ABSTRACT
THE EVOLUTION OF FULL EMPLOYMENT
In the period following the Revolution, the Soviet leadership was not only influenced by considerations concerning the building of ‘communist man’, but also by more pressing and immediate economic and political demands. In the early years of Soviet power, providing work (or reducing levels of unemployment) was not a priority.1 It was not until 1930 or 1931 that one may say that mass unemployment came to an end in the USSR.2 During the period of War Communism and the New Economic Policy, unemployment continued at levels comparable to those of Western European countries. The chief cause of unemployment was the movement of peasants to the town to seek work.3 The draft of the first Five Year Plan, compiled in 1927, estimated that the unemployment level of 1.9 million of that year would rise to over 2.3 million in 1931-32.4 The advent of the Five Year Plans, however, with their vast expansion programmes, led to an increase in employment opportunities not only in industry and building but also in the sphere of government services (e.g. health, education).
