Cementing State Authority: Soviet Education Case
Cementing State Authority: Soviet Education Case

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to explore how education was used to build state authority in the Soviet System. Education has always been a method of building state authority. As it was followed by multiple nation-states, the Soviet case presents a similar course both at the state and union level, whereby the state pursues to construct an environment that is consistent with the state’s intent to shape its own society. Soviet education, with its centrally planned nature, was designed to create a standard individual that was in line with communist principles, even though leadership changes had ultimate challenged education policies. Education in the USSR appeared to be a tool of justifying not only the regime but also the promotion of the values of political leadership. Nevertheless, state-centric, centrally planned educative circles, failed to feed the overall system in order to sustain itself instead of educating the individual’s free mind. The history, ideology, purpose, and philosophy of the Soviet education system will be analyzed in order to show how the Soviets had established a very comprehensive education policy, as well as how they had employed various methods in order to strengthen the basis for the ‘perfect’ society.

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