ABSTRACT
The investigation of the quality of rural life in the Soviet Union originates from the assumption that living conditions in Soviet villages and hamlets are considerably different from those in Soviet cities. The idea that rural life has its distinguishing features needs no elaboration. Karl Marx had great contempt for the "idiocy of rural life," but the history of ideas offers many examples of a more positive attitude toward rural lifestyles. Rural life has often been seen as beneficial to the soundness of mind and body. In attempting to assess the quality of rural life in the Soviet Union, the chapter not considers the spiritual values of undisturbed Siberian villages concerned with subsistence forming, but describes what opportunities the contemporary Soviet countryside offers rural inhabitants to advance emotionally and mentally. Accessibility to rural centers or nearby towns has always been of great importance to rural settlers and the development of rural life in the Soviet Union.
