Orphans in the Soviet Union
Abandoned children, 1918–1930
Following the October Revolution the new Bolshevik government proposed that the state should take on the task of raising not just orphans but all the nation's children. Communist pedagogy aimed to create a "vast communistic movement among minors." Narkompros (People's Commissariat of Education) was tasked with providing for homeless children and managing orphanages. Children were provided with necessities, received education (including in communist doctrine), and were expected to help with chores and decision making. The orphanages were inaugurated in a spirit of revolutionary idealism, but were soon overwhelmed by the need to feed and house millions of homeless children.
Orphans in the Soviet Union-6