THE COLLECTIVE AGITATION OF ARMS AND LEGS: ORGANISING MASS PHYSICAL CULTURE IN 1920S SOVIET RUSSIA

Abstract

Following the establishment of the Supreme Council of Physical Culture in 1923, the policy of ‘physical culture twenty‐four hours a day’ assumed mounting importance for its organisers. Local authorities were charged with promoting physical culture by encouraging the ‘masses’ to exercise, use the sun, air and water for their health, become more educated in matters of hygiene and pursue a generally healthy lifestyle. This article shows that achieving this on a local level proved to be extremely challenging and argues that imposing central objectives in local areas encountered considerable difficulties. It argues further that the conduct and nature of physical culture itself was problematical.

Notes

1. Boris Bazhanov, Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin, 72. David Doyle’s translation of Bazhanov’s words is not wholly accurate. The original Russian is: ‘Fizicheskaia kul′tura ponimalas′ kak kakoe‐to poleznoe dlia zdorov′ia trudiashchikhsia mass i dlia ikh dressirovki, pochti obiazatel′noe massovoe i skopom proizvodimoe razmakhivanie rukami i nogami, tak skazat′, kakie‐to kollektivnye dvizheniia dlia zdorov′ia. Eto i pytalis′ vnedrit′ vo vsiakikh rabochikh klubakh, zagoniaia trudiashchikhsia chut′ li ne siloi na eti demonstratsii.’ See Bazhanov, Vspomimaniia byvshego sekretaria Stalina, 101. A closer translation of the first part would be: ‘Physical culture was understood to be somehow useful for the health of the labouring masses and for their training. Through the almost obligatory mass movement of arms and legs, done en masse, there would be, so to speak, a type of collective movement for health.’ Bazhanov also noted that he was present at the creation of the Supreme Council of Physical Culture, where even then he had ‘been struck by the absurdity of the institution’ but was ‘still too low‐level an apparatchik to venture an opinion’ (ibid., 72). Bazhanov features little in the fizkul′tura literature, either because he did not contribute (this would be the case in the press) or because of his eventual defection.

2. See Riordan, Sport in Soviet Society; Morton, Soviet Sport; Edelman, Serious Fun; and Keys, Globalizing Sport.

3. Koenker, ‘Class and Class Consciousness’, 49–50.

4. Gosudarstvennyi Arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii (hereafter GARF), f. 7952, op. 3, del. 226, l. 31. In October 1923 this figure had increased to 499, with drama numbering 50, the children’s choir 43 and music 39 (GARF, f. 7952, op. 3, del. 226, l. 38). Physical culture also featured in the factory’s production of plays, concerts and film screenings. For example, in 1923 meetings of the sports kruzhok were called in order to outline preparations for their annual festival (GARF, f. 7952, op. 3, del. 226, ll. 40–42. However, in relation to these kruzhki statistics, caution must again be exercised. For example, one ‘Serp i Molot’ worker commented in 1932 that, ‘when we pose the question about the quantity of fizkul′turniki – here the figure is 900. The figure is inflated because fizkul′turniki are scattered amongst the kruzhki here and there and are registered a few times for 2–3 kruzhki’ (GARF, f. 7952, op. 3, del. 264, l. 78ob).

5. Soltis, Soviet Chess, 57.

6. Koronovskii. ‘Uchet v klubnom kruzhke fizkul′tury.

7. Rossiiskii Gosudarstvennyi Arkhiv Sotstial′no‐Politicheskoi Istorii (hereafter RGASPI), f. 537, op. 1, d. 116, ll. 167–71 (1926). The Supreme Council of Physical Culture statistics applied to the period 1 January 1924–1 October 1924 and showed that out of 102 administrative units, 89 per cent had physical culture councils in May 1924. District and other councils numbered 343, accounting for 51.5 per cent of such units. There were 12 raiony or areas, including factory and plant raiony. Regarding schools, according to the Central Statistics Office the Soviet Union had a total number of 95,696 educational institutes in 1924 (RGASPI, f. 537, op. 1, del. 116, ll. 167–71). Yet physical culture was practised in only 823 schools, with just over half of the school bodies (54 per cent, or 319,035, being 59 per cent male and 41 per cent female) participating in physical culture (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 29: Orgburo discussions 1925; see also f. 537, op. 1, del .116, l. 167).

8. GARF, f. 17, op. 18, del. 424, l. 10.

9. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 9.

10. GARF, f. 17, op. 18, del. 424, l. 10.

11. Harris, The Great Urals, 44.

12. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, d. 424, l. 28.

13. Hough and Fainsod, How the Soviet Union is Governed, 480.

14. Harris, The Great Urals, 4.

15. Ibid., 48.

16. Titov, ‘Kharakter nizovoi rabotyi po fizkul’ture’; and RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 238 on the tasks of the party in physical culture in ‘Proekt Resoliutsii TsK RKP(b)’.

17. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 271: ‘Thesis on the tasks of the organisation and leadership of the RKP(b) in the area of the restoration of workers’ strength’ (letter to Antipov).

18. See RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, d. 424, l. 238 on the tasks of the party in physical culture in ‘Proekt Resoliutsii TsK RKP(b)’.

19. Harris, The Great Urals, 4.

20. Ibid., 46–47.

21. Ibid., 47.

22. See for example RGASPI, f. 1‐M, op. 23, del. 477 and del. 944.

23. Robin, ‘Stalinism and Popular Culture’, 27.

24. Harris, The Great Urals, 4.

25. Fizkul′tura i sport was considered the first mass physical culture publication. In 1928 it had a circulation of 27,000, which rose to almost 100,000 in 1931, and would have enjoyed greater circulation in 1932 but for paper shortages (it was thus limited to 50,000). See Teodoroskii, ‘Fizkul′turnaia pechat′’.

26. For other accounts pertaining to the organisation of physical culture in local areas, see especially Krasnyi sport, No. 13–14 (1924), 1–2; V pomoshch fizkul’takivistu (1929); Fizkul′taktivist (1927–31); Fizkul′tura i sport (1928–29); Izvestiia fizicheskoi kul′tury (1924–27); and Teoriia i praktika fizicheskoi kul′tury (1929).

27. Titov, ‘Kharakter nizovoi rabotyi po fizkul′ture’, 14–19.

28. Ibid., 14.

29. Ibid., 19.

30. Gorodki (literally, ‘little towns’) is a skittles game in which a stick or bat is launched at the targets rather than a ball. This ancient Russian folk sport was very popular amongst both rural and city dwellers. The primary movement involved in the game was throwing and it was therefore considered to be a good exercise for improving accuracy and keenness of vision. However, it was not a particularly physical game and its value in terms of vospitanie (upbringing, nurture, and values) was limited, as ‘tactical combinations’ or ‘quick reactions’ were absent. Nevertheless, it was valuable in its simplicity, for it did not require any equipment or premises as such, merely a patch of open ground. See Bol′shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia, Vol. 18.

31. Lapta is an ancient Russian folk game similar to rounders or baseball. As such, it required much ‘variation of movement’, such as running, jumping and throwing. However, it required a field measuring about 100 yards by 50 yards to play. Bol′shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia, Vol. 24.

32. Titov, ‘Kharakter nizovoi rabotyi’, 18.

33. Ibid., 14.

34. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 25: Mekhonoshin.

35. Ibid.

36. Ibid.

37. Ibid.

38. Makarov, ‘Puti ukreplenia i rasshirenia raboty’.

39. Ibid. In Soviet terminology, an aktiv was a group or an organization’s most active member.

40. At the Eighth Komsomol Congress in 1928, Kal′pus commented on the issue of identity cards. He observed that the matter had been discussed for ‘the past three to four years’, but that nothing had been done about it. Information had even been received from 10 physical culture councils which indicated that some councils had already issued identity cards themselves, having tired of waiting for a decision from Moscow. Kal′pus stated that the trade unions had to resolve this issue, which they had kept ‘brushing aside’. See RGASPI, f. M‐6, op. 8, del. 7, ll. 21–22. The introduction of such a ticket should have – at least in theory – helped to eliminate some of the statistical discrepancies arising from duplicated kruzhok membership in physical culture.

41. Makarov, ‘Puti’.

42. Ibid.

43. Antokol′skii, ‘Skhodim – vyp′em?’, 14.

44. Gampeis ‘Kak osushchestvit′ svyaz′ kruzhka’, 12.

45. This was an industrial region (the main textile centre of the Soviet Union), some 200 miles north‐east of Moscow, where the Communist Party had traditionally been strong.

46. Gampeis, ‘Kak osushchestvit′ svyaz′ kruzhka’, 12.

47. Ibid.

48. Baumanskii was a key industrial district of the capital.

49. Afremov, ‘Kul′turnaya revolutsia i fizkul′tura’.

50. Ibid.

51. The Zamosvoretskii district was a key Communist stronghold and one of the most important industrial centres in Moscow. See Hatch, ‘Working Class Politics’, 559.

52. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 233: Theses of speeches from the First All‐Union Meeting of Physical Culture Councils, April 1924.

53. RGASPI, f. 1‐M, op. 23, del. 802, l. 34: Dokladnaia zapiska (Report by A. Kaidalov, Sverdlovsk). The precise date of this report is unclear, but it is in a file dated March 1927–January 1928.

54. Ibid.

55. These included 47 men and 13 women. Workers and others numbered 20, while white‐collar workers and students numbered 10. Ibid.

56. Cited in Kriachko, Fizicheskaia kul′tura, 85.

57. According to the findings of a team of respected researchers, the ‘normal length of the working day declined by over 20 per cent from 9.9 hours to in 1913 to 7.8 hours in 1928. Further legislation in 1927 authorized the gradual introduction of the seven hour day.’ See Davies, Harrison and Wheatcroft, The Economic Transformation of the Soviet Union, 95.

58. See Mally, Revolutionary Acts, 4.

59. Pravda (13 October 1926), cited in Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 102.

60. Siegelbaum, ‘The Shaping of Workers’ Leisure’, 80.

61. GARF, f. A‐2313, op. 9, del. 2, l. 13ob: ‘Programma (tipovaia) dlia proektirovaniia zadaniia Domprosveta v razmere 1 kubo‐sazhen’. III Fizkul′tura. Work was to take place between 1928–29 and 1932–33.

62. Ibid. The cost of one of these clubs was 57,000 roubles and 116 of these were to be built.

63. Siegelbaum, ‘The Shaping of Workers’ Leisure’, 83. Bigger, grander structures were called ‘palaces’ and often had colonnades and other palatial features.

64. Siegelbaum, ‘The Shaping of Workers’ Leisure’, 2. The Palace was eventually built in 1937.

65. Harman, Dilshat. ‘The New Man and the New Way of Life: Who Built 1920s Moscow and for Whom?’ Paper presented at the Study Group on the Russian Revolution (Belfast, January 2009), 11.

66. Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 100. Lynn Mally also refers to the problem of youth dominating clubs: see Mally, Revolutionary Acts, 87–88.

67. RGASPI, f. 1‐M, op. 23, d. 801, l. 81, January–December 1927.

68. Workers’ families could make use of the club free of charge. This corresponds to statistics provided by John Hatch in his study of workers’ clubs. He noted that in the ‘Serp i Molot’ club ‘two‐thirds of the members were eligible through family ties’. He also commented that 44 per cent of club members in Moscow were under 23 years of age and that the majority of female club members were young women. Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 100.

69. The trade union kruzhki had a reported 91,215 and the Komsomol 76,000. See RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 29. This varies slightly in another file, where the trade union figure was the same but the Komsomol figure was estimated at 76,923: RGASPI, f. 537, op. 1, del. 116, l. 167 (1926).

70. Moskovskii Proletarii (16 June and 16 December 1925) and Rabochii klass – vedushchaia sila v stroitel′sve sotsialisticheskogo obshchestva 1921–1937gg., Vol. 2, edited by L.S. Rogachevskaia et al., cited in Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 98.

71. RGASPI, f. 17, op. 68, del. 424, l. 87.

72. Ibid.

73. Tarakanov, ‘Klub i iacheika’, 18.

74. This is the argument also posed by John Hatch with regard to workers’ clubs. Hatch stated that ‘clubs [which] engaged in purely “educational” work, such as study circles, failed to serve their daily needs and “social interests”’. See Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 103.

75. The diary of Agrippina Korevanova, My Life, in Fitzpatrick and Slezkine, In the Shadow of Revolution, 191.

76. This was still an issue in some places in 1933, when one fizkul′turnik in Tiflis complained that physical culture in the Youth Technical College was not ‘fizkul′tura’ and failed to attract substantial numbers, especially female. The instructor was a military leader who essentially turned the physical culture classes into military training exercises. See Panteleeva, ‘Ch′ia vina?’, 8.

77. RGASPI, f. 1‐M, op. 23, d. 802, l. 11(ob), March 1927–January 1928. A. Kaidalov. This concern was also expressed in Rabochii klub, where it was claimed that workers’ clubs had become virtual youth centres, where ‘young pioneers banged on drums and komsomol′tsy ran around the club premises’, meaning that adults found it impossible to relax. Rabochii klub No. 2 (February 1924), cited in Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 101–02.

78. Similar observations were made in Hatch’s article on workers’ clubs. There, the club administrators were held accountable for not attracting the aforementioned groups to the club, impeded by their inexperience and lack of interest. Hatch, ‘Hangouts and Hangovers’, 102.

79. RGASPI, f. 1‐M, op. 23, del. 802, l. 12: Dokladnaia zapiska instruktora TsK VLKSM o sostoianii fizkul′turnogo dvizheniia na Urale i v Sibiri, materialy Uralskogo obkomam VLKSM, Soveta fizkul′tury o sostoianii fizkul′turnogo dvizheniia v oblasti (March 1927–January 1928). For further instances of hooliganism, see Gorsuch, ‘Smashing Chairs at the Local Club’, 247–61.

80. Vsesoiuznyi Sovet Fizicheskoi Kul′tury (VSFK) RSFSR, No. 49483 (22 November 1928), ‘O zadachakh fizkul′torganizatsii RSFSR na zimnii period 1928–29 goda’, Fizkul′taktivist, No. 14–15 (1928), 3–9.

81. VSFK RSFSR, ‘O zadachakh’, 4.

82. Ibid.

83. Stepanov, ‘Fizkul′tura v profsoyuzakh’, 9–10.

84. Titov, ‘Kharakter’, 14–19.