special works have already highlighted some aspects of the cultural revolution and the formation and development of socialist culture among these peoples .2 The purpose of this article is to show the changes that occur in the socialist national cultures of Tatarstan, Bashkiria, Mordovia, Chuvashia, Udmurtia, Mari ASSR and Komi - Permyak Okrug during the construction of communism. Today, about ten million representatives of indigenous peoples live in the Volga-Kama region, including Tatars-4968 thousand, Bashkirs-989 thousand, Chuvash-1470 thousand, Mordvins-1285 thousand, Udmurts-625 thousand, Mari-504 thousand, Komm-Permyaks-144 thousand, as well as significant groups of the Russian population and other nationalities.

Soviet cultural development in the Volga Kama region began in the conditions of the economic and cultural backwardness inherited from tsarism by the majority of the population of this area, numerous patriarchal-feudal and even ancestral remnants. Mari people had only 16% male literacy, 2% female literacy, and Chuvash literacy.

1 "Development of Socialist culture in the Union Republics", Moscow, 1962; "Construction of Communism and problems of culture", Moscow, 1966;" Communism and Culture", Moscow, 1966;" Essays on the historiography of Soviet Society", Moscow, 1965.

2 See "History of the Tatar ASSR". Kazan. 1968; "Essays on the history of the Bashkir ASSR", Vol. 2. Ufa, 1966; "Essays on the history of the Mordovian ASSR", Vol. II. Saransk, 1961; "History of the Chuvash ASSR", Vol. II. Cheboksary. 1967; "Essays on the history of the Mari ASSR". Vol. II. Yoshkar-Ola. 1960; "Essays on the history of the Udmurt ASSR". Vol. II. Izhevsk, 1962; "Essays on the history of the Tatar Party Organization". Kazan. 1962; "Essays on the history of the Udmurt organization of the CPSU". Izhevsk, 1968; "Essays on the history of the Mordovian organization of the CPSU". Saransk, 1967; "Essays on the history of the Mari organization of the CPSU". Yoshkar-Ola, 1968; "Lenin and Tataria". Kazan. 1970; "Lenin and the Working People of Chuvashia". Cheboksary. 1970; A. L. Kiselyov. Socialist culture of Mordovia. Saransk. 1959; I. A. Markelov. Culture of the revived people. Cheboksary. 1969; V. N. Lyubimov, B. Yuldashbaev. Lenin and the self-determination of nations. Cheboksary. 1967.

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among men-18%, among women-4%3 . The Bashkirs were about 19% literate, the Tatars - 20%, the Udmurts - 15%, the Mordovians - 13%, and the Komi-Permians-18%.4 The peoples of the Volga-Kama region did not have a developed written language, their artistic creativity remained mainly folklore. In the course of building socialism, these peoples essentially passed from pre-capitalist or underdeveloped capitalist forms of economy and culture to advanced forms of socialist economy and culture. The achievements of the republics of the Volga-Kama region already during the pre-war five-year plans testified to the complete triumph of the national policy of the Communist Party. It was then that the illiteracy of the main part of workers and collective farmers was eliminated. Technical schools, teachers ' institutes, and technical universities worked in all the republics of the Volga-Kama region. In 1937, there were 12 universities and 8 scientific institutes in Tataria. National literature and art have been greatly developed. Dozens of talented and original writers, poets, composers, and artists have grown up. An extensive network of 5 cultural institutions was established . The new, socialist culture has firmly entered the everyday life and all spheres of life of the local population.

In the post-war period, the national culture of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region achieved new successes. Major works of national writers appeared, professional theater, painting, sculpture, and choral art were successfully developed, the transition to universal seven-year education was completed, the network of universities, research institutes, and cultural institutions grew, and detachments of the national intelligentsia became stronger.

The flourishing of the national cultures of the peoples of the Volga region and the Kama region achieved during the years of socialist construction created favorable opportunities and prerequisites for the further rise of cultural construction during the period of building the foundation of communism. The working people of the Volga-Kama republics, as well as the entire Soviet People, faced the task of forming a harmoniously developed personality, overcoming the differences between city and village, between mental and physical labor, raising the consciousness of workers, employees and collective farmers, and introducing them to active communist creativity. Extensive cultural development is carried out here on the basis of the continuous progress of the productive forces, the creation of the material and technical base of communism, and the improvement of social relations. Every year in the national autonomies of the Volga-Kama region, the latest industries are expanding, the culture of agriculture is improving, and the volume of production is growing.

The combination of the scientific and technological revolution with the successful implementation of the tasks of the cultural revolution and the improvement of social relations is the most important factor in the cultural progress of all Soviet peoples. The increase in the rate of technical armament and economic efficiency of production has caused fundamental changes in the social structure of the socialist nations of the Volga-Kama region, which, in turn, affects the development of their culture. Changes in the social structure of the population of the Volga-Kama region are expressed primarily in the growth of the working class, the increase in the proportion of intellectuals, and these social groups are multinational in nature. In the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, where 68,000 workers worked before the Great Patriotic War, there is now a half-million-strong group of workers, among whom there are many Tatars who have high professional skills.-

3 I. M. Lekomtsev. Socialist construction among the peoples of the Volga region. "Soviet Ethnography", 1937, N 2-3, pp. 3-13.

4 "RSFSR for 50 years". Statistical Collection, Moscow, 1967, pp. 183-241.

5 I. M. Lekomtsev. Op. ed., pp. 7-13.

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kim with professional skills. In Udmurtia, where before the revolution there were only 554 Udmurts among the factory workers, now 36 thousand workers of Udmurt nationality work. An army of many thousands of workers was formed at the enterprises of Chuvashia, which was essentially deprived of its own large-scale factory industry before the revolution. The working class of Chuvashia now unites 150 thousand industrial workers. In the total working-age population of this republic, workers and employees make up almost 40%6 . Even in the remote Komi-Permyak district, remote in the past from industrial centers, a large group of workers has developed: about 20 thousand people work in forest enterprises here7 . Thousands of workers ' collectives were formed in Bashkiria, Mordovia and the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Fundamental changes have also taken place in the social structure of the inhabitants of the Volga-Kama village, where the number of machine operators has significantly increased. During 1959-1966, the number of machine operators doubled in Chuvashia, accounting for 7% of the republic's collective farmers .8 In Udmurtia, the number of machine operators employed in agriculture in 1967 exceeded 20 thousand people .9 Similar changes have taken place in other republics and the Komi-Permyak district. The significance of these social shifts is very great, since the working class is not only the leading political, but also the cultural force of our society. Having synthesized the authentic values created by humanity over its centuries-long development, it plays a leading role in the further rise of culture and in the scientific and technological progress of modern society.

The general pattern of development of the social structure of society is the growth of the number of people's intelligentsia. The Volga-Kama republics have long been ahead of many leading Western European countries in terms of the number of specialists with higher and secondary education. 9 thousand scientists, 58 thousand engineers and technicians, 42 thousand teachers, many thousands of doctors, agronomists and other specialists are currently working in Tatarstan alone .10 An equally large group of intellectuals is working in other republics. In Udmurtia, more than 70 thousand specialists are employed in various fields of economy and culture, in Chuvashia - more than 60 thousand, etc . 11.Every year a new addition comes to the ranks of the Volga-Kama people's intelligentsia.

Social changes occurring in the population of the Volga-Kama region, caused by the modern scientific and technological revolution, lead to a qualitative change in the nature of labor in the field of material production and ensure further growth of the population's culture. Solving complex problems of forming a harmoniously developed personality, introducing workers to active creativity requires significant improvement of the system of communist education. An analysis of the materials of party and Soviet organizations, educational and cultural bodies of the Volga-Kama republics shows that a lot of work has been done here in recent years, as in other regions of the country. A wide network of theoretical seminars, political schools, evening universities, political circles, communist labor schools, and scientific and technical lecture halls has been created in each republic. In large areas of Bash-

6 See "Essays on the History of the Udmurt ASSR", vol. 1. Izhevsk. 1958, p. 176; Pravda, 26. VI. 1970; " The Agitator's Notebook "(ed. Chuvash Regional Committee of the CPSU), 1969, No. 9; Pravda, 23. VI. 1970; A. A. Tronin, G. P. Shklyaev, M. M. Saltyshev. In the family of nations. Izhevsk. 1969, p. 122.

7 "The Komi-Permyak district during the years of Soviet power", Kud'mkar, 1967, p. 10.

8 "Agitator's Notebook", 1969, No. 9.

9 A. A. Tronin, G. P. Shklyaev, and M. M. Saltyshev. Op. ed., p. 107.

10 "Sovetskaya Rossiya", 9. IV. 1970.

11 A. A. Tronin, G. P. Shklyaev, and M. M. Saltyshev. Edict. soch., p. 107; "Pravda", 23. VI. 1970.

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kiri - Ufa, Sterlitamak, Tuymazinsky-every year in the network of party education, in addition to communists, 10 - 20 thousand non-party activists are engaged. On average, up to 200 thousand lectures are delivered to workers in Bashkiria every year13 . The Mari ASSR is also experiencing an expansion of the party education network. Classes are taught here by 4 thousand propagandists. Among them are many experienced workers who not only explain questions of Marxist-Leninist theory, but also organize the masses to solve practical problems .14 Political education in Chuvashia covers up to 150 thousand people. Such a form of ideological and aesthetic education of workers as people's universities is developing intensively. There are more than 60 such universities active in Chuvashia, with 60-70 thousand students. 15 There are now 800 national universities in Bashkiria 16 . In the 60s, about 70 thousand agitators, 15 thousand lecturers, and over 20 thousand propagandists were engaged in the ideological and political education of the masses in Tataria .17 An extensive network of party education has been established in Mordovia: there are about 3 thousand political schools, seminars, universities of Marxism-Leninism, circles in which 60 - 70 thousand workers are trained annually. Mordovia has 89 national universities, 13 classrooms, thousands of lecture halls and propaganda stations 18 .

Bearing in mind Lenin's instruction that propaganda should be based on the political experience of economic construction, the party organizations of the Volga-Kama republics are developing various forms of economic education: economic schools, seminars, schools of communist labor and advanced experience, symposiums of heads of enterprises, collective farms, specialists, production leaders, etc. In Chuvashia, students of economic circles and seminars in collective and state farms take part in the development of progressive production standards, in the introduction of self-financing, and study the problems of organizing labor within the economy. Workers of industrial enterprises receive economic education. At the Cheboksary cotton mill, awarded the title of communist labor enterprise, in the mid-60s, up to 1,600 textile workers were trained in economic schools, and at the tractor spare parts plant (Cheboksary), every second worker and employee was covered by economic studies. At the same time, more than 250 communist labor schools with 6.5 thousand students were operating in Chuvashia .19 Economic studies are also conducted in other republics. At the enterprises of the Saransk association "Svetotekhnika", when introducing new management methods in 1969-1970, creative seminars, economic conferences were held, and problems of theory, science, and technology were studied 20 . In the Mari ASSR, there are many universities of agricultural knowledge, whose leaders are the chairmen of collective farms. There are also successful schools of socialist labor discipline in enterprises .21 Everywhere, even in remote villages of the forest Volga-Kama region, ideological-political and economic training of workers is organized: in the Verkhne-Kama Forestry Enterprise of the Komi-Permyak district, a broad ideological-political education of the population of forest settlements at the place of residence is developed.-

13 Bashkir regional Art Archive, f. 122, op. 134, ed. hr. 17, ll. 79-81.

14 See, in particular, S. A. Vasenev. Ideological education of working people. Yoshkar-Ola, 1964, p. 18.

15 "For the effectiveness of political education". Collection of articles. Cheboksary. 1966, p. 4.

16 "Sovetskaya Rossiya", 28. XI. 1970.

17 Tatar Regional Art Archive, f. 15, op. 41, ed. hr. 126, ll. 63-65.

18 "Essays on the history of the Mordovian organization of the CPSU", pp. 463-464.

19 "For the effectiveness of political education", pp. 6-12.

20 "Pravda", 8, 10, 11. X. 1970.

21 "Mariiskaya pravda", 24. IX. 1968.

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telotva. Lecturers, political informers, and agitators regularly speak there 22 .

Mass cultural and educational institutions play an important role in the formation of communist culture. In all the republics and regions of the Volga region and the Kama region, a huge amount of work has been done over the past decade to strengthen the material base of cultural institutions and enrich the forms of their activities. As the spiritual demands of the working people grow, the importance of all spheres of cultural education of the population increases. A modern visitor to cultural institutions acts not only as a consumer of cultural values, but also as an active participant in the diverse process of cultural creativity. Under these conditions, cultural education institutions faced the task of improving staff training, expanding their assets and introducing social principles into cultural education.

Since the end of the 1950s, a social movement has developed in the Volga-Kama region for the construction of new cultural and educational institutions and strengthening the material base of existing ones. On the initiative of Komsomol organizations of Bashkiria, the Komsomol two-year culture year was announced. In 1958-1960, 557 clubs, reading rooms, and 23 libraries were built in this republic . In Tatarstan, over a decade and a half (1950-1965), the number of clubs increased by 756, cinema installations-by 1500, cinemas-twice, and their visitors-7 times 24 . In Chuvashia, during the seven - year period (1959-1965), 115 new clubs were built, and 90 huts and reading rooms were converted into clubs. Comfortable cinemas opened in Cheboksary, Kanash, Novocheboksarsk, Kozlovka 25 . In three years (1958-1961), 8 cultural centers, 8 cinemas, a drama theater, hundreds of clubs and libraries were put into operation in the villages of Mordovia. More than 250 new clubs and 159 film installations opened in the villages of Udmurtia during this time .26 The expansion of the network of clubs and libraries contributed to the rise of cultural and educational work among the population.

After the XXIII Congress of the CPSU, which provided for the further development of the network of cultural and art institutions and the improvement of cultural services to the population, especially in rural areas, cultural institutions were built and located more systematically in the republics of the Volga-Kama region. In many districts, entire complexes of such institutions were built, providing extensive cultural services to the population. The Council of Ministers of Chuvashia in 1964 approved the initiative of the public of the Batyrevsky district to build cultural and educational institutions, sports grounds ,and improve villages, and adopted a plan for the initiative construction of 127 new clubs. 27 At the same time, during the inspection carried out by the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, shortcomings in cultural services for the population were identified in a number of Volga-Kama republics. In particular, in Udmurtia in 1965, 1123 localities out of 4163 did not show films, and 80% of the villages had only film screencasts28 . 1,093 villages in Bashkiria (with 10-50 courtyards) were not covered by library services. In 102 Chuvash villages (out of 503) with a population of more than 500 people, there were no clubs. One library in the Mari ASSR accounted for 1,8 thousand inhabitants. The activities of cultural institutions were negatively affected by the transfer of some of them completely to public principles in 1962-1963-

22 "Agitator", 1970, No. 9.

23 Bashkir regional Art Archive, f. 122, op. 104, ed. hr. 113, ll. 44-45.

24 "History of the Tatar ASSR", pp. 658-665.

25 "Chuvashia in the years of the seven-year-old". Cheboksary. 1967, pp. 116-117.

26 Current archive of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, f. 28, op. 10, units of chr. I, ll. 150-154. Mordovian Regional Art Archive, f. 269, op. 4, units of chr. 71, ll. 163, 164.

27 Current Archive of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, op. 11, ed. hr. 2, ll. 184-186.

28 Ibid., op. 10, ed. xr. 1, Protocol No. 6.

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dah. The positions of club manager and librarian were sometimes held concurrently by the same persons, even when the library and club were located in different villages. These posts were filled by low-skilled people. This weakened the work of cultural institutions. During these years, 22 clubs and 2 libraries were closed in the Mari ASSR29 .

It was necessary to quickly eliminate the mistakes made. To this end, state cultural bodies, public organizations and workers of the Volga-Kama republics launched the construction of new cultural institutions, ensured their rational placement, and sought to transform each cultural and educational institution into an active center of socialist culture. A special role was played by the decree of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR adopted in July 1965, which provided for the opening of new music schools in the Volga republics, the creation of automobile clubs, mobile museums, the organization of exhibitions, theater tours, etc. With the improvement of social and cultural planning and the growth of cultural funds, local authorities are now more systematically building cultural and educational institutions, coordinating cultural services for the population. In Tatarstan, Bashkiria, Mari ASSR and other republics, Selkhozproekt institutes have developed a number of general plans for the reconstruction and development of villages, which include the construction of cultural centers, libraries, schools, and sports grounds. Many of the projects have already been implemented 30 . Statistics show that the network of cultural institutions is constantly growing, and the amount of work they do to serve the population is increasing. In the late 60s, there were 1,650 libraries, 2,569 clubs and 9 theaters in Tatarstan; 1,701 libraries, 2,928 clubs and 7 theaters in Bashkiria; 682 libraries, 1,249 clubs and 4 theaters in Udmurtia; 641 libraries, 954 clubs and 3 theaters in Chuvashia; 587 libraries in Mordovia. 789 clubs, 3 theaters; in the Mari ASSR-290 libraries, 597 clubs, 3 theaters, in the Komi-Permyak district-130 libraries, 198 clubs and 1 theater 31 . This is undoubtedly an important factor in activating cultural and educational work, involving workers in public life and cultural creativity.

The directives of the XXIII Congress of the CPSU provided for the implementation of measures for the wider development of television, designed to play an important role in the communist education of workers. The first TV center in the Volga Kama region has been operating in Kazan since 1959. A year later, TV centers appeared in Leninogorsk and other cities of Tatarstan. Since the beginning of the 60s, a television station in Ufa, relay stations in Salavat and other centers of Bashkiria have been put into operation. At the same time, TV centers are being created in Cheboksary, Saransk, Yoshkar-Ola, Izhevsk and other Volga cities. In 1969, a transmitting television station was built in the Komi-Permyak district. In a short time, the main districts of the Volga-Kama region were turned into a zone of continuous television reception, In the Mordovian and Mari ASSR, for example, they were able to watch Moscow programs and local programs 80%. residents. Today, the television network of the Volga-Kama republics has a multi-million audience.

Cultural and educational institutions in the republics of the Volga-Kama region carry out ideological and political, labor, aesthetic, international, atheistic, military and sports education, organize scientific and technical creativity and amateur artistic activity of workers. Clubs and houses of culture have cultural schools and national universities, technical circles, interest groups, propaganda teams, studios, museums, etc.

29 Ibid., unit page 5, Protocol No. 26.

30 "Mariiskaya pravda", 24. IX. 1962.

31 "RSFSR for 50 years", pp. 183-241.

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participants of regional cultural centers 'viewing sessions and rural clubs' roll calls. In the Chuvash, Tatar, Bashkir and other Autonomous Soviet Republics, a complex of propaganda and artistic and educational activities was carried out, "cultural relays" are being held, and the competition of labor collectives is being popularized. 32 Club facilities serve millions of working people and are an integral part of their everyday life and culture. In Mordovia in 1969, 27 thousand lectures and reports were held in clubs, about 9 thousand thematic evenings, debates, question-and-answer evenings, 10 thousand performances and amateur concerts were given. This year, 14 million people visited the republic's clubs. A big role in the successful work of clubs is played by the selection of personnel of cultural workers. In 1965, the Mordovian Regional Committee of the CPSU approved a plan for training and advanced training of cultural workers at the kultprosvetuchilishche and the Saransk Music School named after L. P. Kiryukov. Currently, out of 1,760 cultural workers in the republic, almost all have secondary education, and 100 have higher education .33
Significant changes are taking place in the activities of libraries: their book collections are being replenished, the number of readers is growing, their requests are being studied, bibliographic and informational work is improving, and the activities of libraries of different departments are being coordinated. Since the mid-60s, national libraries have been more focused on serving specialists and researchers, meeting their requests for bibliographic and informational knowledge. The N. K. Krupskaya Bashkir Republican Library, together with the libraries of the Agricultural Institute and the local branch of the Scientific and Technical Society, periodically holds scientific and practical conferences on the problems of agricultural development, introduces readers to bibliographic publications, and organizes exhibitions of books on topical issues of science 34 . The work of factory, technical, rural and district libraries has improved, and the promotion of science and technology achievements has expanded. The role of the public in the activities of libraries and clubs has increased. In Tataria alone, in 1965, 3,340 public councils worked under them. The experience of public cultural departments, folk theaters, studios and museums created in recent years is interesting. Far beyond the Volga region, for example, the work of the V. I. Lenin Public Museum in Cheboksary, the oil workers ' Museum in Oktyabrsky 35 is known .

Cultural and educational institutions play an important role in improving the national artistic culture and oral and poetic creativity of the Volga-Kama peoples. The Volga and Kama regions carefully preserve the best traditions of folk art and enrich them with the achievements of Soviet and world art. Today, there are thousands of amateur art groups operating here in cities and villages. In Bashkiria there are more than 10 thousand art groups with 120 thousand participants; in Chuvashia-4 thousand groups with 56 thousand participants; in the Mari ASSR-about 1.5 thousand groups with 22 thousand participants; in Mordovia-2.5 thousand groups with 35 thousand participants; in Udmurtia-3.5 thousand groups with 70 thousand participants; in the Komi-Permyak district - about 400 collectives with 8 thousand participants 36 . The work of folk theaters and non-musical groups has become very important. In Mordovia, there are now 17 national theaters 37 . Among the different genres of amateur creativity, the art of dancers and artists stands out.

32 "Cultural and educational work", 1970, N 7, pp. 2-7.

33 Ibid., No. 9, pp. 9-14.

34 Sovetskaya Bibliografiya, 1970, No. 4, p. 93.

35 "History of the Tatar ASSR", p. 658.

36 Current archive of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, f. 28, op. 30, ed. hr. 6, ll. 78-82.

37 "Cultural and educational work", 1970, N 9, pp. 9-10.

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curators of Bashkiria, musicians and singers of Tatarstan, folk choirs and ensembles of gusliars of Chuvashia, Udmurtia and Mari ASSR, dancers and choirs of the Komi-Permyak district, folk orchestras of Mordovia. Every year, professional and amateur art come closer together. Amateur artistic activity of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region acts today as the most perfect form of folklore creativity.

The development and improvement of school and university education carried out in our country over the past decade, designed to improve the general education of young people, develop their skills in work and creative work, have caused changes in the school and university system of the Volga-Kama republics. The nature of these changes is determined both by the growth of the network and material base of schools and universities, and by radical changes in the educational process. The transition to compulsory eight-year and then ten-year education, carried out by the decision of the party and the government, in the republics of the Volga-Kama region was carried out simultaneously with all regions of the country. Meanwhile, the conditions for such a transition here in some cases were less favorable due to the lack of school buildings. Party organizations paid special attention to attracting the population to actively participate in school construction. Thus, the XXIV Udmurt Regional Party Conference, noting that in 1958 there were still over a thousand schools insufficiently adapted for classes, and 470 schools held two-and three-shift classes, outlined measures for the construction of new school buildings. Over the next two years, 166 schools for 17 thousand places were built here .38 Successfully engaged in the elimination of multi-shift? classes in the schools of the party organization of the Mari ASSR, where in the late 50s 157 schools were engaged in 2-3 shifts 39 . Extensive construction of new schools began at this time in Tatarstan. The public of Novo-Sheshminsky district in the late 50s appealed to the population of Tatarstan with an appeal to launch the initiative construction of schools. As a result, 180 new schools, 69 boarding schools, and 112 workshops were built here in 1959. And then, during the seven-year period, the republic's budget allocated 516 million rubles for the construction of new schools (for 58 thousand places) and boarding schools (for 35 thousand places). During 1960 - 1968, 30 - 40 schools (for 10 - 15 thousand places) were built annually in Chuvashia, and in the Mari ASSR only in 1960, 70 school buildings were built by collective farms 40 . In 1960, 18 schools were built in Mordovia at the expense of the state and 147 schools (for 16 thousand places) were built by collective farms. Due to the remoteness of many villages from schools in the Komi-Permyak district, the construction of boarding schools was launched, of which by 1961 there were already 81. At that time, 6 thousand schoolchildren lived in boarding schools in the district .41 Strengthening the material and training base made it possible to carry out first mandatory eight-year, and then ten-year training.

The introduction of universal secondary education in this region, along with other regions of the country, is a remarkable achievement of public education in the Soviet autonomous regions of the Volga-Kama region. Before the introduction of compulsory eight-and ten-year education in the Volga republics, there were still some cases of dropping out of schools. In Tataria, in the 1955/56 academic year, 13.9 thousand children did not attend school for one reason or another, and in Bashkiria, in 1961/62, they were left out of school.-

38 Udmurt Regional Art Archive, f. 16, op. 38, ed. hr. 64; l. 183; op. 40, ed. hr. 2, l. 132.

39 Mari Regional Art Archive, f. 1, op. 18, ed. hr. 658, l. 3.

40 Central State Administration of the Tatar ASSR, f. 3682, op. 2, ed. xr. 918, l. 4; Chuvash Regional Art Archive, f. 1, op. 131, ed. xr. 161, l. 33; Mari Regional Art Archive, f. 1, op. 8, ed. xr. 17, l. 122.

41 " Komi-Permyak district (facts and figures)". Kudymkar, 1961, p. 27.

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1,700 children were out of school 42 . Similar facts were found in other republics. Local party organizations and educational authorities have succeeded in eliminating the dropout rate of children from schools. Mordovia, Chuvashia and other Volga republics took one of the first places in the RSFSR in terms of the rate of introduction of secondary education. If before the beginning of the 60s, secondary schools (excluding evening schools and technical schools) in the republics of the Volga-Kama region were completed by a fifth of students, then during the last five-year plan, the output of tenth grades increased significantly. The number of students in secondary schools in the Volga-Kama region has steadily increased. Only in the first half of the 60s (1960-1966), it increased in Bashkiria by 271.4 thousand, in Tataria-by 178.4 thousand, in Udmurtia-by 77.5 thousand, in Chuvashia-by 68.7 thousand, in Mordovia-by 58.7 thousand, in the Mari ASSR-by 39.5 thousand, in Komi-Permyak district - by 8,5 thousand. In total, more than 13.3 thousand schools operate in these republics and the district, where 2,605 thousand people study .43 This scale of school education can be envied by any developed capitalist country.

We can also note a qualitative improvement in the educational process in schools in the Volga-Kama region. Along with the widespread use of new curricula and programs that meet the current state of scientific knowledge and technological progress, teachers of Volga region schools, following the example of their colleagues from Kazan, Lipetsk and Voronezh, are doing a lot of work to improve the effectiveness of the lesson. Achieving the interconnection of all its links (communication of new knowledge, verification of tasks and consolidation of what was passed), Kazan teachers began to devote more time to independent work of schoolchildren. With the help of scientists from the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR, they also spread their experience in rural areas, where initiative groups of urban teachers traveled to introduce their rural colleagues to sound recordings of the best lessons, and to hold pedagogical conferences .44
The development of public education is also connected with the system of moral and aesthetic, sports, military - patriotic, international and ideological and political education of students. Over the past decade, much has been done in schools in the Volga-Kama region to organize socially useful work, develop mass tourism and recreation for students. In the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, 20 to 30 thousand schoolchildren go on thousands of expeditions every year during the holidays .45 In the summer of 1969, 120 thousand Tatar schoolchildren had a rest in pioneer camps, 300 thousand went on sightseeing trips and hiking trips. Republican gatherings of teachers of local history tourists are held annually. The House of Enlightenment Workers organizes weekly trips of teachers to Leninsky places of the republic and Ulyanovsk 46 every summer . Volgokamye schools organize classes for students at the stations of young technicians, in sports associations and clubs. The House of Enlightenment Workers and the Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers carry out a lot of work to improve the skills of teachers: course events are regularly held, methodological associations of teachers work, teachers ' congresses are convened.

A very characteristic phenomenon occurring in the context of the growing process of rapprochement between Soviet nations and nationalities was the radical change in the work in the national schools of the Volga-Kama region. Even before the war, at the voluntary request of the population of the republics, their written language was translated from the Latin and Arabic alphabets into Russian, which greatly contributed to the rise of national literatures.-

42 TsGA TatASSR, f. 3682, op. 2, ed. hr. 423, ll. 1-2; Bashkir Regional Art Archive, f. 122, op. 119, ed. hr. 101, l. 32.

43 "RSFSR for 50 years", pp. 185-241.

44 Tatar Regional Art Archive, f. 15, op. 41, units hr. 126, ll. 218-222.

45 Mari regional Art Archive, f. 1. op, 18, units hr. 658, ll. 32-73.

46 "Sovetskaya Tatariya", 29. VII. 1969.

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improving the work of schools and universities. The increased interethnic relations and bilingualism of the population (knowledge of Russian as a language of interethnic communication) have led to a new improvement in the work of national schools. The most important thing in this regard was the transition of education to Russian not from the 8th grade, as before, but from the 5th grade. It is noteworthy that such a transition in schools in the Volga-Kama region was carried out at the request of the national population itself earlier than in other regions of the country. Already in the late 50s, many nationalities of the Volga-Kama region applied to the education authorities with a request to start studying in schools in Russian from the elementary grades. Thus, the XXIV regional Party Conference of Udmurtia (1958) called for the translation of all schools into Russian in all subjects from the 5th grade. Udmurt language and literature were left as special subjects for teaching 47 . At the request of parents, since the 1960/61 academic year in the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, education in Russian also began from the 5th grade .48 Party organizations and educational authorities consider this translation as the most important social and cultural event and fully assist teachers in its implementation. In Chuvashia, where in the 1962/63 academic year 390 out of 435 national schools began teaching Russian from the 5th grade, the educational authorities, with the help of the Institute of National Schools of the APN of the RSFSR, organized a teachers ' conference on this issue on the basis of the Vurmankasinsky school of the Vuryarsky district. The transition of Volga-Kama schools to the Russian language of instruction was mostly completed by the mid-60s49 .

New qualitative changes have taken place in higher education. Over the past decade, the number of students in the Volga-Kama Republics has increased 2-4 times. In 1960-1966, the number of students in universities in Bashkiria increased from 17 to 34 thousand, in Tataria-from 36.4 to 58 thousand, in Mordovia-from 4.5 to 17 thousand, in Chuvashia - from 4 to 11 thousand, in the Mari ASSR - from 6 to 10 thousand, in Udmurtia - from 10 to 19 thousand 50 . Over the same years, the number of students of technical schools and special schools increased from 90 to 162.7 thousand 51 .The creation of new state universities in the three republics, which train specialists in a wide range of fields, contributed to the general rise of national culture. Along with the oldest Kazan University (TatASSR), universities were opened in Bashkiria (1957), Mordovia (1957) and Chuvashia (1967). Educational work in the universities of the Volga - Kama region began to meet the needs of the scientific and technical revolution, the practice of communist construction.

An important indicator of the high level of scientific development is the growth in the number of researchers, the emergence of new and further development of previously existing scientific institutions, and the expansion of the research front. In the Volga region, there is a Bashkir branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, more than 50 scientific institutes in Tatarstan, electrical engineering institutes in Saransk and Cheboksary, republican institutes of economics, history, language and literature, hundreds of laboratories and design institutions. In Tatarstan alone, scientific work is conducted in 11 universities, 53 research institutes, and hundreds of laboratories, employing over 190 doctors and 1,500 candidates of sciences52 . In Bashkiria, large-scale research is carried out by employees of the Oil Institute, the Institute of Construction, and the Agricultural Institute 53 . The scientific activity of scientists in the Volga Kama region has become widespread.-

47 Udmurt regional Art Archive, f. 16, op. 38, ed. hr. 64, ll. 135-136.

48 Mari Regional Art Archive, f. 1, op. 18, units hr. 658, ll. 27-32.

49 "RSFSR for 50 years", pp. 183-241; "Chuvashia during the seven-year period", p. 105.

50 "RSFSR for 50 years", pp. 183-241.

51 Ibid.

52 Ya. E. Chadaev. Horizons of Russia, Moscow, 1969, pp. 207-216.

53 "Ufa". Handbook. Ufa, 1966, pp. 72-79.

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user-defined value. Employees of electrotechnical institutes of Mordovia and Chuvashia were awarded Lenin Prizes for creating new equipment. The works of Kazan scientific schools of physicians, chemists and astronomers, Tatar and Bashkir petrochemists are widely known. Scientists, designers, inventors of Udmurtia (340 doctors and candidates of sciences work here) have created remarkable samples of new equipment 54 .

A characteristic phenomenon of the last decade was the reorganization of the republican scientific institutes of language, literature and history established in the 30s. By the decision of the Mordovian Regional Committee of the CPSU (1960), the republican scientific Institute, which was established in 1932 and had only nine employees, was reorganized in 1960: a new department of economics was created in it, and the problems of its research were significantly expanded. 55 In Udmurtia, a department of economics was created at the same institute and its staff was increased 56 .

An integral part of the process of formation of elements of communist culture is the flourishing of national literatures and arts. The artistic creativity of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region is now widely known to the peoples of our country and other countries. Now, when in all the national autonomies of the Volga-Kama region there are many writers and artists who have mastered the method of socialist realism and are steadily improving their skills, their creative contribution to the treasury of Soviet and world culture has grown immeasurably. This is due to their nationality, high idealism, and an indissoluble combination of national and international elements in their work.

Nowadays, there is a new rise in national literatures of the Volga-Kama region, which is expressed in the growth of young forces, the appearance of major works, and the improvement of artistic skills. Tatar literature is now represented by the works of more than 130 writers. Its heroes are people of high moral duty, Devoted to the socialist fatherland and the construction of communism. The works of Tatar writers portray important historical events, the high patriotism of the collective farm peasantry, the life of the working class and other topics that concern readers in many ways. Many of the Tatar writers strive to learn more about life. The writer S. Hakim, who wrote the poem "On the Fiery Kursk Bulge", went through a long road of a warrior, and the creation of G. Bashirov's novel " Honor "was preceded by a long party-Soviet work of its author. 57 The Bashkiria Writers ' Union now unites over 70 writers. A major event in the literary life of Bashkiria in the 1960s was the publication of M. Karim's poems "Rivers Talk", A. Bikchentaev's novel "I don't Promise you Paradise", S. Kudash's memoirs "Unforgettable Moments", and H. Gilyazhev's novel "Soldiers without Shoulder Straps", which captured the great achievements of the Bashkir people in Soviet times .58
Unique artistic originality is inherent in the Chuvash and Mari literatures, which have absorbed the treasures of folklore creativity of their peoples. In recent years, Chuvash and Mari writers have created interesting works, including books of the Lenin cycle. Among them are the works of Chuvash writers P. Khuzangai "The House in Gbrki", Y. Ukhsai "The Dream", N. Ilbek "Black Bread", V. Paymen "The Bridge", A. Talvir"On the Buinsky tract". Mari literature was enriched by the poems of M. Kazakov "Native Land", the novels of T. A. Kolesnikov. Osypa "Sister Anouk" and Ya. Elekseyn "Rod Toymanov", plays by S. Nikolaev

54 Pravda, 2. XI. 1970.

55 Mordovian regional art Archive, f. 269, op. 4, units hr. 131, ll. 100, 101.

56 Udmurt regional Art Archive, f. 16, op. 38, ed. hr. 64, ll. 66-67.

57 "Literaturnaya gazeta", 1. IV. 1970.

58 "Essays on the history of the Bashkir ASSR", vol. 2, pp. 586-589.

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and A. Volkov, the collection of K. Vasin "Footprint on Earth" and other works that reproduce a vivid picture of the new life of Marina .

Great changes have taken place in such national literatures as Mordovian, Udmurt and Komi-Permyak, which emerged only during the years of Soviet power. If before the Great Patriotic War the genre of poetry was mainly widespread in them, now other genres of literary creativity are also developing. The works of a number of Mordovian writers have already gained all-Union fame. Only three Mordovian writers (Ya. Pinyasov's children's stories, N. Erkai's novella "Alyoshka", K. Abramov's novel "Naiman") have published more than 10 million copies in Russian. A. Kutorkin's novels "Stormy Sura", V. Kolmasov's "Lavginov" and other works were also published in Russian. An anthology of Mordovian poetry "Hello, Life!"has been published. Udmurt literature was enriched in the post-war period by such major works as the novels of M. Petrov "Old Multan" and T. Arkhipov "By the River Ludzinki", the story of G. Krasilnikov "Old House", the comedy of V. Sadovnikov "Xuan", depicting the life of the Udmurt people against the background of a broad historical process60 . Original literature is developed in the Soviet period by the Komi-Permyak people. Original poems and poems of older poets M. Likhachev, N. Popov, S. Karavaev, I. Gagarin became famous. Permian Komi people develop poetry, prose, drama, and essay writing. New poems by M. Vavilin were recognized by readers. Every year the literature of the peoples of the Volga region and the Kama region becomes more mature, its educational role and its influence on the overall development of cultural life increases.

Communist construction was marked by the flourishing of the richest art of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region, which has centuries-old artistic traditions. If in the pre-war period professional theater, painting, orchestral and choral musical art emerged and successfully developed, then in the post-war years complex musical genres began to develop: opera, choreography, and symphony music. The Tatar and Bashkir national composing schools achieved high ideological and creative maturity and genre and stylistic diversity. Tatar music can no longer be imagined today without the bright instrumental pieces of S. A. Shishkin. Saidashev, the multi-faceted opera and symphony works of N. Zhiganov (the operas "Altynchech", "Jalil", the symphony "Sabantuy"), the first Tatar ballet" Shurale " by F. Yarullin, colorful songs and comedies by D. Faizi, M. Muzafarov and other works 61 . Operas and ballets by Bashkir composers - "Samat" by H. Valiullin, "Khakmar" by M. Valeev, "Salavat Yulaev" and "Shaure" by Z. Ismagilov and others-are now being performed with great success .62 A special role in the development of professional music of Tatars and Bashkirs is played by its fruitful ties with Russian music.

Operas and ballets of Udmurts, Mordvins, Chuvash, Mari, Komi-Permyaks are also very expressive and very beautiful. The wide popularity of the operas of Chuvash composers "Shyvarman" by F. Vasiliev," Aidar "by A. Aslamas," Narspi "by G. Khirby, Mari composer E. Sapaev" Akpatyr", Udmurt composer G. Korepanov" Natal", Mordovian composer L. Kiryukov" Nesmeyan and Lamzur " is an undoubted achievement of the culture of the peoples of the Volga - Kama region. The composer made a great contribution to the development of the musical culture of Udmurtia

59 P. Kalachev. Socialist culture of the Mari people. Yoshkar-Ola, 1969, pp. 58-67.

60 See G. N. Trefilov. To the heights of culture. Izhevsk, 1964, pp. 72-75.

61 "Musical life", 1970, N 17, pp. 7-8.

62 Ibid., 1970, No. 20, p. 3.

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G. Korepanov-Kamsky, who created melodic songs and the first national ballet " Italmas "("Azure Flower")63 . After the Great Patriotic War, the Komi-Permyaks also had their own composers (A. Kleshchin, N. Chechulin), who wrote a number of significant works. The Kazan and Saratov conservatories, republican music schools, and cultural and educational institutions do a great deal of work on the training of national musicians.

The professional national theater of the Volga-Kama peoples, born in the heroic days of the socialist revolution and the civil war, went through a difficult path in Soviet times. National theaters and theater groups currently operating in all the republics are represented by actors of bright creative individuality, national identity and high stage culture. The audience of many cities and villages of our country knows the high stage art of the Tatar Drama Theater named after G. Kamal, the Chuvash Musical and Drama Theater named after K. Ivanov, the Mari Theater named after M. Shketan, the theaters of Ufa, Saransk, Izhevsk, Kudymkar and other cities. All of them created an original national repertoire, staged many works of Russian and world drama. A remarkable success of recent times has been the creation of the image of V. I. Lenin on the national stage. In the Tatar Academic Theater named after G. Kamal, the actor Sh. is successfully working on this role. Biktimirov 64 . Art universities and colleges in Moscow, Leningrad, Kazan, Sverdlovsk, and Gorky provide many years of assistance in training national actors in the Volga-Kama republics.

One of the most widespread types of art in the republics of the Volga-Kama region has become fine art. In the 60s, artists, graphic artists and sculptors created works that reflect the new life of peoples, show advanced people, the unique beauty of their native nature. At all-Union, all-Russian and zonal art exhibitions, many works of Volgokamye artists received well-deserved recognition. Among them are" Prologue " by Kh. Yakupov (Tatarstan)," They Write about Us " by N. Karacharskov (Chuvashia)," The First Chairman of the Udmurt Autonomy Nogovitsyn "by A. Kholmogorov (Udmurtia)," Evening Session "by B. Domashnikov and" Three Women " by A. Latfullin (Bashkiria). In all the autonomous republics and in the national district there are creative unions of artists, museums, and art galleries that do a great job of promoting art and aesthetic education of the population .65
An integral part of the Soviet artistic culture of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region is the original applied art, carefully preserved in Soviet times. The creativity of art associations and enterprises of the Volga-Kama region, which produce traditional applied art products, has reached high skill and perfection. Tatar artels "Trud" and "Tukay", Arsk artel of national footwear produce colored shoes, leather goods, various souvenirs; decorative pottery is made in the village of Pestretsy near Kazan. Chuvashia has a large team of embroiderers and woodcarvers, united by the Chuvash branch of the RSFSR Art Foundation. Cheboksary cotton mill and national embroidery factory use the works of national ornament masters. Traditional carpet weaving is developing in Udmurtia and Bashkiria. The Pastukhov Artel in Izhevsk makes colorful Udmurt carpets. The art of Mari craftswomen has become world famous-

63 "Club and amateur art", 1970, N 20, pp. 9-11.

64 "Theater", 1970, N 4, pp. 69-70.

65 "Culture and Life", 1968, No. 10, pp. 5-11; 1969, No. 4, pp. 3-12.

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embroiderers united in the Yoshkar-Ola artel "Truzhenitsa". Masters and artists of the Mordovian Patterns artel are successfully working in Mordovia 66 . Folk applied art of the Volga-Kama region brings great joy to Soviet people-builders of communism.

The development of the Soviet national culture of the peoples of the Volga region and the Kama region during the construction of communism indicates a new flourishing of the multinational culture of the Volga-Kama region, which is based on the full use of their centuries-old cultural heritage. In his speech at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Soviet Kazakhstan, Leonid Brezhnev noted that bourgeois falsifiers are trying in vain to claim that the cultural revolution that took place in our country was accompanied by a "loss of national traditions"67 . The current level of culture of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region is a convincing proof of the absurdity of such fabrications.

During the period of communist construction, the process of cooperation and mutual enrichment of the national cultures of the Volga-Kama region with the cultures of other peoples of the USSR intensified. Books by the founders of Marxism-Leninism and hundreds of the best examples of Russian Soviet and world literature have been translated into the languages of the Volga-Kama peoples. In Tatarstan, during the development of national autonomy, books by almost 1,000 authors from 65 languages of the fraternal Soviet peoples were translated into Tatar, and, in turn, 754 works of Tatar writers with a circulation of more than 10 million copies were translated into dozens of languages of other peoples of the USSR. The works of the courageous hero of the Tatar people Musa Jalil have already been published in more than 70 languages. The books of the Chuvash poet M. Sespel were published in 52 languages, and the books of the writer P. Khuzangai in 40 languages. The works of the Bashkir writer M. Karim and the Mari poet M. Karimov have been translated into dozens of languages of Soviet and foreign peoples.. Kazakov and other national writers 68 . The expansion of mass communication media, tours and decades of theaters and amateur groups, exhibitions of artists, joint radio and television programs affect the formation of new cultural traditions and international features of the Soviet culture of the peoples of the Volga-Kama region.

The development of the national culture of the peoples of the Volga region and the Kama region during the construction of communism is characterized by its new rise, profound qualitative changes in all its areas, the expansion of the use of old cultural traditions and the enrichment of modern achievements of world culture. The recent celebration of the half-century anniversary of the Soviet autonomous regions of Tatars, Chuvashs, Udmurts, and Mari and awarding them the Orders of the October Revolution once again clearly showed what new successes they have achieved in the development of their culture. Today, the Soviet culture of the Volga - Kama peoples embodies all the diversity and richness of the spiritual life of Soviet society, and actively contributes to the comprehensive development of the builders of communism. Its rise is directly connected with the latest technological progress, the creation of the material and technical base of communism, and the leading activities of our party. The emerging communist culture of the Soviet peoples is a great synthesis of progressive achievements in the material and spiritual life of mankind.

66 K. I. Kozlov. Ethnography of the peoples of the Volga region, Moscow, 1964, pp. 160-170; "Culture and Life", 1968, N 10.

67 Pravda, 29. VIII. 1970.

68 "Sovetskaya Rossiya", 24. II. 1970.

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